A source said the reference probably was to Alabama businessman and University of Alabama Board of Trustees member Sidney L. McDonald. But a second source says the reference probably was to Mobile lawyer Matthew C. McDonald.
Several published sources have connected Matthew McDonald to Rove, so it appears Matthew is the "mystery McDonald," not Sid.
Source No. 2 says Matthew McDonald might be related to Sid McDonald, possibly a nephew. And like Sid, Matthew has solid ties to the University of Alabama. He earned his law degree there and served on the editorial board for the Alabama Law Review.
Matthew McDonald perhaps is best known for his role in the tort-reform movement. He is held in high regard by the Foundation for Fair Civil Justice, which deemed him a "legal reform champion" and stated:
(Matt) has been especially active in the southeastern United States, both as general counsel of the Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee, and as the widely recognized principal proponent of lawsuit reform laws passed in 1987 and 1999 in a region notorious for massive damage awards.
Matt also worked closely on the successful Alabama Supreme Court races from 1994 through 2002 that saw the election of fair and balanced justices to that court.
That last paragraph says a lot about McDonald's connections to Rove. Those connections were made clear in a 2007 New York Times article:
An associate of Mr. Rove's in the state, Matthew C. McDonald, a Mobile lawyer, said Mr. Rove had maintained at least a passing interest in Alabama affairs. The interest dated back to his pivotal role as a political consultant here in the 1990s, when he helped shift the state's supreme court to the Republicans. Mr. Rove opened an office in Montgomery, and would fly in and out regularly.
Our earlier post was off base about Rove's testimony and its possible connections to the University of Alabama. This latest information perhaps says something important about Rove's mindset during his testimony.
Rove appears to have long-standing ties to Matthew McDonald, but "Bush's Brain" could not recall his Alabama colleague's first name, or whether he lived in Mobile or Birmingham? Does that say something about Rove's level of candor throughout his Congressional testimony?
And here is the important point: Rove himself has identified Bill Canary, Kelley McCullough Robertson, and Matthew McDonald as three key contacts in Alabama. If a real investigation ensues, will it include an examination of the phone and e-mail communications of those three folks--along with others in Alabama who probably stayed in touch with Rove?
Do Canary, Robertson, and McDonald have information that will unlock the truth behind the Don Siegelman case--and the abuse of our Department of Justice during the Bush administration?
You may want to look at Alabama Lawyer Stan McDonald, brother in law of US Representative Robert Aderholt and his campaign manager. Stan would have ready access GOP PAC money.
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