Larry Flynt's Bush Abortion Accusation: A History
On July 8, 2004, Salon's David Bowman had an interview with Larry Flynt about his new book, a memoir titled "Sex, Lies, And Politics: The Naked Truth." The following is an excerpt from that interview. --Jerry Politex, 07.08.04
David Bowman: The first thing in your book that everyone is going to jump on is your claim that young George W. Bush paid for his girlfriend's illegal abortion.
Larry Flynt: You can't stay with a story this long and not believe in it. In 2000, I got a call from a lawyer in Houston. He told me that his client, "Susan," could prove that George W. Bush arranged for his girlfriend to have an abortion back in the early 1970s. Her boyfriend at the time, "Clyde," was pals with Bush and set up the procedure. We checked up and found that indeed "Clyde" was responsible for keeping Bush out of trouble. Bush had knocked up a girl named "Rayette." We talked to the doctor that performed the abortion. We felt we really had a blockbuster story, but about two months before we were going to break the story, "Susan" disappeared. We finally found her. She was living in a half-million-dollar home in Corpus Christi, Texas. Before that she was living in a small apartment working for $13,000 a year as a cocktail waitress. I'm not saying Bush bought her off, but I'm confident that one or more of his cronies did. The only thing that interested me in this story is -- I'm pro-choice, but to have a guy who is running on a pro-life platform ... and this procedure was committed in 1971, two years before Roe vs. Wade, which would have made it a crime.
I went to two members of the national press (during the 2000 presidential campaign) and said, "Look. I don't have anyone out on the stump. You guys do. At least ask Bush the question." You know what? They refused to. One of them had the nerve to tell me that the election was too close. "We don't want to be the ones to tip it in any direction." I thought, that gives you a really great feeling about the press.
Flynt Charges Bush "Involved In" 1970's Abortion
In a half-hour show on CNN's Crossfire this evening, moderator Robert Novak waited until the very end of the show, which was devoted to filtering software on the internet, to say to magazine publisher Larry Flynt, "You said you wanted to talk about the election. Tell me what you wanted to say." Flynt answered, "For eight months we've been looking into George W. Bush's background. And we've found out in the early 1970s he was involved in an abortion in Texas, and I just think that it's sad that the mainstream media, who's aware of this story, won't ask him that question when they were able to ask him the drug question without any proof at all, and we've got all kinds of proof on this issue....You know, the guy admitted he was a drunk for 20 years, and if the abortion issue is true then that puts him lower on the morality scale than Bill Clinton." Novak replied at that point, "Mr. Flynt, you said if it's true and you have no proof of that. I gather you are a very strong..." Flynt, whose previous investigation of national-level politicians led to at least one resignation from Congress, loudly interrupted, "The hell we don't have proof!" The camera cut from Flynt in L.A. back to Bill Press and Robert Novak, sheepishly grinning in the studio. Novak said, "Larry Flynt, thank you very,very much for joining us." Press added, "You never know. Live television." Yes, you never know. --Politex, Friday Evening, 10/20/00
Transcribed in the CNN Chat room AFTER Flynt's appearance on the
program---
CNN - Mr. Flynt, I would like to know how you plan to protect yourself from a
law suit by claiming to have the goods on GWBush.
Flynt: Because we have them and the truth is an absolute defense.
CNN; When and where are you going to publish information about George W.
Bush?
Flynt: When I said that we had the proof, I am referring to knowing who the
girl was, knowing who the doctor was that pereformed the abortion, evidence
from girlfriends of hers at the time, who knew about the romance and the
subsequent abortion. The young lady does not want to go public, and without
her willingness, we don't feel that we're on solid enough legal ground to go
with the story, because should she say it never happened, then we've got a
potential libel suit. But we know we have enough evidence that we believe
completely. One of the things that interested us was that this abortion took
place before Roe Vs. Wade in 1970 [sic. 1973], which made it a crime at the time. I'd
just like the national media to ask him if abortion is okay for him and his
family, but not for the rest of America. We're not looking at it as a big
issue, we're looking at it as a situation of people not being told the truth.
