Top McCain Aide Secretly Fired Last Week For "Trashing" Staffers

CNN reports that senior McCain aide, and chief foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann was fired a week before Election Day for "trashing" McCain staffers to the press over their handling of Sarah Palin:

Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy adviser to John McCain, was fired from the Arizona senator's campaign last week for what one aide called "trashing" the campaign staff, three senior McCain advisers tell CNN.

One of the aides tells CNN that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading "disinformation" about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials.

The New York Times adds that the McCain campaign pegged Bill Kristol as the most likely recipient of Scheunemann's attacks against fellow McCain staffers:

Whatever the permutations, the advisers said they strongly believed that Mr. Scheunemann was disclosing, as one put it, "a constant stream of poison" to William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a columnist for The New York Times.

Mr. Kristol, who wrote a column on Oct. 13 calling on Mr. McCain to fire his campaign because it was "close to being out-and-out dysfunctional," said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the campaign advisers were paranoid. Mr. Kristol has been a strong supporter of Ms. Palin.

"I wasn't writing poison," Mr. Kristol said. He added that "Randy Scheunemann is a friend of mine and I think he did a good job. I talked to him, but I talked to a lot of people at the campaign."

Scheunemann himself disputes that he was fired. Fellow aide Michael Goldfarb tries to back him up, and doesn't really succeed:

However, Goldfarb did concede that Scheunemann's campaign e-mail was cut off, and his blackberry was taken away late Friday. Goldfarb admits that senior McCain aides were mad at Scheunemann, and wanted to fire him, but he insists they stopped short of that, and instead simply turned off his campaign communication.

RELATED: Behind The Scenes: Newsweek On McCain In The Dark, Obama Threats, And More

RELATED: Palin Didn't Understand Africa Was A Continent

Comments

[nvzephyr]

Scheunemann is a big-time neocon.

He was a key player in convincing the Bush administration to invade Iraq.

Scheunemann's firm was receiving money from Georgia while Scheunemann was advising McCain on the Georgia crisis. Ever hear the term "foreign agent?"

Scheunemann is a snake, and it amazes me that it took John McCain so long to figure that out. Poor McCain. If he had not been completely seduced by the neocons and the religious nutcakes, he would have made a serious run for the White House.

[Keith52]

Wow, can you imagine having someone in office of POTUS that is so easily seduced by NeoCons? Oh... wait.... that would be George W. Bush.

[Buddysingh]

I definitely agree. Also, McCain, if he had run on the same platform as of 2000, he would have given Obama a good run. McCain changed everything and for the worst and thus he joins the likes of Goldwater and Dole.

[repugnicansfearme]

Please, in the NAME OF HUMANITY. SOMEONE PLEASE CHECK ON JOE THE PLUMBER. Make sure he has not stuck his head in the toilet and can't get it out. We have not seen him for days.

[MMJones]

LOL!!

[MsYellowDog]

JTP's 15 minutes were over about two weeks ago,weren't they?

[KOisGod]

Old Joe, seen wondering the aisles of Home Depot, cursing his celebrity, just wanting to get the admirers off his back so he can get back to doing what he loves best, getting paid cash under the table and not paying taxes on it.

[biglover]

Actually, please don't check on him. I hope his head is stuck in the toilet and by this time he has already drowned in his own pee pee.

[JosephP]

Scheunemann was also a big Chalabi supporter. There's a good chance that he would have been appointed to a DoD position in a McCain administra­tion---ano­ther good reason to be thankful for the way things turned out.

[sonoffestus]

I love the picture of the two of them. It looks like they screwed up and are standing outside the principal's office....­..........­.......Bad girl, bad boy.

[auntieang69]

I don't know why he got fired for what I am very sure was the Truth. Pooooor Sarah,, her feelings got hurt,,, WHO CARES !!!
If McCain had picked someone different, and, been himself like he was at the Consession Speech, that seemed to be the True McCain, he was much more likable, he possibly could Have won. Palin Did Drag him Down. Saying things that had not even been approved by McCain himself. She really got the Mudslinging going almost from the get go, then what could McCain do, just follow. I do feel bad for him.
I did vote Obama and I think alot of people did mostly because of Palin.

[JustSpeakingMyPeace]

Isn't Goldfarb the same nitwit Rick Sanchez shellacked last week over the whole Ob@ma palling around with terror!sts?!? What a tool!

[retroredux]

yes, the selfsame tool:)

[catchdis]

bill kristol is poison.

[oxford]

Come-on folks, Randy Scheunemann is a member of the PNAC, the neocon cabal that William Kristol founded in 1997. These are dangerous people. Anyone remember that Scheunemann is a paid lobbiest for the country of Georgia, trying to get the US into trouble with Russia??.
The PNAC members hijacked the Bush administration at the beginning and started our empire building, starting with Iraq.

[MakeAWish]

Advice to the Republican party. Get rid of toxic people like Bill Kristol from your party. This new America and world we live in, has no place in for the old Fascist oligarchy mentality. The Republican party has allowed itself to be hijacked by religious zealots and corporate America.

[SeniorTour]

Somebody needs to update this news story. Scheunemann was contacted by phone Wednesday and he stated that the story of his firing is bunk.

[Audrey704]

The McCain camp might have done Scheunemann a favor as anyone associated with the McCain/Palin fiasco should be given the boot out of Washington DC...maybe he can save his career.

Rick Davis needs to go....Nicc­ole Wallace needs to go....Schm­itt needs to go....hous­ing is cheap all across the country they could really go anywhere. They have participated in a huge travesty and they should have to be held accountable.

[Nick127]

I take issue with the fact that McCain lost due to the economy.Bo­th sides knew that there was a chance of really bad news before the election.I would agree that his response to it was one of the reasons he lost. Another reason (and there are many) is the way his camp was ran.To me it was an example on how his administration was gonna be and Palin didnt help.He was going to lose anyway.

[jjcomet]

CALBearman -

The economy certainly was a bitch for McCain, but Palin was the final nail in the coffin. I just saw a video in which Fox anchor Shep Smith points out that McCain's numbers started going south immediately after the Couric interview that occurred several days prior to the news about Lehman Brothers. Surprising to hear that kind of candor coming from anyone at Fox. The vibe I got from the interview was that at least some folks on the right are moving to trash Palin's reputation, knowing that having her as the "face of the party" going forward will be a complete disaster. Frankly, I hope they fail and allow her drag what's left of the GOP down with her.

[Essentialboom]

i do also

[harriettubman]

I read on MSNBC where this guy says he wasn't fired and so did McCain's campaign???????

[Pupster]

Think about it. Scheunemann trashed his own candidate in the middle of an election in order to position himself for a senior role with Palin for 2012. That is cold. McCain was a lousy candidate, but he didn't deserve that.

If Republicans have any balls they will burn this guy so that he never works again.

[MsYellowDog]

BALLS....N­OT.They are all chicken hawks that hire others to do their fighting for them,and run for their lives if attacked.