Fmr. Ashcroft Spokesman Denies Ridge's Allegations About Politicizing Terror Alerts
Yesterday, I flagged the story of new allegations from former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge about John Aschroft's role in politicizing terror alert warnings to help George W. Bush's reelection chances in 2004. Coming from such a well-placed GOP official, Ridge's statements are a huge deal, and pretty darn credible.
However, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz notes that a former Aschroft spokesman is pushing back on Ridge's story.
From today's Post:
The cynics, it turns out, were right.
The Bush administration was trying to use terror alerts to boost the president's political fortunes, just as some skeptical journalists suggested.
Tom Ridge is now admitting it.
Which prompts two reactions on my part:
a) I'm not shocked.
b) Now he tells us?Five years later, when he's pushing a new book, the former homeland security secretary says he was pressured by top Bush lieutenants to ratchet up the terror level -- to scare people -- in an effort to boost W.'s reelection chances...
...[T]he weekend before the election, with Bush leading Sen. John F. Kerry by a couple of points, Osama bin Laden releases a videotape -- and, says Ridge, Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft push him to raise the color-coded warning...
A former Ashcroft spokesman denied Ridge's account. And the NYT reports: "Keith M. Urbahn, a spokesman for Mr. Rumsfeld, said the defense secretary supported letting the public know if intelligence agencies believed there was a greater threat, and pointed to a variety of chilling Qaeda warnings in those days, including one tape vowing that 'the streets of America will run red with blood.'"
The colorful denial of Ridge's allegations comes via the New York Times:
Mr. Ashcroft could not be reached for comment. But Mark Corallo, who was his spokesman at the Justice Department, dismissed Mr. Ridge’s account. "Didn’t happen," he said. "Now would be a good time for Mr. Ridge to use his emergency duct tape."
A funny response, but suspect.
Kurtz raises good questions about Ridge's timing and profit motivations. That said, I can't think of many reasons to believe the denials about Ridge's larger allegations.
Image credit: The Guardian
