Betsey Wright, chief of staff to Bill Clinton when he was Arkansas governor and deputy chief of his 1992 presidential campaign, has been accused of trying to smuggle 48 tattoo needles in a Doritos bag into a death row prison.
An Arkansas court issued a warrant for Wright’s arrest yesterday. She faces 51 felony counts of attempting to bring prohibited items into a prison. In addition to the needles, officers found a knife and box cutter, plus tweezers and another needle hidden inside a pen, among Wright’s things on a May 22 visit to the prison in Grady, Ark.
Wright, an advocate for prisoners, will turn herself in next week, her lawyer said.
According to court documents, Wright said she found the Doritos bag at the bottom of a vending machine at the prison and thought she was getting a free bag of chips.
“I guess you don’t get nothing free,” she reportedly told officers.
Wright coined the famous “bimbo eruption” phrase when dismissing accusations of Clinton’s alleged extramarital affairs. She is widely believed to be the inspiration for the Libby Holden character, played by Kathy Bates, in the movie Primary Colors.