September 17, 2007

Gregory Fires Back

The Kingsport Times News reports that major Republican campaign donor John Gregory "is going on offense in an attempt to clear up his professional record and counter future attacks by Democrats" tied to his financial support for the Tennessee Republican Party.

Gregory's spokesman, business associate and former Tennessee state Sen. Jim Holcomb, has issued a "talking points" document defending Gregory's campaign contributions to Republicans and his tenure as former King Pharmaceuticals chairman and CEO. Gregory declined to be interviewed for this story.

The Gregory-Holcomb document says:

Gregory and his family support pro-life and traditional family values.

During his term at King Pharmaceuticals and since leaving the company over five years ago, no governmental agency has ever charged Gregory or another Gregory family member with any wrongdoing in regard to Medicaid issues or anything else. After Gregory left the company, King agreed in November 2005 to repay $124 million plus interest to resolve allegations that it underpaid rebates owed to the Medicaid program and overcharged various federal and state governmental entities for its drug products, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gregory's previous giving "hopes to generate financial parity in campaign messaging as the Democrats have traditionally outspent Republicans in campaign spending." Neither Gregory, nor any member of his family, has ever asked for any special consideration or favor from an elected official other than to stand firmly on their principles and values, according to the document.

"The effort of the Democrats to denigrate the ethics of the Gregory family through innuendo and misinformation does not alter the fact that their only interest is social issues that define us as a society," the document said.

I look forward to helping refute the slanderous attacks on the Gregory family when I start working for the Tennessee GOP in late October.