Or so it is being alleged. No word on whether Trent Lott ever visited a Montana dude ranch, however.
Hmmm. Color me "skeptical" at this point, for three reasons:
1) All the evidence seems to consist of the denials by this escort being parsed into admissions;
2) The escort in question, Benjamin Nicholas, has had some credibility issues in the past - some kind of plagiarism scandal concerning his blog, if memory serves; and
3) Like my momma always told me, if it is too good to be true, it probably is.
Update: Story spreads to Huffington Post, although the overall tone there is skepticism as well.
Update 2: The "Big Head" blog that broke the story is now publishing all the emails from the escort. LOL, remind me to never make an "off-the-record" comment over there! In any case, yeah, it's my Point #1 above in spades: This whole story consists of a bunch of non-denial denials being parsed into admissions by an overeager blogger. And I'm not sure, really, who is playing who here...whether Benjamin saw this as a way to get cheap, easy publicity, or this Big Head guy wanted to "create" a scoop. Or both. In any case, I am seriously doubting the real Trent Lott is involved here, in anything but an imaginary way.
Update 3: Dan Savage talks to Benjamin Nicholas, who still denies everything and says he is "hoping that the national media doesn’t pick this up." Meanwhile, according to Savage: "Unfortunately for Nicholas, the national media is picking this story up: the ABCNEWS producer and investigative reporter that broke the Mark Foley story just called. She wanted to know how she could get in touch with Nicholas about Trent Lott."
But we'll see. Humbly, as always, at your service...jim
25 comments:
With the Studwonder just down the road in Virginia Beach, why would Trent have to bring in a boy all the way from Texas?
Maybe Trent was one of Harlow's alibi witnesses who recanted. :-)
Geoff,Jim I was thinking of adding to this since I do know a few things about ole Sen Trent (And yes its well known he plays both sides)
My surprise was seeing Benjamin mentioned I have been following him since he went online and I know he has a rep for being discreet but I also remember his posting his passport once to show how many country's he had been in in the preceding 2 years (this was in 05)
Benjamin is High end catering to the wealthy & well connected which makes it UNLIKELY he would ever compromise anyone since that would affect his bottom line.
I DO believe Larry Flynt is behind a lot of the outings of GOP Closet cases. Look at the Wash state Senator I featured on my blog, his escort had a high priced attorney assigned at the start,who paid?
Still Lott did not resign his precious Seat because of a change in Lobbying Rules thats a bigger stretch than an escort!!
I think its about time I do a story on this myself and all those closet cases I went to HS & College with who now have jobs in various "Christian right" political groups!
They really do not see the disconnect between having a Gay private life and spending there days in Wash arguing for a ban on Gay marriage.
DeW, what do you think the chances are of this all being a hoax by Benjamin (BN)?
The scenario I am putting together in my mind, based of the facts and what we know of the personalities of the players involved:
BN posts an anonymous comment on the Big Head Blog (BHB), on the topic of Trent Lott mysteriously resigning. Says BN and TL were seen sunning themselves somewhere, or something.
Motive for BN: Free publicity.
And we already know BN to be somewhat ethically challenged, due to his blog plagiarism scandal.
So, BHB...a blogger with credibility issues in the past himself, and desperate for a scoop...emails BN for a comment. BN decides to fuel to hoax, so emails back tantalizing little non-denial denials.
BHB laps 'em up, runs with the story. Such as it is.
Story starts to go viral, BN gets nervous, then decides to post a flat out denial on his blog.
Which brings us to where we are today!
The beauty of this scam from BN's perspective is, he does not have to proove a thing. All he has to do is keep issuing "no comment, confidentiality is assured" statements, and most everyone will believe he banged Trent Lott...because most everyone wants it to be true.
BTW...BN has an weighty opinion on the Kocis case.
Yes it's true! From his 10/3/07 blog entry:
"...Reading through this month’s Rolling Stone, it looks as if the Bryan Kocis-Cobra Video-Harlow murder scandal is really heating up on a national level. A feature story is written about the happening, the aftermath and how it’s affecting the gay adult industry, zeroing in on Sean Lockhart (ne’ Brent Corrigan) and his alleged involvement with the accused murder.
