Scott on Liz: ‘she can’t hide’ [Boston Herald]

Sept. 22--U.S. Sen. Scott Brown said Elizabeth Warren's refusal to answer questions about her lucrative work defending an insurance giant against asbestos victims will not stand -- and vows to hammer her about it in their next debate.

The non-response from Warren, who touts herself as a consumer champion, in a Thursday debate has dominated the buzz after the clash.

But Brown said he will go back at her when they meet Oct. 1 for a televised debate sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Boston Herald.

"I'm looking forward to our debate and cutting through the sound bites and the commercials to have her explain who she is and what she is," Brown said in an interview.

"She can't hide behind commercials any more. She's got to answer the questions."

"What I find really disturbing is she's getting paid quite a bit more than the victims," Brown said, pointing to records that show Warren earned $212,000 defending Travelers Insurance, nearly 40 times the average payout to victims.

"She's not who she says she is," he added. "It's an issue where she says she's fighting for the little person and instead she's working on behalf of corporations."

The Herald first reported in July 2011 that Warren played a key role in defending Travelers against future lawsuits from asbestos victims in a complex case that went before the Supreme Court in 2008.

Warren, in Roslindale yesterday at a rally to pick up Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's endorsement, ducked a question about the asbestos suit. "I worked on trusts," Warren snapped, refusing to elaborate further when pressed.

Her campaign later provided a statement from David M. McMorris, who represented asbestos victims in the Travelers lawsuit.

"Elizabeth Warren fought to preserve the ability of current and future asbestos victims to obtain compensation for their injuries -- and for Senator Brown to say otherwise is flat out wrong," he said.

The Cambridge Democrat argued in court briefings that Travelers, the insurers of the Johns Manville Corp. asbestos company, should be protected from future suits by creating a $500 million trust.

She previously told the Herald her arguments advocated for victims because the trust was created to ensure the maximum number of victims got paid. Otherwise, the companies would go bankrupt and be unable to pay those who later showed signs of asbestos poisoning.

A subsequent court ruling absolved Travelers from paying out the $500 million settlement, leaving Manville holding the bag. Asbestos victims have received an average $5,555, according to the Manville Trust's 2012 report.

Thomas Whalen, a Boston University politics professor, said the issue could resonate with voters because Warren's role undercuts her image as a defender of the middle class.

"If she's portrayed herself as an advocate for consumers and she actually worked for big corporate interest," Whalen said, "that destroys her whole message."

Richard Weir contributed to this report.

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