Doc's DIS-patch
Doc's DIS-patch
…and They Didn't Even Have to Sue For It!
The Subpoena King Gets Carthage Foundation Windfall
THURSDAY, June 11th 1998 --- New York (APJP) -- So just who is this Larry Klayman, and why does right-wing billionaire Dick Scaife like him enough to give the "watchdog" spin machine he chairs over half a million bucks?
Read on, true believer…
Until about four years ago, Larry Klayman was a trade lawyer with a litigious bent -- Klayman was reportedly described by an ex-colleague as the type of person who'd "sue you for criticizing his tie."
He started making whoopee within conservative circles in 1994, when he founded Judicial Watch.
"Judicial Watch" -- no, that doesn't mean watching the judiciary. Perhaps they call it that because Klayman and his vigilant staff watch for innovative ways to exploit the judicial system through the use of politically motivated lawsuits and subpoenas against people and organizations -- at least the ones that don't match with what seems their narrow, anti-Clinton world view.
He became involved early on in Filegate by representing Republicans who alleged that the White House had illegally obtained their FBI files, and was even behind the effort to "expose" Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon as the man who revealed to The New Yorker that Linda Tripp lied on her application for a security clearance about her arrest record. We're wondering why Judicial watch didn't sue The New Yorker's original source for the story -- Linda's ex-stepmother! All the Pentagoin did was confirm what the former stepmom said!
At first, about the only attention he and Judicial Watch could draw was from right-wing blab radio and ragazines like The American Spectator with claims of some sort of vast government conspiracies and coverups -- first, over claims that President and Mrs. Clinton were somehow involved in the "murder" of Vincent Foster, then -- in a direct-mail campaign last year -- spinning tales that the death of the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown may have been caused by a gunshot wound to the head because he might have been "ready to spill the beans."
From the get-go, Klayman's strategy was pretty simple -- issue subpoenas and file lawsuits to generate a buzz, get word out to ultra-conservatives, get invited for interviews on Rush Limbaugh, The 700 Club and ex-convict G. Gordon Liddy's radio show, and recieve a windfall of contributions as a result of the partisan media exposure, which fund more subpoenas and lawsuits, which generate more exposure, and so on.
Klayman became a master of self-sustaining growth, all the while keeping the sources of Judicial Watch's income quiet. Reporters who have asked him will tell you he gets a tad testy when pressed on that
issue.
Within a couple years he had cemented his hard-right bona fides. He'd frequently bring along a taped copy of his latest "deposition" -- selectively edited to put the worst possible spin on the issue at hand.
But for the last few months, Klayman has become a ubiquitous guest on major network news shows, including Meet the Press, MSNBC, CNN and CNBC's Rivera Live. Geraldo himself said about Klayman that "he may be a legal wild man intent on wallpapering the nation with subpoenas, but I must say he sounds shockingly reasonable on the air."
Even we at American Politics Journal were surprised at the frequency with which Klayman would turn up -- like a bad penny with Ken Starr's face struck on the front.
Not too long ago, we got wind that Judicial Watch had been the recipient of Scaife largesse sometime late last year -- a fact which would account for the sudden upsurge in Klayman sightings in the "legit" media.
On May 30th, The Washington Post confirmed the story in part:
Richard Mellon Scaife, the Pittsburgh billionaire whose "It's a minority of our support and we're very proud to
receive it," Judicial Watch founder and president Larry
Klayman said yesterday before refusing further comment.
In a recent interview, Klayman would not confirm the
Scaife grant and deflected financing questions by saying,
"Basta!… that means 'stop it' in Italian."
Here's our own "conspiracy" scenario: Scaife has been more than generous with Clinton agonistes for six years. He financed The American Spectator's discredited Arkansas Project through a number of his tax-exempt foundations. Scaife withdrew his support from American Spectator, allegedly because the magazine ran a book review criticizing conspiracy "journalist" Chris Ruddy's tome promoting Scaife's pet conspiracy theory about Vince Foster's "murder."
We think it may be because Scaife realized that the misdeeds involving the Arkansas Project could jeopardize his tax-exempt status months before his "split" with the Spectator, so at the proper time he found an opportunity to "distance" himself from the magazine. Instead, the ploy backfired, drawing attention to both Scaife's foundations and the magazine's own tax-exempt foundation.
But we digress, if only partially.
Scaife knew he would need a new outlet to promote his pet conspiracy theories. His foundations had already given support to Judicial Watch, so why not step up the funding -- and the pressure on the Clintons? After all, Klayman might be able to use his subpoena power and deposition tapes to get Clinton aides and allies to "talk."
So the Carthage Foundation gives Judicial Watch more than half a million.
The scenario makes sense to us.
It's a real shame that Klayman or his accountants forgot to include this generous bequest on the requisite IRS paperwork -- or did they?
Hmmm… well, if it is the case, then it might be a good idea for Klayman to submit amended documents to the IRS and avoid the possibility of a very ugly audit and further embarrassment.
On the other hand, he could always turn around and sue.
- Dave "Doctor" Gonzo
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