NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, April 8, 2005

Story Continues Below

  The memo, which originated in Martinez's office, says the fight going on then over removing Schiavo's feeding tube was a political issue and a tough one for Democrats.

The memo was reportedly circulated among Senate Republicans while legislation was being considered to place the Schiavo case under the jurisdiction of federal courts.

Bush insists the motivation behind his actions and those of others in the Schiavo case had nothing to do with politics.

"I knew that going in that sometime you've got to take a stand based on conviction and based on important things that go beyond politics," said Gov. Bush. "So for someone to write a memo about the political implications or taking advantage of it for political purposes, a, they weren't really good at politics. Their lack of understanding of politics is striking. and b, I don't think that was Mel Martinez's motivation to get involved and it certainly wasn't mine."

Martinez says he found out Wednesday that the memo had been written by an aide in his office. He adds that he has accepted the resignation of the staffer but would not disclose the person's identity.

The Washington Post says it's the senator's legal counsel, Brian Darling. The Washington Times is reporting that only one senator has acknowledged seeing the memo.

© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Editor's note: