November 27, 2010; Source: Politico | You just can’t make this stuff up! Remember Gary Aldrich, the former FBI agent who attempted to expose sexual escapades in the Clinton White House? Poor Aldrich, who had worked in the White House handling background checks of staff people, retired from the FBI and in high dudgeon penned Unlimited Access: An F.B.I. Agent Inside the Clinton White House purportedly exposing sexual hijinks among President Clinton and his staff. Unfortunately for Aldrich, he had to admit that he made up parts of the book, such as Clinton shaking his Secret Service detail to sneak off to the Marriott for sexual trysts. We think it might have been harder for Bill to sneak in and out of the Marriott unnoticed than to ditch the Secret Service. In any case, Aldrich admitted his fabrications (he called them “hypothetical” scenarios) and lost what shreds of credibility he might have had. So what does a discredited fabricator do? He forms a nonprofit, of course, in Aldrich’s case, the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, with a mission of protecting whistleblowers (on the organization’s 990, the mission is to “promote citizens (sic) right to speak out and correct corruptions”). Its whistleblower activity seems to have been little more than two newspaper advertisements (one reminding Congress about freedom of speech [PDF] and the other encouraging Congressional pages and interns to blow the whistle [PDF]). Most of the organization’s website is an endorsement of conservative politics. But the Center has been raising less money every year for some time now and operating at a regular deficit. What to do? Aldrich’s organization latched onto the Tea Party movement, creating a “Tea Party Corner” part of the website. Politico now reports that Aldrich has been negotiating to take over Liberty Center, the nonprofit established by Ginny Thomas, spouse of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Ginny’s organization has been sinking since its launch, particularly recently with Ginny’s message left on Anita Hill’s answering machine asking her to retract her now ancient charges against Thomas and apologize. Aldrich has also started showing up at Tea Party events and apparently is angling to land a board position with the Tea Party Patriots. Aldrich’s book was obsessed with sex, his (and others’) countercharges against Anita Hill have been proven as lies, and the Tea Party is seen as Aldrich’s nonprofit lifeline to the future.—Rick Cohen
About The Author
Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.
