Are my eyes deceiving me or is that blood I see in the water? There’s very little question that Ted Olson lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he told them he was not involved with the Arkansas Project — the multi-year, scandal-hunting operation funded by Scaife-controlled foundations, and run through the American Spectator magazine.
(One side note here: the Spectator is now under new management (effectively, at least). And it’s my understanding that it’s cleaned up its act. I don’t mean they’ve changed their political stripes. Nor should they. But they’re now being run by folks who want to run the place the way an opinion magazine should be run — i.e., not as a propaganda chop-shop.)
Be that as it may, back to our story.
This story in today’s Washington Post, written by Tom Edsall, is the first sign this matter is really seeing the light of day.
There’s little doubt Olson was lying about his involvement with the Arkansas Project. I say this partly based on conversations with people close to the project. More importantly, though, there are just too many specific, well-documented, published reports of Olson’s involvement for him simply to be able to brush it off with a blanket denial.
This is one of those Washington Open Lies. Everyone knows it’s a lie. The question is simply whether or not he can be caught out.
And one other matter. I’m told GWB’s political strategist Karl Rove is on an under-the -radar trip around the country hunting up congressional candidates for 2002 and knocking the heads of those the White House would rather see not run. I called the White House for comment but they’re just dishing out endless ‘no comments.’
Has anyone seen Karl recently?
