McCain ‘Tainted’ by Telecom’s Donations

LOS ANGELES — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he had been “tainted” by donations from Global Crossing Ltd., but never acted improperly on behalf of the telecom firm.

McCain, who has received more money from Global Crossing than any other member of Congress, said he expected the Senate Commerce Committee to investigate the company as soon as it clears its schedule of Enron Corp. proceedings. McCain is the ranking Republican on the committee.

Some $50 billion of investor money in Global Crossing has vaporized since 2000, and the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI are investigating the firm’s accounting methods.

“I am tainted by this because I received money from them,” McCain told reporters after addressing a Town Hall Los Angeles luncheon about the need for campaign finance reform. McCain, who campaigned for president in 2000 on the need to overhaul campaign financing, lambasted the system during his luncheon speech.

McCain collected $31,000 from Global Crossing employees in March 1999 for his presidential campaign. That month, he urged the Federal Communications Commission to open the market for laying undersea fiber-optic cable, a market controlled by AT&T; Corp. that Global Crossing was trying to penetrate.

McCain said the request was in line with his long-standing goal of industry deregulation. He said he never mentioned Global Crossing specifically to the FCC.