Air America pays back the Gloria Wise loan. Without interest.

The WashTimes editorial "Al Franken, explain this one" contains the news that on Thursday AAR "wired" the $825,000 it "borrowed" back to the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club.

The editorial also provides a few more details on Al Franken's involvement, and whether he knew about loan well before he said he did (see "Did Franken know about AAR scandal in November 2004?" for my speculation.) However, the WashTimes doesn't offer proof that he knew, just speculation:

In a section titled "AAR Liabilities," the document notes "$875,000, claimed by the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club," of which $167,000 was transferred in late 2003 and another $708,000 was transferred in March 2004.

Mr. Franken's signature appears on a page stamped by State of New York Notary Public Wallis Northworth in which Mr. Northworth attests that Mr. Franken signed the document in his presence.

Claims that Mr. Franken was unaware of the particulars fly in the face of a clause in the document that states each signatory "has read this Agreement and understands its terms."

To be fair to Al Franken, we still have two options: either he knew and he lied, or he fibbed when he signed the Agreement.

The latter isn't an outright lie because, see, it's like this: the word "Agreement" may be taken to mean just one part of the overall Agreement, but, you know, it might not include, see, you know, the associated "AAR Liabilities" section.

It all hinges on how you define "Agreement."

Posted in StuartSmalley at September 11, 2005 05:24 PM

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