September 27, 2007

Where's John Ashcroft? Part Deux

We've asked it before and we're asking it again: Where in the world is former Attorney General John Ashcroft?

Very busy, his people say, and apparently too busy to give his version of that mysterious bedside visit to the press. Humph.

Actually, Ashcroft did speak to the press today, but on a completely unrelated matter. He appeared at a press conference in New Jersey to talk about a federal investigation into five hip and knee surgical implant companies found to have bribed surgeons into using their products. The companies have agreed to hefty fines and monitoring under an agreement that allows them to avoid criminal prosecution, and Ashcroft will be the independent monitor for Indiana-based Zimmer, Inc.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said the press conference was not recorded, so we don't yet know how many reporters showed up or what Ashcroft said. The former AG and former Missouri governor has also been busy doing work for his consulting firm, The Ashcroft Group. A spokeswoman there said that his new role as independent monitor will probably prevent him from publicly addressing the mess at DOJ anytime soon.

Still, there's reason to suspect that Ashcroft is laying low because he doesn't want to start up another media frenzy. He would not allow the media to cover a recent address he gave at Missouri State University. Further, his representatives demanded that a video of the speech MSU made for its archives not be made available to the public. MSU could not abide those terms, and ended up turning the tape over to Ashcroft.

Posted at 3:16 PM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, John Ashcroft
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