Organizing for America | 08arack 08ama 08log: The Ashcroft Group, LLC: Insider Trading on Steroids

The Ashcroft Group, LLC: Insider Trading on Steroids

By Nathaniel Krefman - Mar 15th, 2007 at 1:08 pm EDT

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Tags: appointees, Attorney General, barack obama, civil liberties, Contracts, Corporations, Defense, ethics, lobbying, military-industrial complex, national security, neo-cons, Reform

I met John Ashcroft last night. Yes. You read that correctly. I, Nate Krefman, spoke with former Attorney General John Ashcroft last night. And for the record, I did not douse him with French dressing.

Mr. Ashcroft spoke last night, Tues. March 13, at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI at the behest of "the country's best organization of College Republicans" the WMU CR's. As a philosophical liberal, I'm always interested in subjecting my own views to rational consideration by exposing myself to opposing viewpoints, so I try to catch controversial conservative speakers when the CR's bring them to town.

Naturally, I appreciated seeing a former Attorney General, and took advantage of the chance to speak with him afterwards as the opportunity presented itself. I discovered, though, that John Ashcroft, as an ideologue, isn't very interested in thinking critically about the costs of his economic ventures to the American public, which can be measured in terms of millions of tax dollars, unspeakable capacity for violence, and loss of precious civil liberties.

Here, framed as a question, is the issue at the core of my beef with John Ashcroft:

Should former elected officials and political appointees privy to classified information, such as national security secrets, long-term strategic plans, and emergency protocols, lobby on behalf of corporations? Should a former U.S. Attorney General, America's chief law enforcement officer and the head of the Department of Justice, consult with and lobby for companies that do business with the Department of Justice?

My opinion is as plain as Kansas - no, John Ashcroft should not be helping corporations get defense or security contracts with the U.S. government or lobbying Congress to change the laws that govern such organizations.

John Ashcroft, and his wife, disagree.

Insider for Hire.

After his presentation, I saw that Mr. Ashcroft stepped down from the stage to shake hands with a line of College Republicans, and I went the the end of the line to greet him.

I shook John Ashcroft's hand and I said, "Mr. Ashcroft, I wanted to ask a question during the question and answer, but I didn't want to make a fuss with everyone in the auditorium. I have read that since you resigned as Attorney General, you have been working as a lobbyist and consultant. Is that correct?" Mr. Ashcroft said it was correct, and I said to him, "Well, given your background as Attorney General, isn't that like insider trading on steroids?"

I think that took Mr. Ashcroft by surprise, but he responded, "No, I believe that businesses should have as much information as possible so that they can do good business. I have to make a living somehow." With a sneer he asked, "What do you do?"

I said, "Well, I'm going to graduate school at UC-Berkeley next year."

Mr. Ashcroft, again with the sneer, said, "What are you gonna do there?"

"I'm going to study molecular and cellular biology."

"Well, what are you gonna do with that?"

"I'm planning on working for the government. I don't want to work in the private sector."

Mr. Ashcroft lifted up his chin at that and said, "Well, I believe in the private sector!"

I didn't want him to change the subject. I asked him incredulously, "Well, Mr. Ashcroft, given your relationship with Alberto Gonzales, don't you believe you're in a better position than anyone else to obtain government contracts?"

He looked at me with what seemed like suspicion and said, "I don't know Mr. Gonzales personally. I think we've exchanged about one email before."

I responded, again incredulously, "Well, I'm not in a position to know about your personal relationships, but given that Mr. Gonzales succeeded you as Attorney General..." (Is it possible that John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales have had only a single conversation by email?!! Is it possible that I just had a "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky" moment with John Ashcroft?!)

It was at that point that a woman interrupted and said, "What's wrong with working in the private sector after working for the government?"

I responded, "The problem is that Mr. Ashcroft is in a position to know information that an average person isn't, and he has relationships with people in power that would allow him to get contracts easier than others. I'm sorry, what is your name?"

She responded with an air of arrogance, "Janet Ashcroft." (To imagine this properly, you might have to insert elipses between her first and last name. "Janet ... Ashcroft" - like a condescending female James Bond.)

Mrs. "Janet ... Ashcroft!! And don't you forget it!!" and Mr. "Janet ... Ashcroft!! And don't you forget it!!"

Trying to throw her off, I extended my hand quickly and shook hers, saying, "My name is Nate Krefman. It's nice to meet you."

She said to me, "John didn't work as a consultant for a year after resigning. There is a law that that says appointees have to wait a year before working as consultants or lobbyists. If you don't like the law you should contact your congressman and ask him to change it."

I told Mrs. Ashcroft, "I'm not talking about law; I'm talking about ethics."

She said, "Well, then what's wrong with it?"

I said, "The problem is that there's this whole military-industrial complex that undermining our government."

Mrs. Ashcroft responded with a snarl, "I don't think people should debate things like this with incomplete information. People throw that phrase 'military-industrial complex' around, and they don't know what they're talking about."

A friend, Willie Menta, was listening to my conversation and interjected then, "Wait a minute, are you saying that Dwight Eisenhower, who was a 4-star general and president [and a Republican no less!] when he coined the term, didn't know what he was talking about??"

"No, I'm not saying he didn't, but I'm saying that other people use the phrase all the time without knowing what it means."

So I told Mrs. Ashcroft, "The problem is that appointed officials like Mr. Ashcroft leave office and lobby on behalf of military and security contractors."

Apparently that was enough for Mrs. Ashcroft, who realized that Mr. Ashcroft had long ago abandoned us, so she started walking away, saying, "If you have a problem, you should talk to your congressman."

I said to her, "I was just trying to have a personal conversation with your husband, hoping he might have a change of conscience."

I know that neither John Ashcroft nor "Janet ... Ashcroft" will have a change of conscience as a result of our conversation, but it felt good to speak truth to power, so to speak.

I concede, though, Mrs. Ashcroft offered good advice. This really is worth talking about with our representatives.

Barack Obama has been a powerful voice for ethics in the Illinois State Senate and in the US Senate. Perhaps a President Obama would take this issue up.

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For just a glimpse at what Ashcroft has been up to since his A.G. days, check out the following articles from the Chicago Tribune (from Jan. 2006) and from U.S. News (Feb. 2007):

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