His name is Don Diamond, and he is a real estate developer from Arizona. 

I know it's bad form to quote complete articles from elsewhere, but since this was originally posted in mid-April at Crooks and Liars I'll break protocol, though will still provide a link

It goes well beyond the Keating Five

By: Steve Benen on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 AM - PDT

When considering John McCain’s history of unethical behavior, the list usually starts (and ends) with the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s, for which McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for having shown, at a minimum, poor judgment. In the aftermath, McCain helped improve his public image, and bury the scandal, by becoming an advocate of campaign-finance reform.

But the notion that McCain cleaned up his act may not be entirely true. Take, for example, Donald Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer and generous McCain contributor, who wanted some coastal land in California freed up by an Army base closing.

When Mr. Diamond wanted to buy land at the base, Fort Ord, Mr. McCain assigned an aide who set up a meeting at the Pentagon and later stepped in again to help speed up the sale, according to people involved and a deposition Mr. Diamond gave for a related lawsuit. When he appealed to a nearby city for the right to develop other property at the former base, Mr. Diamond submitted Mr. McCain’s endorsement as “a close personal friend.”

Writing to officials in the city, Seaside, Calif., the senator said, “You will find him as honorable and committed as I have.”

Courting local officials and potential partners, Mr. Diamond’s team promised that he could “help get through some of the red tape in dealing with the Department of the Army” because Mr. Diamond “has been very active with Senator McCain,” a partner said in a deposition.

For Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican who has staked two presidential campaigns on pledges to avoid even the appearance of dispensing an official favor for a donor, Mr. Diamond is the kind of friend who can pose a test.

Ya think? The closer one looks at this, the worse it appears.

In California, the McCain aide’s assistance with the Army helped Mr. Diamond complete a purchase in 1999 that he soon turned over for a $20 million profit. And Mr. McCain’s letter of recommendation reinforced Mr. Diamond’s selling point about his McCain connections as he pursued — and won in 2005 — a potentially much more lucrative deal to develop a resort hotel and luxury housing.

In Arizona, Mr. McCain has helped Mr. Diamond with matters as small as forwarding a complaint in a regulatory skirmish over the endangered pygmy owl, and as large as introducing legislation remapping public lands. In 1991 and 1994, Mr. McCain sponsored two laws sought by Mr. Diamond that resulted in providing him millions of dollars and thousands of acres in exchange for adding some of his properties to national parks. The Arizona senator co-sponsored a third similar bill now before the Senate. […]

For the California projects, the campaign said the McCain aide arranged the introduction to an Army official for Mr. Diamond’s team as “a constituent matter.”

Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?

McCain helped a wealthy and generous donor buy land from the Army — complete with special water rights — for a quarter of a million dollars, which McCain’s buddy then sold two years later for $20 million. There’s a term for this — it’s called “influence peddling,” and it’s exactly the kind of thing McCain swears he never gets involved with.

If the Rezko story was considered a big deal by campaign reporters, the Donald Diamond issue should be huge. Why the New York Times ran this the day of the Pennsylvania primary, when it’s likely to get lost in the shuffle, is a mystery to me. If this same story ran on Thursday morning, it would have become the talk of the political world in a hurry.

Another story from The Blotter at ABCNews.com -

Known for his avowed stance against favors for special interests, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced legislation sought by a major campaign donor, the New York Times reports this morning.

McCain also wrote a personal letter of introduction for the donor, Arizona developer Don Diamond, which Diamond used to win business, according to the paper.  McCain's office also arranged for Diamond, who has developed land once belonging to the military, to meet an Army official, the Times said, helping him close a deal which cleared him a $20 million profit.

The McCain presidential campaign told the paper the candidate "had done nothing for Mr. Diamond that he would not do for any other Arizona citizen." The legislation he introduced which benefited Diamond had broad support from local governments, it said.

It called the introduction to the Army official a "constituent matter," and said the letter was "a character reference," noting that other lawmakers had written similar letters for Diamond.

Diamond, who has reportedly raised over $250,000 for McCain's White House bid, defended his candidate to the Times. "I think that is what Congress people are supposed to do for constituents. . . When you have a big, significant businessman like myself, why wouldn't you want to help move things along?"

Noting that McCain sometimes expressed reservations about helping Arizona businessmen, Diamond told the Times he encouraged the senator to "loosen up."

The Times notes Diamond and his family has given over $55,000 to McCain's various campaigns, and over $600,000 to other candidates -- and expects a return on that. "I want my money back, for Christ's sake," the paper quoted Diamond as saying. "Do you know how many cocktail parties I have to go to?"

I especially want to point out the last quote in this piece-

The Times notes Diamond and his family has given over $55,000 to McCain's various campaigns, and over $600,000 to other candidates -- and expects a return on that. "I want my money back, for Christ's sake," the paper quoted Diamond as saying. "Do you know how many cocktail parties I have to go to?"

(crosses fingers that formatting gremlins don't eat up this blog)

IN the Saddleback Forum McCain was asked to name three wisest people he'd depend on for advice should he become President.  He names General Petraus, Meg Whitman and Rep. John Lewis. 

Now to put this in proper perspective, this was one of the two questions both candidates were told of before hand so they could prepare their answer according to Rick Warren press releases.  

Now why is this interesting ?  Well this is news to John Lewis.  According to a Mother Jones Blog (Available in Full HERE) :

But even though McCain has now repeatedly cited Lewis as a role model and potential adviser, McCain has not established a relationship with the Georgia Democrat in the 22 years they have served in Congress together. At the time of McCain's Selma speech, a Lewis associate told my colleague David Corn that McCain has never been close to Lewis. Lewis was not told about McCain's speech in Selma in advance, nor was he invited to attend.

In response to McCain's latest invocation of his name, Rep. Lewis said in a statement requested by Mother Jones, "I cannot stop one human being, even a presidential candidate, from admiring the courage and sacrifice of peaceful protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge or making comments about it." But, he added, "Sen. McCain and I are colleagues in the US Congress, not confidantes. He does not consult me. And I do not consult him."

Why did McCain name Rep. Lewis?  Somebody he has never consulted before and someone who he has, at best, a professional  relationship with? 

Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix, who heard the story with his mother.

"We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said.

His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter.

The Portalski family is accustomed to hearing Cindy McCain described as Hensley's only child.

She's been described that way by news organizations from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Newsweek and ABC.

McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."

McCain's father was also a businessman — and twice a father.

For full story click HERE

Admittedly we don't know if this side of the family is the proverbial black sheep side, however when you have $100M fortune and seven houses while your half-sister is living "modestly" at best something is wrong with this picture.

For the record Cindy also has a half-sister from her Mother as well. 

Interesthing that Cindy's father was a bomber pilot in WW2 and was injured and sent to Virginia for treatment and while there and still married to his first wife, met Cindy's mother and married her in 1945.  Cindy's step-sister was two years old at the time her father left. 

What does all this mean?  Largely nothing. There could be a lot more to this story. 

Warren was interviewed on CNN and was asked specifically about the "cone of silence" and initally laughed it off, but when further pushed on the issue said there wasn't any and that John McCain wasn't even in the building for the first half of Obama's questioning. 

The "cone of silence" it turns out was just McCain's word he wouldn't listen, and Pastor Rick took him at his word. 

Why make a big deal about mentioning a "cone of silence" if there wasn't one, other than one mans word.  McCain has flat out lied so much this campaign season, his word is really worthless.