It looks like John Bolton's nomination will sail through today unless there's sufficient pressure to delay it.
Melody's produced a corroborating witness who was quoted in today's Dallas Morning News at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/041905dnintbolton.24a7a2ce.html. (For the life of me, I just can't figure out how to embed a link!)
She's also decided she's willing to talk to more media than she originally planned.
For background on this, please see here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/15/101542/050
Woman: Bolton bullied me
Foes hope e-mail from Dallas consultant sways U.N. ambassador vote
07:12 PM CDT on Monday, April 18, 2005
By ROBERT DODGE / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON - An e-mail by a Dallas public relations consultant alleging abusive behavior by John Bolton is being used by Democrat opponents to question his qualifications to be U.N. ambassador.
Melody Townsel, who manages Townsel Communications, said she was bullied by Mr. Bolton in a Moscow hotel for two weeks in 1994. She described her experiences to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in an e-mail circulated by ranking Democrat Joe Biden of New Jersey.
...
Ms. Townsel, who describes herself as a liberal Democrat, said the confrontation occurred while she was working on a public relations contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan. Ms. Townsel was working for a subcontractor, the public affairs and lobbying firm of Republican Charles Black.
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Mr. Black said he doubts Ms. Townsel because she did not raise the concern at the time. "She had an obligation to report anything like this, and she didn't," Mr. Black said.
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Ms. Townsel disputed Mr. Black, saying she spoke of Mr. Bolton's behavior during subsequent meetings about legal issues raised about the project. And she referred a reporter to former colleague Uno Ramat to confirm part of her story.
Mr. Ramat, who worked for Business International, said Mr. Bolton visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and made disparaging remarks about Ms. Townsel. "He announced to the whole staff that Melody was under investigation and she was being accused of various things, including stealing money," Mr. Ramat said.
Ms. Townsel, who worked with a group opposing President Bush's re-election, said she was reluctant to speak out but was persuaded to do so by friends.