McCain’s lawyer: Keating investigation had ‘no merit’

Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s lawyer during the Keating Five scandal said Monday that the inquiry brought about by the Senate Ethics Committee had “no merit,” and he reiterated that the panel cleared the Arizona senator “completely.” 

John Dowd, on a conference call with reporters arranged by the McCain campaign, said he is not surprised the case has resurfaced after 20 years, but he does not agree with Sen. McCain’s (Ariz.) acknowledgment of the appearance of impropriety, saying he thinks what McCain did “was very appropriate.”

{mosads}The case, which involved McCain and four Democratic senators and their involvement with savings and loan scandal figure Charles Keating, has been pushed back into the news by the campaign of Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), who has questioned McCain’s association with Keating.

On Monday, Obama's campaign launched a Web documentary questioning McCain’s involvement in the scandal.

Dowd said because of the size of Keating's bank in Arizona, McCain had a duty to be involved, but the Arizona senator "threw Keating out of his office" when the banker pushed hard for McCain's interference.

"Charlie Keating was an important constituent in Arizona that employed 2,000 people, and that's a constituency you pay attention to," Dowd said.

While the committee did clear McCain, it said that he showed poor judgment in his dealings with Keating, something Dowd disputed Monday.

"I understand why John feels the way he does," Dowd said. "This was an embarrassing and humiliating matter."

Dowd called the hearings a "political stunt," adding that Democratic leadership "colored the hearings."