For quite some time, the gay adult world was hooked on this barebacking boy-wonder, starting online groups in his dedication and lining his pockets with money thanks to his many films and personal business ventures. When caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar (his first bareback films with Cobra Video were done underage), his star power skyrocketed, making him an even hotter commodity with his fanbase. Scandal can often times work to ones advantage and Corrigan kept everyone talking.
In legal battles with Bryan Kocis (owner of Cobra Video) over legal ownership of the Brent Corrigan name, as well his falsification of age, Lockhart went to work for other adult studios, finding mild success. His reputation for being difficult to work with was spreading quickly within the industry and soon directors were openly being quoted as not wanting or willing to work with him. Lockhart soon opened a namesake website, but hackers soon made quick work of his material, forcing him to shut it down.
Now basically blackballed from the video industry, Lockhart works a minimum-wage job and, like any great diva, is plotting his return to the spotlight. Many directors refuse to work with him, either because of his behavior, his alleged role in Bryan Kocis murder or his past bareback videos. While ultimately a sad thing, it looks as if this once-marketable twink-du-jour has simply become another has-been porn casualty.
What’s hot tamales today is cold soup tomorrow folks. No matter what you hear, being IN porn doesn’t do anything but feed a starved ego..."
True, this opinion contains several factual inaccuracies (ie, Brent is "caught" being underage...LOL!). But it does not seem to be plagiarized, at least. :-)
Jim I read his post on the RS & Out articles he has def been following the J & H story I still remember his slam at J & H when they were arrested.
"Thanks guys for smearing all ESCORTS!"
Yes he is playing something but I can't believe he would OUT Lott if he was a client UNLESS Larry got to him and paid a lot of money.
Remember Escorts ARE for sale to the man with a fatter check!
Maybe the man in the Golden Wheelchair slipped Ben 10K to out Trent,,
Maybe Benjamin is ready to retire he has been doing this since College,,,
Or maybe Lott never was a client, and all this is is a pure publicity stunt.
Also, I think the name of his blog is now quite ironic: 15 Minutes!
well you know if Andy made his little comment today it would be revised,,,
"Everyone will have his 15 minutes as a PornStar or escort!
dewayne & jim,
Your comments and this story brought back something from my past. When I was young, a friend and myself were invited to go on Roy Cohn's yacht to the Newport Yacht races. I did not know this guy from Adam and neither did my friend but the owner of the club we worked at was one of his best friends [my friend and I were bartenders in NY city].
Long story short, Roy Cohn, quite the hornball queen [don't mean to speak ill of the dead - but] the hypocritical shit involved here [McCarthy era and all] blew me away when I started to ask about why I had heard the name and who was he that he had the president calling him. Either he was a tortured soul or a hypocrite.
Actually VJ Cohn is one man we can all speak ill of,,
He was by all accounts a truly EVIL man!
Some of his last acts in the early 80's involved picking up clueless street hustlers and infecting them (he had active aids & knew it)
I believe he was an American analogue to Goring ,Himmler & Rohm Nazi's who were known for their Homosexual proclivity's
Funny you mention McCarthy he was one too,,,
Look up Cohn's Obit in the NYT amazing what it said there!
Larry Flynt has had open $1,000,000.00 offer to anyone giving info on running or seated politician in at least every campaign since the Christian fanatics completed it's takeover of the Republican party between 1992 and 1994.
I'd give the asshole up for $1,000,000.00 Bucks!
Doesn't mean I won't write a sniddy little editorial about the whole incident while trying to appear as if I could accurately relate what actually happened between Mr. Nicholas and the (cough..cough!!) distinguished Mr. Lott! Since I was never there!
Best of Luck with your endeavors, Mr. Nicholas!
Grant
Jim and Geoff--
A truly "eloquent" (I use the term loosely) Elm had this to say regarding posters with opposing viewpoints to his own: "Elmysterio said...
