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May 30, 2006

Who Has the Harry Reid Bribe Video?

By Neil the Ethical Werewolf

A piece of Harry Reid lore that has been mentioned previously on this blog:

In July of 1978, a man named Jack Gordon, who was later married to LaToya Jackson, offered Reid twelve thousand dollars to approve two new, carnival-like gaming devices for casino use. Reid reported the attempted bribe to the F.B.I. and arranged a meeting with Gordon in his office. By agreement, F.B.I. agents burst in to arrest Gordon at the point where Reid asked, “Is this the money?” Although he was taking part in a sting, Reid was unable to control his temper; the videotape shows him getting up from his chair and saying, “You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!” and attempting to choke Gordon, before startled agents pulled him off. “I was so angry with him for thinking he could bribe me,” Reid said, explaining his theatrical outburst. Gordon was convicted in federal court in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison.

So I'm wondering: does anybody anywhere have a copy of the videotape?  Can we YouTube it, or send a copy to John Amato?  When we're trying to drive the 'culture of corruption' theme home against the Republicans, an exciting visual representation of the incorruptibility of our top leader would be nice to have. 

OT: I'm in Philly and I may be Drinking Liberally tomorrow at Tangier.  Will any of you readers be there?  Is it generally a fun place to be? 

May 30, 2006 | Permalink

Comments

If it was submitted as evidence it should be on the public record somewhere ...

Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | May 30, 2006 2:52:34 AM

Ezra, how naive can you be? He KNEW THE CAMERA WAS THERE, so he naturally played up the theatrics as much as he could, later retconning it to his inability to control his temper over the fact that there might be bribes corrupting the democratic system.

Now, Reid does seem not-corrupt (or, at least, as not-corrupt as any politician who relies on campaign contributors can be). But surely he wasn't that naive, after having been the gaming commisioner in NEVADA for a year. It's no surprise that the New Yorker uncritically repeated his spin of the facts, but I don't think the rest of us should take it too seriously....

Posted by: American Hawk | May 30, 2006 3:30:53 AM

1. I, not Ezra, wrote this.

2. Of course he knew the camera was there. But his reaction to a possible bribe was to call the cops and arrange a sting. Pretty far from a lot of other people in Congress.

3. It sounds like great TV and as a Democrat, I want people seeing it.

Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | May 30, 2006 3:35:02 AM

This would be the best campaign ad, EVER.

"The GOP has thier reaction to corruption:

'Tom DeLay has been instermental in the Republican adgenda, and we stand behind him 100%'

...and the Democrats have thiers:

'YOU SON OF A *****! YOU TRIED TO BRIBE ME!'

Which one do you want in Congress?"

Posted by: Ross Taben | May 30, 2006 4:23:34 AM

Hawk: that's some weak sauce. If you want this story to be anything but great, you need better responces. As it stands, every time I read this one, it puts a smile on my face for hours.

Posted by: NBarnes | May 30, 2006 4:31:23 AM

I've got to say, if the Dems did use this, I can guarantee that the Republicans would successfully spin it as "Reid is violent and out of control!" It would be the Dean Scream all over again.

Posted by: Ginger Yellow | May 30, 2006 5:55:45 AM

Ezra, how naive can you be? He KNEW THE CAMERA WAS THERE, so he naturally played up the theatrics as much as he could

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Posted by: August J. Pollak | May 30, 2006 7:10:35 AM

God, no, not american chickenhawk polluting this board too. Can't we ban him like now? He never contributes a thing, just regurgitates talking points. He has destroyed every board he has ever visited.

Posted by: gus | May 30, 2006 7:10:49 AM

Sadly, this sort of puts an end to the incorruptible meme. Sure, what he did wasn't illegal, but I'll bet it will be in the next few hours before the GOP spinsters start comparing him to Duke Cunningham.

Posted by: Jon Parker | May 30, 2006 7:50:39 AM

So I lied. It was already happening.

Posted by: Jon Parker | May 30, 2006 7:54:59 AM

"God, no, not american chickenhawk polluting this board too. Can't we ban him like now? "

Interesting that your first reactions are
A. Name calling
B. A call for, like, censorship.

Posted by: zomby woof | May 30, 2006 8:26:14 AM

Interesting that your first reactions are
A. Name calling
B. A call for, like, censorship.

You mean because at RedState, the banning would just have magically happened in the background, with no admission, no discussion, and no likelihood of being protested by the Keyboarders who populate that board? Good point.

Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | May 30, 2006 8:33:42 AM

TPM pretty much smacks down the Reid smear. Here is the link --

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000772.php

Posted by: KP | May 30, 2006 9:13:26 AM

"You mean because at RedState, the banning would just have magically happened in the background,"

Or the same at dKos...

-----

If gus wants to not be bothered with dissenting opinions, there are many fine gated communities in the blogosphere where you can find your own personal echo chamber.

Posted by: Petey | May 30, 2006 9:43:40 AM

TPM pretty much smacks down the Reid smear. Posted by: KP

That's great but it doesn't put the horse back in the barn. This crap will continue floating around forever, and believe me Sean Hannity will be ranting about it this afternoon.

Posted by: Jon Parker | May 30, 2006 10:15:29 AM

I'm not in philly anymore, but Tangiers is pretty solid. Maybe my 6th or 7th favorite bar in philadelphia.

Posted by: Jedmunds | May 30, 2006 3:30:29 PM

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