Mourdock, Gadhafi used same law firm

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana Democrats are suddenly making comparisons between Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock and the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It has nothing to do with political views, however. It's all about legal fees.

Mourdock, the state treasurer, spent over $2 million in an unsuccessful effort to fight the Chrysler bankruptcy. In the process he used taxpayer money to pay a New York law firm higher rates than the government of Libya did.

In 2009 Mourdock, in his role as state treasurer, tried to block the bankruptcy in the federal courts using a New York law firm known as White and Case.

"When this same law firm was giving better deals to governments like Libya," said state Democratic Chairman Dan Parker.

Documents obtained from the Justice Department show that White and Case was also doing work for the Libyan government led by Gadhafi then, and the Libyans received a discount.

Indiana Democrats have asked Mourdock to disclose what he spent on legal fees, and so far he hasn't produced the documents. Parker estimates the fees at $1,000 per hour.

"That's what we've gotten from an article written about the lawyer who was the chief lawyer involved in the case," he said.

What was Libya paying?

"$975," said Parker.

Mourdock, who appeared at GOP headquarters with Rep. Todd Rokita, isn't ducking the matter.

When asked if it was possible that he was paying more than Libya, Mourdock said: "Sure. I have no idea what the legal issue was that Libya was dealing with."

But he wants voters to focus on the big picture. He still believes that the government shouldn't pick winners and losers as it did in the Chrysler bankruptcy.

"I hope (Democrats) do talk about it," said Mourdock. "Hoosiers do not like the idea of bailouts."

In the meantime, Mourdock said the legal bills will be made public in the next couple of weeks.

Democrat Rep. Joe Donnelly, Mourdock’s opponent in the Senate race this fall, voted for the Chrysler bailout. He and his supporters believe that Chrysler could be the issue that propels him to election. Now they hope that a Libyan connection will help out.