'bullshit
just pure bullshit
Then more bullshit stacked on top of bullshit.
Did I say that all of this is bullshit?
I just wanted to make sure you all knew that this was pure bullshit.
Did you want to now some more bullshit then read the next comment.
The comment after that gets even better.
I predict that someone will post some bullshit on this blog after this comment.
Don't believe me just wait and see.
November 27, 2007 9:25 PM'"
Elm seems a tad upset to have learned that Joe is not "standing proud and tall" and in alliance with his boyfriend, Harlow, who Joe seems to have unceremoniously dumped in favor of a defense that will finger Harlow as the murderer.
Would appreciate your thoughts since Geoff's comment broached the subject of Harlow.
An interesting note on the $1 million...the BigHeadDC blogger is claiming it now, based on his "breaking" of the "story."
http://bigheaddc.com/2007/11/27/flynt-confirms-big-head-dcs-trent-lott-sex-scoop/
Note my "sneer quotes." I am still very dubious of this whole "story," especially since the people pushing at have a million motives to fabricate it.
Rob, the Socratic conditions for any meaningful dialogue are candor, intelligence, and good will. When a blogger abandons one or more of those conditions, he becomes a bore. So, in the present instance if someone maintains that H/J are innocent and anyone who wants to discuss the possibility that they are guilty is spreading bullshit, that person becomes no longer worth listening to. Likewise, a blogger who persistently maintains without any evidence that S/G put H/J up to murder is clearly libeling the former in order to advance a personal grudge, and I don't have time to listen. This is fine, just cuts down on the number of blogs I have to read to satisfy my addiction.
Geoff--
You deserve a laurel wreath crown for your consummate summation of this sorry state of affairs regarding this murder case. It is a pleasure and honor to exchange comments with you.
dewayne,
I knew he was rotten but I did not know he was that bad. Does not surprise me. After writing last night, it made me think and I googled the club owner [Lew Katz] another winner, he is doing 40 years for murdering his lover [a ups driver] - Dear Mr Cohn had [allegedly] helped Lew get away with murdering Lews first lover who Lew said "committed suicide". All over that jealousy emotion.
geoff harvard,
WELL PUT!!
Everyone keep in mind the no personal attack rule, please:
You are stupid = bad
Your idea is stupid = ok.
V. J. and Dewayne, Roy Cohn did what high priced lawyers are supposed to do. He represented his clients ably, often brilliantly. No one was paying him to be nice. When he represented the people of the United States in his early twenties, he succeded in sending one archtraitor to jail for perjury and sending two more to the chair. Job well done.
Joseph McCarthy was Joseph P. Kennedy's favorite senator. Kennedy bankrolled McCarthy's 1952 re-election campaign and placed his son, Robert F. Kennedy, on McCarthy's staff as Cohn's co-counsel. Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-MA) was careful never to badmouth McCarthy.
Apparently Cohn had the same feelings for G. David Schine that some people feel for Sean or Harlow, and it got the best of him. Cohn hired Schine as a staffer in 1953, and Schine was improbably drafted at age 27 in November of that year. Cohn pressured the Army not to send Schine to Korea, but the ploy backfired, and the result was the famously televised Army-McCarthy hearings, which led to McCarthy's downfall. In the hearings, the Army counsel called Cohn a "fairy." This was a commonplace response from the left. The residue from this is allegations that McCarthy was actively homosexual, but there is not a shred of evidence for that. Schine, incidentally, married Miss Universe in 1957; they had like 6 kids and lived happily everafter.
Cohn was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984 and died at age 59 in 1986. He participated in the clinical trials for AZT, and true to form for the left, he was accused of using improper influence in keeping himself out of the control group. I doubt he had adequate opportunity knowingly to infect anyone.
geoff harvard,
Thank you for taking the time to write that about Roy Cohn. I did not know him at all, went on that trip- was sick the whole time with motion sickness. I only saw him at dinner time and he was pleasant. I was very young at the time, what I did hear about him after was like what dewayne was saying, it was not good.
You appear to be a well educated and very fair man geoff and I always like reading your comments.
