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| Richard Mellon Scaife |
It mightiness endure argued that Richard Mellon Scaife pursues conspiracies from 2 perspectives from his base of operations inward Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the 1 hand, equally a wealthy donor to numerous right-wing institutions inward the United States, Scaife has funded many articles in addition to studies blaming liberals in addition to Communists for conspiring against the economical wellbeing, security, in addition to morality of the U.S. people.
On the other hand, his critics accuse that Scaife has launched numerous conspiracies attacking his political enemies on the Left. Furthermore, many of Scaife’s associates select noted his long-standing predilection for conspiracy theories (Kaiser in addition to Chinoy).
Scaife is heir to a menage unit of measurement fortune that, through company in addition to marriage, grew to include the Mellon Bank in addition to major investments inward Gulf Oil in addition to Alcoa. In improver to substantial personal wealth, Scaife equally good controls 3 foundations: the Sarah Scaife Foundation, amongst 1999 assets of $302 million; the Allegheny Foundation, amongst $39 million; in addition to the Carthage Foundation, amongst $24 million. Scaife’s children command a quaternary entity, the Scaife Family Foundation, amongst $170 1 one one thousand thousand inward assets.
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Scaife’s funding of conservative groups began inward the early on 1960s in addition to he backed ultraconservative presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, Jr., who was trounced inward the 1964 full general election. Scaife contributed $1 1 one one thousand thousand to the 1972 election crusade of Richard Nixon, in addition to some $45,000 ended upwardly inward an illegal fund tied to the Watergate scandal.
Scaife went on to fund scores of right-wing policy mean value tanks, legal groups, in addition to publications. He joined amongst beer magnate Joseph Coors to start the Heritage Foundation, the flagship mean value tank of the U.S. New Right.
Heritage supplied the working papers for many of the conservative policies of the Reagan administration, which began inward 1981. During this period, diverse Scaife entities funded conservative causes at the charge per unit of measurement of almost $10 1 one one thousand thousand per year, amongst a cumulative full of $340 1 one one thousand thousand past times 1999.
Scaife is fascinated amongst intelligence agencies in addition to armed forces affairs, in addition to reportedly was a fan of FBI manager J. Edgar Hoover. In the 1970s Scaife owned a publishing company that included an international word means based inward London that Scaife near downwards presently earlier it was defendant of cooperating amongst the CIA to create anticommunist propaganda.
Scaife has equally good funded the Center for Strategic in addition to International Studies in addition to the Maldon Institute. Both groups issue studies stressing global conspiracies of Communists in addition to socialists, and, to a greater extent than recently, anarchists in addition to Muslims. Maldon features the run of John Rees, who infiltrated in addition to spied on left-wing groups inward the piece of cake 1960s in addition to 1970s amongst data beingness shared amongst right-wing publications in addition to the FBI.
Other Scaife-funded organizations include the Western Journalism Center, American Spectator, Accuracy inward Media, Landmark Legal Foundation, in addition to Judicial Watch—all of which were peculiarly active inward the anti-Clinton network.
When Hillary Clinton said her husband, President William Jefferson Clinton, was the target of a vast right-wing conspiracy seeking impeachment, her comments echoed a study prepared past times a Democratic Party analyst that placed Scaife at the hub of a covert anti-Clinton campaign.
While Ms. Clinton may select been overstating the case, Scaife funding was of import inward sustaining anti-Clinton conspiracy theories, peculiarly to a greater extent than or less the illustration of Clinton’s aide Vince Foster, whose suicide early on inward the Clinton direction was widely regarded equally suspicious past times the political Right.
Scaife hired quondam New York Post reporter Christopher Ruddy to pursue the thought that Vince Foster’s expiry was non a suicide, equally good equally other stories almost Clinton’s alleged interest inward diverse conspiracies.
Scaife published these articles inward the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 1 of a number of publications controlled past times Scaife. Ruddy helped convey the conspiracy allegations almost Clinton floating across the Internet in addition to the front end pages of the tabloid press into mainstream coverage inward major daily news-papers in addition to network television set news.
Scaife’s foundations gave $2.4 1 one one thousand thousand to the American Spectator Education Foundation piece its sis organization, the conservative American Spectator magazine, was running a serial of anti-Clinton articles, 1 of which prompted Paula Jones to sue the president, alleging sexual misconduct.
The foundation equally good launched the “Arkansas Project,” financing anti-Clinton information-gathering operations involving reporters, individual investigators, quondam police pull enforcement officers, in addition to political operatives.
Between 1993 in addition to 1996, $1.7 1 one one thousand thousand of the Scaife funds reported equally legal fees were evidently used for the Arkansas Project. Some of this coin was used to promote the thought that the Clintons were involved inward a massive existent estate scam dubbed “Whitewater.”
Scaife, who turned sixty-seven inward the yr 2000, tin endure personable in addition to gracious, simply he is secretive in addition to avoids world scrutiny. He equally good has a creative, if nasty, temper. Investigative reporter Karen Rothmyer doggedly pursued an interview amongst Scaife for a 1981 article inward the Columbia Journalism Review.
When she in conclusion tracked Scaife downwards in addition to confronted him exterior a corporate meeting, Rothmyer asked almost Scaife’s funding of the New Right. Scaife’s now-legendary retort—printed inward an article sidebar—was, “You fucking Communist cunt, exit of here” (Rothmyer).
Rothmeyer in addition to reporter David Warner were the outset to banknote that Scaife funded conservative projects inward a really strategic fashion to maximize the propaganda value of his dollars. Scaife accomplishes this past times simultaneously funding several unlike projects at unlike groups on the same topic.
According to Rothmeyer, the number is that inward matters of defense forcefulness in addition to economical policy Scaife has helped to foster the illusion that at that topographic point is a far greater multifariousness of views than genuinely exists. This has helped shift political discourse farther to the correct inward the United States.
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