however, that excuse probably does not extend to any possible criminal actions he might've taken part in. sherlock google on dkos turns up a naughty nugget from roberts's past:
Channell had years of experience in raising funds for conservative political causes. As a result, he was asked by White House officials early in 1985 to help organize a "Nicaraguan Refugee Fund Dinner" to raise money for the contra cause. Channell became disenchanted with the way the dinner-planning had been conducted, and in April 1985 he approached White House political director Edward Rollins to offer his assistance in promoting President Reagan's contra policies.
He was referred to White House political aide John Roberts, who in turn directed him to Miller, a private public relations consultant who ran a firm known as International Business Communications (IBC).3 According to Channell, Roberts told him that Miller and his partner Frank Gomez "are the White House -- outside the White House."
...
In the spring of 1987 Channell and Miller each pleaded guilty to a felony: conspiracy to defraud the United States. Together they provided extensive information about their fundraising activities. The pleas were based on Channell and Miller's illegal use of a tax-exempt organization to raise funds for non-charitable items, including weapons and other lethal supplies for the contras.
matchmaker, matchmaker... roberts hooked these two aspiring contra-funders up with each other, and they went out to make beautiful felonies together. (congress had passed the boland amendment "to prohibit covert assistance for military operations in Nicaragua", so funding the contras in any capacity was at best quasi-legal and at worst damned illegal.) ¶