On a side note- Barbara Walters loved Roy Cohn, they were engaged to be married, only that one small problem to hold them back, Roy's penchant for getting pounded.
Who is Roy Cohn?
by David Bianco
Roy Cohn, a ruthless, ambitious, and unethical attorney, was the right-hand man of the infamous Sen. Joseph McCarthy. He was also a closeted gay Jew who used his power against other Jews and gays.
Born in New York in 1927, Cohn graduated from Columbia Law School at 20, passed the bar at 21, and became the youngest assistant U.S. attorney. The case that launched his career was the 1951 trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, accused of leaking atomic secrets to the Soviets. Cohn was one of four attorneys who successfully prosecuted them for treason, but it was he alone who convinced the judge, an old family friend, to impose the death penalty.
In January 1953, McCarthy chose Cohn over Robert Kennedy as chief counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations. For the next 18 months, Cohn's vicious and single-minded ferreting out of suspected Communists and homosexuals in the government made his name a household word.
Cohn brought to the committee his good friend, G. David Schine, as an unpaid "consultant." The young man's only qualification seems to have been that he had written an eight-page booklet called "Definition of Communism," which he placed in the hotels his family owned.
When Schine was drafted and came close to being sent to Korea, Cohn relentlessly attempted to get him an official assignment on the committee. Unable to pull the necessary strings, Cohn resorted to intimidating the Secretary of the Army, Robert Stevens.
Charges and countercharges of bribery flew. The Army accused Cohn of threatening to investigate their ranks unless Private Schine got a cushy assignment. Cohn maintained that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" until Cohn agreed to ignore its infiltration by Communists.
The televised Army-McCarthy hearings, initiated by the Senate to explore the allegations, began in April 1954 and were viewed by an estimated 20 million people.
Cohn's unwavering devotion to Schine suggested that they were lovers, though Cohn was probably just infatuated with the handsome young man. During the hearings, several members of the Senate baited Cohn, pressuring him about his "special interest" in Schine.
At one low point, Joseph Welch, the Army's attorney, asked McCarthy about a doctored photo of Secretary Stevens smiling at Schine:
Welch: Did you think this [photo] came from a pixie? ...
McCarthy: Will the counsel for my benefit define - I think he might be an expert on that - what a pixie is?
Welch: Yes, I should say, Senator, that a pixie is a close relative of a fairy. Shall I proceed, sir? Have I enlightened you?
The room erupted in laughter, to Cohn's humiliation. Cohn's biographer calls the photo McCarthy and Cohn's "smoking gun," the proof of their mendacity.
By December 1954, Cohn had resigned and McCarthy was censured by the Senate. The senator died two years later of alcoholism. Throughout his life, Cohn called McCarthy "the greatest man I ever worked for."
Over the next 30 years, Cohn built a high-powered law career in New York. His clients included Donald Trump, Mafia figures Tony Salerno, Carmine Galante and John Gotti, Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, Between 1963 and 1971, however, he was indicted three times for crimes such as perjury and witness tampering. Cohn was acquitted in each case.
In 1986, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court disbarred Cohn for unethical and unprofessional conduct, including misappropriation of clients' funds, lying on a bar application, and pressuring a client to amend his will.
In this case in 1975, Cohn entered the hospital room of a dying and comatose Lewis Rosenstiel, the multi-millionaire founder of Schenley Industries, forced a pen to his hand and lifted it to the will in an attempt to make himself and Cathy Frank-- Rosenstiel's granddaughter-- beneficiaries.
The resulting marks were determined in court to be indecipherable and in no way a valid signature. He lost his law license during the last month of his life., just weeks before he died of AIDS on August 2, 1986.
Though he himself had been the target of homophobia, to his dying day Cohn refused to acknowledge being gay or that he had AIDS, claiming he was suffering from liver cancer. One of Cohn's final campaigns was lobbying against New York City's gay rights ordinance and working to bar homosexuals as teachers.
Geoff I will in no way exonerate or commend Roy Cohn for anything he was a despicable manand in no way a hero.