I think the American people have a right to know everything there is to know
about someone running for President.
AFTERNATH:CNN's Crossfire transcript of Friday 20, 2000 included Larry Flynt's comments on internet pornography but not his Bush abortion charges, which have been removed from the CNN site. Meanwhile, a Bush watcher has reported that the video of the program included Flynt's charges about a Bush abortion were available on Saturday, but were later edited out. The entire video has since been removed from the site. There is still reference to the program on this page, and you can e-mail your Crossfire questions from this page. American Politics Journal reports that it has a copy of the original Crossfire video with Larry Flynt's charges that George W. Bush "was involved" in an early 70's abortion. --Politex, 10/23/00
CNN DELETES FLYNT ATTACK ON BUSH FROM CROSSFIRE TRANSCRIPT
Sunday evening a surprised Bush watcher reported that Larry Flynt's Friday evening Crossfire allegation that George W. Bush was "involved in" an early 1970's abortion and that he had proof of it was removed from the transcript posted on the CNN web site at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/20/cf.00.html. Here's how the relevant portion of the transcript now reads:
HUGHES: It is effective, but I -- it needs to be coupled with technology tools. And let me just say that the points that I'm making, I'm speaking as an individual commissioner. All right, so I just want to make that clear. But the commission did hear testimony from schools and libraries who had effectively used technologies with their acceptable use policies and that it did work well, Bill, so you'll have different viewpoints on that.
------------[THE DELETION OCCURS HERE]-----------
NOVAK: Sir, I gather you're a very strong Gore supporter. Is that correct?
FLYNT: I'll vote for the lesser of the two evils. I don't like either one of them.
PRESS: All Right, Larry Flynt, a man who speaks his word, but we remind you they are Larry Flynt's words and not ours. Larry Flynt, thank you very, very much for joining us. Donna Rice Hughes, good to have you here.
HUGHES: Thank you.
PRESS: You never know. Live television. Bob Novak and I will be back with our non-pornographic closing comments. Too bad. Coming up....
HERE'S THE DELETED EXCERPT, COPIED FROM THE CNN TRANSCRIPT FRIDAY EVENING. (This, of course, would be on the CNN video tape of the program, unless it's been deleted from there as well.):
HUGHES: It is effective, but I -- it needs to be coupled with technology tools. And let me just say that the points that I'm making, I'm speaking as an individual commissioner. All right, so I just want to make that clear. But the commission did hear testimony from schools and libraries who had effectively used technologies with their acceptable use policies and that it did work well, Bill, so you'll have different viewpoints on that.
------------[THE DELETION BEGINS HERE]-----------
NOVAK: Mr. Flynt, never let it be said that we censor any of our guests here on CROSSFIRE, and you said you wanted to talk about the election. Tell me what you wanted to say.
FLYNT: Well, during the impeachment debacle, we did an investigation which resulted in the resignation of Bob Livingston and others and we have continued this investigation and for eight months we've been looking into George W. Bush's background. And we've found out in the early 1970s he was involved in an abortion in Texas, and I just think that it's sad that the mainstream media, who's aware of this story, won't ask him that question when they were able to ask him the drug question without any proof at all, and we've got all kinds of proof on this issue.
NOVAK: Well, you're...
FLYNT: You know, the guy admitted he was a drunk for 20 years, and if the abortion issue is true then that puts him lower on the morality scale than Bill Clinton.
NOVAK: Mr. Flynt, you said if it's true and you have no proof of that. I gather you are a very strong...
FLYNT: The hell we don't have proof.
------------[THE DELETION ENDS HERE]-----------
NOVAK: Sir, I gather you're a very strong Gore supporter. Is that correct?
FLYNT: I'll vote for the lesser of the two evils. I don't like either one of them.
PRESS: All Right, Larry Flynt, a man who speaks his word, but we remind you they are Larry Flynt's words and not ours. Larry Flynt, thank you very, very much for joining us. Donna Rice Hughes, good to have you here.
HUGHES: Thank you.
