Sid Salter and Smoking Guns

Recently Sid Salter said:

What Barbour is the target of right now is a titillating election year story [that he has profited from his old law firm and/or there is no such thing as a blind trust and/or his connections therein have affected his veto pen] that not only lacks a smoking gun, it lacks a cracked kid's water pistol.

Here’s your smoking gun, Sid, and it’s sitting in your editorial board room: And I quote: (hat tip Donna Ladd)

“He had already sold the firm, including the name, and it's owned by Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., a publicly traded company. … He has no ownership or stock.”
— Clarion-Ledger editorial, Jan. 19, 2004

When in fact, here is the truth:

Teresa Westbrook, Brunini's assistant, confirmed last week that she had notarized Barbour's trust on Feb. 27, 2004. ``I do remember it,'' she said.
- Bloomberg 8/29

Can you count, Sid? That was 39 days later. Who was lying here? Your editorial board or Haley?

Barbour lied to YOUR editorial board in 2004 about whether or not he retained any interest in BGR at the time of his swearing in, and you printed it. Ouch.

Or, how about this nice little tall tale, told to the Reverend Matt Friedeman on live radio August 6 of this year:

“ . . . on American Family Radio broadcast statewide from Jackson that he receives retirement payments from Barbour Griffith -- and denied having stock in it.

“’When I left the firm at the end of 2003, I resigned as chairman and chief executive officer, I didn't have any stock. So that totally severed my relationship. Except they do pay me retirement. I don't want to act like they don't,'' Barbour said.

“’But they pay me a flat retirement that if they make $50 million or $5 million, I get paid the same retirement. So I don't have any participation, I don't have any financial interest I don't have anything to do with the firm other -- today other than they pay me retirement.’”

- Bloomberg August 29.

They don’t pay him retirement. Never did. Here’s what his lawyer said about that:

Brunini said in the Aug. 14 interview that after the trust was established [28 days after he was sworn in as governor], the governor had no idea what was in it and may have been incorrect when he said he was receiving payments from Barbour Griffith. – Bloomberg 8/29

May have been incorrect?

Let’s be perfectly honest with each other.

Your beef, Mr. Salter, is that, despite Haley’s, dodging, weaving and lying, someone dared venture to bring the truth about Haley’s holdings into the public domain.