Kerry blasts Sam Fox at hearing

WASHINGTON -Prominent Clayton businessman and Republican financier Sam Fox, accompanied by heavyweight backers, expected smooth sailing in the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday on his way to confirmation as ambassador to Belgium.

He didn't get it.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., broadsided Fox, criticizing his 2004 donation to the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group and questioning Fox's credentials for the job.

"You saw fit to put $50,000 on the line to continue the smear; my question to you is: Why?" Kerry said.

The swift boat group gained attention for running a well-funded campaign that, during Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, questioned the validity of Kerry's Vietnam War medals.

Fox, 77, said he couldn't recall who had asked for the contribution and counted it among thousands of contributions he makes yearly.

"When I'm asked, I just generally give," Fox said.

The majority of Fox's supporters, including Missouri Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond, a Republican, and Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, had left the hearing room by the time Kerry took the microphone.

Fox's wife, Marilyn, his five children and eight of his grandchildren remained to witness Kerry's 30-minute grilling of Fox about his political contributions and the intricacies of Belgian politics.

In his introduction, Bond called Fox a "good man, dedicated to his family and country." His charitable contributions to Washington University, the Boy Scouts and the Missouri arts community had benefitted the city of St. Louis, Bond said.

Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and former Missouri Sen. John Danforth joined Bond in praise of Fox. Danforth said that Fox's departure for Belgium would be "a huge loss for St. Louis."

Fox has donated more than $1 million to GOP candidates around the country since the late 1990s and chairs the national Republican Jewish Coalition. Several senators noted his rags-to-riches biography on his way to founding the Harbour Group, a holding company with diverse products.

Kerry prodded Fox about changing perceptions of the United States in Europe since President George W. Bush took office in 2001. Fox said he had no firsthand information other than what he'd read in newspapers.The committee is expected to vote in March on his confirmation, which is not thought to be in jeopardy.