So, a guy named Dr. Thomas Bennett recently lost his state contract over a “problematic past”…
Bennett is the ex-husband of a former top staffer to US Senator-turned ambassador Max Baucus (D-MT). That former staffer is, of course, now married to Baucus. Yet, a lengthy Lee Newspapers article about Dr. Bennett losing his contract included no mention of the name Max Baucus.
Here’s an excerpt: State discontinues contract with Billings pathologist as medical examiner’s office reorganizes
A Billings forensic pathologist with a problematic record will no longer conduct autopsies for county coroners as an associate medical examiner, according to the Montana Attorney General’s Office.
Dr. Thomas Bennett has worked as associate medical examiner in Montana since 1998, and appears to be a factor in the resignations of the state’s chief medical examiners.
Bennett had left Iowa as chief medical examiner after numerous authorities called into question his conclusions that infant deaths were caused by shaken baby syndrome.
The former medical examiner had requested Bennett refrain from doing autopsies on children more than a decade ago, when Bennett first began working in Montana, records show.
While The Billings Gazette didn’t mention the name Max Baucus anywhere inside of this story, they did ask why Bennett never lost his contract during three previous Democratic attorneys general in Montana (including now-Governor Steve Bullock).
I wonder…could it have anything to do with the below laundry list of campaign donations to Democratic office seekers and office holders from a physician in Billings named Thomas Bennett? (And this is just the list of federal campaign donations according to OpenSecrets.org. FYI, I’ve never met him, but have heard he’s a nice guy)
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59103 |
PHYSICIAN | 9/30/13 | $1,000 | Lewis, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 8/19/05 | $500 | Morrison, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 5/19/06 | $500 | Morrison, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 10/24/05 | $250 | Morrison, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59103 |
PHYSICIAN | 3/26/14 | $600 | Lewis, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 4/17/01 | $250 | Baucus, Max (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59103 |
PHYSICIAN | 6/5/14 | $1,000 | Lewis, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS BILLINGS, MT 59103 |
PHYSICIAN | 10/20/13 | $1,000 | Lewis, John (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 10/10/06 | $1,000 | Tester, Jon (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 6/4/02 | $450 | Baucus, Max (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 3/31/02 | $300 | Baucus, Max (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 11/30/11 | $500 | Tester, Jon (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 6/30/02 | $200 | Baucus, Max (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST | 5/19/05 | $500 | Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
PHYSICIAN | 1/24/06 | $500 | Tester, Jon (D) |
| BENNETT, THOMAS L BILLINGS, MT 59106 |
Physician | 10/8/14 | $600 | Lewis, John (D) |
Comments
Mark K.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:51 AM
Nice work Aaron! Once again the Gazette proves they don’t want to maintain readership thru solid, truthful, and factual reporting. Cancel your subscriptions please!!! We have other papers that will fill the void.
Charles Feney
Tuesday, July 14, 2015 7:06 PM
I remember it well.
___________________
A Position for her Submission…
There was an old Senator named Baucus,
Whose late midlife behavior got raucous.
All the girls on his staff
Would whisper and laugh,
When he’d invite them to bed for a caucus.
Old Max was the last to admit
That at romance he wasn’t a hit.
Though his son’s name is Zeno,
He’d be dating Janet Reno,
If he relied on his charm and his wit.
Finally Max saw what blind men can see:
The fact that old guys don’t get it for free.
If you want to impress her
So that you can undress her
Just make her the U.S. Attorney!
At last Max got a sucker to bite,
A lady lawyer, not particularly bright.
He kept her lust ablaze,
With a fourteen thousand dollar raise,
To insure that their coupling stayed tight.
Ol’ Max had finally learned to philander!
But he couldn’t face his wife in all candor,
So he decided to outsource
The negotiation of his divorce
To the Jezebel with whom he chose to meander.
When the press learned about Max’s scheme,
They decided to play on his team,
So they kept the story quiet,
‘Til Max couldn’t deny it,
Then the hypocrites started to scream.
They pretended that they didn’t know
That Max left his wife for a (pro),
But they’d known for a year,
And soon Montana would hear,
They were shacked up in Max’s chateau!
So the next time you do something rash,
And you don’t want your dentures to gnash,
Remember – the Senator who gets lecherous
Causes the press to get treacherous,
So don’t pay with a job… just use cash!
_________________________________________
Charles Ulysses Feney