Posted 5:43 PM by Scoobie Davis

This is Great: Another Scaife-paid Whore Bites the Dust!
Remember the "troopergate" nonscandal? If you don't, here's a refresher: In the 1990's, a paranoid nut job named Richard Mellon Scaife believed (and probably still beleives) the right-wing urban legend the Clinton Body Count, which is the belief that Bill Clinton and his Arkansas cronies were secretly doing away with anyone who got in their way; the crown jewel of the Clinton Body Count is the belief that Vince Foster died as a result of Bill and Hillary (Scaife called Foster's death "the Rosetta Stone of the Clinton administration"). Scaife happens to be the heir of a billion dollar fortune which he uses to fund various con men (such as Christopher Ruddy) to support his whacko conspiracy theories.

One of the things Scaife funded was Troopergate. Because Scaife had plenty of money, he was able to pay off all the main characters in this manufactured scandal. He paid Arkansas troopers who had been Bill Clinton's bodyguards to concoct wild stories about procuring women for Clinton (in fact, these troopers were using their positions as Clinton's bodyguards to get women for themselves). Scaife also paid the American Spectator to "report" these charges. Talk about being thorough.

When the Spectator story by David Brock was published, the American right had an orgasm. Rush was on vacation when the story broke, but then congressman Robert K. Dornan was the substitute host and applauded these liars (and smeared the one trooper who didn't lie). The AP and some other real journalists did some basic research and found that many of the actions the troopers alleged could not have possibly happened. Later, most of the troopers were forced to admit the payments and that they made up accusations when they were deposed in the Paula Jones case.

One trooper who didn't recant was Larry Patterson. He continued to milk the manufactured scandal for all it was worth. Ads for his lurid tapes with tales of Clinton misdeeds appeared in Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal throughout the 1990's (Quick note: defund the right by getting a free three-month subscription to Falwell's rag). You might also remember Patterson's name being brought up after Trent Lott got in hot water over his comments about Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat presidential run (Aside: the latest I head about Strom were that his current Hell duties involve shining Idi Amin's shoes). Lott ass-kisser Sean Hannity (click here for an example) and other wing-nuts accused Bill Clinton of being a closet racist based on some of Patterson's tall tales.

Well, I am happy to report that Patterson's chickens have come home to roost. The cosmic foot of karma is firmly entrenched in Patterson's poopchute. Patterson admitted to lying to an FBI agent, a crime for which he can receive up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Patterson helped to put this country through a huge ordeal. Let's hope he gets the maximum sentence.

Note: Thanks to the American Politics Journal for this link.