Fred Thompson campaign staffer leaves, Thompson's political past scrutinized

August 29, 2007 Yesterday, Linda Rozett, left Republican Fred Thompson's "exploratory committee" after serving as communications director for the past several weeks. Referring to Rozett's departure, Thompson said, "I don't know what the story is".

Whereas, the day before reporter Jo Becker explored Thompson's past, noting Thompson's past as a Republican counsel "sometimes straddled a fine line between investigating his targets and defending them." Becker explained that while "he famously asked the question" that revealed the Watergate/Nixon taping system, "Mr. Thompson was also an active participant in the White House’s efforts to deflect blame from the president and discredit his accusers, plotting strategy with Mr. Nixon’s lawyers and leaking them information."

The Politico reported that the staff troubles in recent weeks and "fundraising — is likely to look a bit wan" caused "rumblings are raising questions more broadly among Republican insiders about whether Thompson has the discipline and zeal to wage a winning campaign."