A false charge of corruption is more than “political dynamite”; it is also “personal kryptonite.”

Your humble blogger speaks from personal experience.

There’s an easy formula followed to give rise to false rumors…and transmogrify those rumors into “fact.”

Here are the ” Five Easy Steps for a Smear”:

STEP 1) Entice a prominent national daily newspaper to run a story citing “anonymous sources” that claim an officeholder is the “target” of a Justice Dept. investigation.

What would prompt the paper to run such a story? Perhaps the “sources” have promised the reporters “access” on a future story if the reporters will write this story first; perhaps the reporters share the political outlook and goals of the “sources”; perhaps the reporters have a personal friendship with the “sources”; perhaps all of the above.

STEP 2) Watch the local press scramble to “advance” the story.

Beaten on the initial story, local editors beat on their reporters to find some new angle. Usually, it simply involves the response of the public official. Whether that response is good, bad, or indifferent, the architects of the smear understand that it will keep the public official on the defensive–and the maxim in politics is: ” if you are explaining, you are losing.”

STEP 3) Watch the opposing political party “officially” get in on the “fun.”

Now political opponents of the officeholder say “serious questions remain unanswered,” and that the officeholder’s responses are not what the public expects or deserves. While saying that in public, in private they goad sympathetic bloggers and reporters to keep the story alive.

STEP 4) Produce negative political ads to reinforce the rumors.

The frequency and ferocity of attack ads can amplify the message (and influence the voters) that the officeholder is “corrupt.”

STEP 5) After the damage is done, ignore the vindication.
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If the public official is defeated for re-election, give as little prominence as possible to reports of his vindication.

Other actions of consequence come as a result of the five steps listed above. For example, steps 1-3 usually induce what has been called a “feeding frenzy…” and you would be surprised what happens after that!

In my case, I firmly believe Justice Department lawyers started preliminary inquiries AFTER the stories appeared. In other words, DOJ attorneys read the papers like everyone else, and the false allegations appearing in the press and on the internet attracted their attention.

At any rate, I had to retain legal counsel in Washington , D.C. to communicate with the Justice Department and co-ordinate compliance with the DOJ’s requests for documents. Whatever remained in the campaign treasury went to cover those fees–and they did not cover them completely.

As a result, I still have outstanding legal bills that total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That’s why “The Freedom in Truth Trust” has been established. Its name comes from holy scripture (”You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”–John 8:32), and its acronym (FIT) is accurate, since this entire episode has given us fits!

The trust was set up by local legal counsel and is administered by a California accounting firm.

Because this is not a political campaign account, IRS gift rules govern personal contributions. Individuals can give a total of $12,000 (twelve thousand dollars) annually; married couples can contribute a total of $24,000 (twenty four thousand dollars).

Please don’t misunderstand–if you can only contribute twelve dollars–or even twenty-four–your help is greatly appreciated!

Checks can be issued to “The Freedom In Truth Trust,” and mailed to:

Thank you for your support and encouragement through the years, and for whatever help you can lend to retire this massive legal debt.