(2005-04-07) — An aide to Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who resigned yesterday after confessing to writing a controversial talking-points memo about Terri Schiavo, admitted that he was also the inaccurate Iraqi informant the CIA called ‘Curveball.’
Brian H. Darling, 39, a former lobbyist for the Alexander Strategy Group, revealed that he authored the unsigned memo circulated in the Senate which called the Schiavo situation “a great political issue” and noted that the “pro-life base” would be excited that the Senate was debating it.
Mr. Darling added that, during an overseas trip before the Iraq war, he told a friend in a German intelligence service that Saddam Hussein kept a wine cellar full of anthrax and botulinum toxins and was building a plutonium-enrichment centrifuge in his garage from parts bought at Radio Shack.
“Next thing you know, I get a visit from the CIA, then Colin Powell tells my story to the U.N.,” said Mr. Darling, who insisted that his Schiavo memo and work as ‘Curveball’ are part of “a lifelong mission to get people to stop relying on unnamed sources.”
Sen. Martinez said he unwittingly passed a copy of the Schiavo memo to Iowa Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin, but no one knows how the fake talking points got distributed to all Senators, ABC News, The Washington Post and the Associated Press.
