Swiftboater Appointee as Ambassador to Belgium ¶ Last Throes?

Kerry criticizes Missouri man for election ads

WASHINGTON (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Feb. 28, 2007 –  Prominent Missouri businessman and Republican financier Sam Fox, accompanied by heavyweight backers, expected smooth sailing in the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee yesterday on his way to confirmation as ambassador to Belgium.

He didn’t get it.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., broadsided Fox, criticizing his 2004 donation to the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and questioning Fox’s credentials for the job.

“You saw fit to put $50,000 on the line to continue the smear, my question to you is: Why?” Kerry said.

The Swift Boat group gained notoriety for running a well-funded campaign that questioned the validity of Kerry’s Vietnam War medals during Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

Sam Fox - Harbour Group Ltd.

Fox, 77, said he couldn’t recall who had asked for the contribution and counted it among thousands of contributions he makes yearly.

“When I’m asked, I just generally give,” Fox said.

The majority of Fox’s supporters, including Missouri Sens. Christopher “Kit” Bond, a Republican, and Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, had left the hearing room by the time Kerry took the microphone.

Fox’s wife, Marilyn, his five children and eight of his grandchildren remained to witness Kerry’s 30-minute grilling of Fox about his political contributions and the intricacies of Belgian politics.

In his introduction, Bond called Fox a “good man, dedicated to his family and country.”

His charitable contributions to Washington University, the Boy Scouts and the Missouri arts community had benefited the city of St. Louis, the senator said.

Fox, Lay top donors of soft money

From statement in paper above:
“Fox, 77, said he couldn’t recall who had asked for the contribution …”
Could his close political friend and Creve Coeur (Mo.) resident William Franke provide a possible link? His imperium has business links to Vietnam investments and Italy’s Parmalat.

4. William Franke, Lewis Waterman and Stephen Hayes (of Gannon International):
Franke, a major Bush supporter, has longstanding ties to John Ashcroft and the Missouri GOP. All of these people are part of the firm Gannon Intl. which has had profitable dealings with Vietnam, especially thanks to Kerry’s efforts to normalize relationships with Vietnam. The irony!  

Biz Journal 1997 – Franke gets fees, but HUD loan unpaid

See my diary in the good old days at Daily Kos –
GANNON WAR II ¶ OPEN a 2nd FRONT of ATTACK ¶ Who We Missed! ◊ by creve coeur