Westmoreland On Oxedine Call: “It smells funny”
The political chess game is starting to take shape in Georgia. An interesting article concerning a phone conversation between Georgia State Insurance Commissioner John Oxedine, and US Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last night stating that Westmoreland said “it smells funny”
An excerpt from the AJC article appears below:
By Cameron McWhirter and Jim Galloway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said Monday that he believes Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine used an investigation into a failed insurance company in an attempt to pressure him to take a low profile in the governor’s race.
Westmoreland said Oxendine, a Republican candidate for governor, called him about an investigation into Southeastern U.S. Insurance, where Westmoreland served on an advisory board in 2003 and 2004. He said Oxendine told him that his name was found in company documents.
Westmoreland said Oxendine never said anything explicit, but the congressman said he felt a message was being sent. He said Oxendine said to him repeatedly that he would try to keep his name from becoming public as a favor.
Oxendine denied trying to pressure Westmoreland. He said politics had nothing to do with the call.
“Normally I would have had a staff person call him,” Oxendine said. “But since the guy is a sitting congressman, I thought it would be a little demeaning to have a staff person call him.”
Westmoreland is supporting Rep. Nathan Deal for governor. He said the call felt like a “shakedown.”
“I think he thought he was going to worry me,” Westmoreland said. “It smells funny.”
Oxendine said Monday that investigators had found documents that included Westmoreland’s name.
At the time of the call, the investigation was a civil matter, but beginning in January, the Insurance Commission launched a criminal investigation.
The private tension between the two exploded publicly after Oxendine told a reporter that Westmoreland was part of the investigation. The reporter then contacted Westmoreland’s office.
Oxendine said the reporter asked him last week to confirm Westmoreland was on the advisory board. “We didn’t want to lie,” he said.
“If anyone is trying to Monday make politics out of this, it’s not me, it’s the congressman,” Oxendine said.
The showdown between two of the state’s leading conservative politicians stems from the dissolution and takeover of Southeastern U.S. Insurance, an Atlanta-based workmen’s compensation insurer headed by M. Clark Fain. The ex-CEO had close ties to state Republicans and was a major contributor to several GOP candidates, including Westmoreland and Oxendine.
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