Former American Spectator publisher: Olson is deceiving the Senate

Thu, 24 May 2001 18:43:00 +0000

Editor's note: At the core of Democrats' criticism of solicitor general nominee Ted Olson is his inconsistent responses to questions about his involvement in the Arkansas Project, the $2.4 million investigation into the life of Bill Clinton, funded by conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife and channeled through two nonprofit organizations run by the American Spectator magazine. Olson has adamantly asserted that he in no way played any part in managing the operation, and has claimed not to have heard about it until late in its life span, though he has been inconsistent in his answers about when he first learned of the project.

Now, on the day that Republicans are forcing a vote on Olson's confirmation, a friend and advisor to Ronald Burr, the deposed publisher of the American Spectator who once called for an internal "fraud audit" of the Arkansas Project, has written a letter faxed to Salon, reprinted below. According to previous reports in Salon, Olson was reported to have negotiated Burr's $350,000 severance package, which included "a provision that bars Burr from ever publicly discussing the circumstances surrounding his removal." Lemley says he played the role of "counselor and advisor to Ron during the events that led to his release by the American Spectator after thirty years of service." Lemley claims he learned from Burr that Olson knew of the Arkansas Project "if not in name then in its actions from the start, and Ted Olson led the charge to fire Ron Burr, the only executive at the American Spectator who had sought a forensic audit of the Arkansas Project."

Salon.com > Ralph J. Lemley

Former American Spectator publisher: Olson is deceiving the Senate