CNN breaks Ron Paul story wide open: One comment in particular confirms that he wrote at least part of the Newsletters

by Eric Dondero

Ron Paul is suggesting that his explosive Newsletters from the 1980s and '90s were ghostwritten, and went out without his direct knowledge of the contents. As his personal aide during much of that period I can attest that yes, Paul is correct, much of the writings were ghostwritten. Mostly by Lew Rockwell (and his staff of Interns). But Paul himself had a major hand in the writings of the Newsletters, as well.

Political Veteran David Gergen commented in the CNN piece:

"These stories may be very old in Ron Paul's life, but they're very new to the American public and they deserve to be totally ventilated," said David Gergen, a CNN senior political analyst. "I must say I don't think there's an excuse in politics to have something go out under your name and say, 'Oh by the way, I didn't write that.'"

One Hour ago, from CNN:

In some excerpts, the reader may be led to believe the words are indeed from Paul, a resident of Lake Jackson, Texas. In the "Ron Paul Political Report" from October 1992, the writer describes carjacking as the "hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos."

The author then offers advice from others on how to avoid being carjacked, including "an ex-cop I know," and says, "I frankly don't know what to make of such advice, but even in my little town of Lake Jackson, Texas, I've urged everyone in my family to know how to use a gun in self defense. For the animals are coming."

In his interview with CNN, Paul said that's language he would never use. "People who know me, nobody is going to believe this," he said. "That's just not my language. It's not my life."

Very few people are aware that sadly, Ron Paul's family has been victimized by crime. One incident in particular that I am aware of occured in the early 1990s. This did not happen in Lake Jackson itself, but nearby in a neighboring town.

I served as Ron Paul's Personal Aide in one capacity or another for nearly 12 years. I can attest, those words match his personal feelings on the issue of crime from that time, and certainly match his tone. I've personally heard him use the phrase "animals" in numerous speeches in referring to violent criminals. While other parts of his highly controversial Newsletters may have been ghostwritten, I can attest from my personal knowledge of Paul and his family, that nobody else but Ron Paul would have written that particular passage.

CNN is implying that Paul was referring to Blacks. I'm less sure? CNN does not provide the full context of the quote. From the short blurb given it's difficult to tell if he was intending to implicate African Americans as "animals." Given Paul's feelings at the time, and knowing Ron Paul personally as I do, I would give him the benefit of the doubt, and suggest that he was referring to violent criminals in general, not just to Blacks.

But still, it does suggest that Paul is not telling the entire truth when he tells Wolf Blitzer that he's unaware of what went into the Newsletter. It's highly unlikely that a ghostwriter would have made such a reference to "my small town of Lake Jackson" and even more unlikely that Paul would have let that particular passage go out under his name from somebody else.