WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has his William Ayers connection. Now John McCain may have an Iran- Contra connection. In the 1980s, McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right- wing death squads in Central America.
The U.S. Council for World Freedom also aided rebels trying to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua. That landed the group in the middle of the Iran-Contra affair and in legal trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, which revoked the charitable organization’s tax exemption.
The council created by retired Army Maj. Gen. John Sing laub was the U.S. chapter of the World Anti-Communist League, an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right- wing death squads in Central America.
McCain’s tie to Singlaub’s council is undergoing renewed scrutiny after his campaign criticized Obama for his link to Ayers, a former radical who engaged in violent acts 40 years ago.
In two interviews with The Associated Press in August and September, Singlaub said McCain became associated with the group in the early 1980s as McCain launched his political career. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member.
McCain has said he resigned from the council in 1984 and asked in 1986 to have his name removed from the group’s letterhead. Singlaub does not recall any McCain resignation in 1984 or May 1986. Nor does Joyce Downey, who oversaw the group’s activities.
A news article and two documents tie McCain to the council in 1985, a year after he says he resigned. The group’s IRS filing in 1985 lists McCain as a member of the council’s advisory board.
On Tuesday, the McCain campaign addressed the resignation by saying the candidate disassociated himself from “one Arizona-based group when questions were raised about its activities.”
