After all that has been said about Republican Scott McInnis, an elephant remains in the room: the Hasan Family Foundation.
“We’re avoiding the political controversy,” said Drew Dougherty, a handler for the family that bankrolled McInnis’ intellectual bootlegging.
Wishful thinking. Because no matter how artfully they downplay their involvement, the family is central in the scandal that’s being dubbed “Watergate 2.0.”
Malik and Seeme Hasan built their fortune in health care and make no secret of their wealth. At one of their homes, they made a point of showing me their industrial-sized laundry operation and their spalike room that simulated weather conditions such as wind and rain.
They also made a point of showcasing their access to power. Their walls were lined with photos taken with both Bush presidents and other luminaries to whom they’ve donated. The Hasans outdo even Marc Holtzman, the hobnobber who ran for governor in 2006, in the art of GOP name-dropping.
They took their networking further when they gave Scott McInnis a $300,000 “fellowship” to research water issues. The ex-congressman was a Republican powerhouse, especially on the Western Slope.
At the time, they touted McInnis as “the most knowledgeable person in the state when it comes to federal and state laws regarding water and land issues.”
“WATER! It is an absolute human and economic necessity. WATER! You and I cannot live without it,” — that’s how McInnis, in all his water wisdom, began his “musings” for the foundation.
That white paper, as everyone and their mothers now know, contained plagiarized material.
But why water policy?
Dougherty first said the Hasans — whose mountain home overlooks the heavily irrigated golf course at Beaver Creek — “have no direct connection” with water issues. He then cited Seeme Hasan’s upbringing in parched Pakistan and her desire to raise wider water awareness.
Their altruism would have been more convincing had the family actually disseminated McInnis’ writings. It would be easier to swallow if they’d spoken out earlier about what they say was their disappointment with his work.
I believe the Hasans were unaware that McInnis hadn’t actually written the work he submitted as his own, original research.
But I have little sympathy as they demand $300,000 back from the man who now likely won’t become governor. Malik Hasan’s “shock” and “anger” seem a bit hollow now that his stock in McInnis has plummeted.
With the Hasans, the adage that “You get what you pay for” apparently doesn’t apply.
Their standing among Republicans remains unclear since their son Ali lost his latest campaign and Seeme Hasan lashed out bitterly.
She was “shocked at the racism that was displayed at the Republican convention,” which “turned out to be more anti-race and anti- Muslim” than anti-tax, a family member wrote me in May.
For now, the family is hunkered down, apparently less concerned with Republicanism and water issues than, as Dougherty told me, “putting the best light” on their reputation.
“This is bad light, not good,” he said, displeased with my questions about his clients’ motives. “I have no interest in cooperating with this story.”
Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or greene@denverpost.com.