PRESS: You never know. Live television. Bob Novak and I will be back with our non-pornographic closing comments. Too bad. Coming up....
See also..."Larry Flynt Drops Bombshell On Dubya". Transcript and commentary IN AMERICAN POLITICS JOURNAL.
If you'd like to ask CNN for an explanation, its feedback page is http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
excerpt from TV reporter Del Walters' L.A. interview with Larry Flynt for ABC Ch.7 in Washington, D.C which aired on Thursday, 10/19/00, one day previous to the Crossfire interview (see above).
Walters: "Are you currently seeking information or do you have information on him (G.W. Bush)?"
Flynt: "Yes we do. … It depresses me to see this nation get so excited about somebody like him. We know a lot about Bush, some may be coming out before the election, but I don't know."
Walters: "But people are gong to say, 'How do we really know you have the goods on George W. Bush and how do we know you're not just posturing for publicity."
Flynt: "Okay, first of all, when we nailed (Congressman) Livingston, he did an interview in the New York Times the next day and referred to me as a bottom feeder and they called me for a comment and I said, 'That's right, but look what I found when I got down there."...
Walters: "A lot of people are going to ask, 'Should sex have anything to do with the presidential election?"
Flynt: "Absolutely, because there's nothing more political than sex. … Sex is the most political thing in the world."...
Anchor: In response to Larry Flynt's allegations of information about George W. Bush, the Bush campaign told the I-Team, "Mr. Flynt is not a credible source on any issue and we'renot aware of these allegations."
Bush Attacks Messenger, Not Allegations
According to Drudge Report, Bush responded to Larry Flynt's charge that he was "involved in" an abortion in the 1970's by having a "senior Bush source" say, "CNN's standards have hit a new low, if that is even possible! It appears the liberal media is becoming desperate as Election Day nears." Neither Bush nor anyone on the campaign team, however, was reported as addressing the specifics of the Flynt charges.
The Bush camp had 24 hours at the very least to construct an answer to Flynt's charges of Bush sexual misbehavior, and the best they could come up with was to attack CNN for airing them. --Politex, 10/21/00
e-mail...TO ANDREW SULLIVAN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE NEW REPUBLIC
Mr. Sullivan, your recent defense of Drudge in TNR pages is difficult to sustain when he keeps distorting the news on a daily basis. For example,
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI OCT 20, 2000 21:42:04 ET XXXXX CNN AIRS ALLEGATION: BUSH INVOLVED IN ABORTION
All-news channel CNN on Friday aired allegations that Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush was involved in an abortion in the 1970's. "We've found out in the early 1970s Bush was involved in an abortion in Texas," HUSTLER publisher Larry Flynt reported on CNN. Flynt did not offer specifics. CNN stunned the jounalistic community by airing the claims without evidence. The Bush campaign immediately blasted the network. "CNN's standards have hit a new low, if that is even possible!" slammed one senior Bush source from Austin. "It appears the liberal media is becoming desperate as Election Day nears."
Now you and I both know that Flynt provided specifics in the CNN Chat room right after the show, and was perfectly willing to do so on camera. Drudge is quite able to report Chat room talk when it benefits his premise. Further, since Flynt has been interviewed in the media, both in D.C. and L.A. for weeks about what was coming, how could the journalistic "community" be "stunned"? Were you "stunned"? I sure wasn't.
We also both know that the Bush team chooses to attack the messenger rather than the charge in all such cases, just as it did so here. I hesitate to remind you that Gail Sheehy's profile of Bush and dyslexia was treated in exactly the same way some weeks ago. I know I can't get much agreement from you on that score, because in the Sheehy case your mag, not Drudge, was the media outlet that bought into the Bush stonewall. You remember the smear of Sheehy in your pages, don't you? You know, the story that was supposedly an attack on the VF Bush profile, but distorted Sheehy's material in one paragraph and spent the rest of a rather long article attacking her on other grounds.
I guess the next step will be to read Drudge defending you against the charge of shoddy journalism.
sincerely, jerry politex, Bush Watch, 10/21/00