And neither was McCarthy a Liar,a drunk and a closet case.
I have known too many, the classic Homophobe (McCarthy,Cohn) IS ALWAYS a closeted Homo.
I have never MET a truly heterosexual man who gave a damn about gays one way or another.
In 1950 Sen McCarthy assaulted journalist Drew Pearson in the cloakroom of a Washington club, reportedly kneeing him in the groin. McCarthy, who admitted the assault, claimed he merely "slapped" Pearson.[23]
In 1952, using rumors collected by Pearson, Nevada publisher Hank Greenspun wrote that McCarthy was a homosexual.
The major journalistic media refused to print the story and no notable McCarthy biographer has accepted the rumor as probable. In 1953 McCarthy married Jean Kerr, a researcher in his office. He and his wife adopted a baby girl in January 1957.(Hmm if I get married now maybe that makes me straight,,he was over 40)
I am a historian too and I have read a lot of Revisionism concerning Cohn and McCarthy I am buying none of it.
I do agree with your comment about Kennedy,,don't get me started about ole Joseph P,, Hitlers fav U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St James. ;-)
Jim this is friendly banter I like Geoff!
V. J., I suppose Babs could have worn a strap-on like in the Naked Lunch, or at least have brought Roy on The View if it had been on the air then.
Cohn took actions in the courtroom and the Senate hearing rooms more consequential to our safety than, say, Pat Tillman's actions on the battlefield in Afghanistan. This earned him a lifetime of hatred and recriminations. Alger Hiss really did influence events at Yalta that condemned millions in eastern Europe to generations under the Soviet yoke. His short prison term was nothing compared to the noose he deserved. The Rosenbergs really did pass nuclear secrets to Stalin and consign the world to generations of nuclear terror. Their executions were richly deserved.
The revelation of the Venona intercepts in 1993 and the release of the procedings of the McCarthy subcommitte hearings from 1953-1954 show that they were dealing with a dire situation, even if Eisenhower wouldn't admit it.
Luckily for us, Cohn didn't care what anyone thought about him, or at least he was willing to bear the burden of public approbrium.
Dewayne and Geoff-
You both are brilliant as far as I am concerned.
I bartended at Studio 54 in my wild youth and am just grateful I got out of N.Y. in one piece!
Dewayne--
Drew Pearson's fist connected with McCarthy's jaw. The fog horn from Wisconsin got a cut lip for his gesture. Journalistic integrity in practice. The rest of the story came from Drew Pearson's Washington Merry Go Round column partner, Jack Anderson.
Geoff--
Eisenhower was overrated as a president. His praise as a general is doubtful too.
Goodness I am badmouthing an icon of the Republican party? You bet. I am no fan of General Douglas MacArthur's either. Eisenhower had served as MacArthur's Chief of Staff for a tour of duty in the Phillipines. When it came time to reappoint Eisenhower to that post, MacArthur refused. Reason: MacArthur said that Eisenhower was brilliant with logistics--all supplies and whatnot in place, but he had no feel for tactics and strategy and he played favorites too much.
That Eisenhower was not the first choice for Supreme Allied Commander in the European Theatre of Operations during WWII is also well known. Army of Chief of Staff George C. Marshall nearly served that post and would have had not FDR told him personally that he needed a flag officer he could trust to give him sound advice in Washington.
MacArthur's remark about Eisenhower being weak on strategy and tactics is born out in the book 365 Days, details the Allied Normandy invasion. Turns out Gen. Marshall was conducting a personal inspection tour for FDR and the Army. He asked Eisenhower for his invasion plans for Europe and was told there were none. Marshall was furious with Ike. Told him that was the primary reason he was sent to head the Allied Command. Then told the old boy that he would be back in 2 to 3 weeks. No plans, Ike would be relieved and Gen Marshall himself would take over as Supreme Allied Commander. The other proof of poor strategy and tactics is the near diaster, the Battle of the Bulge, the German Argonne Forest counter attack that nearly succeeded in breaking the Allied lines. Eisenhower was clueless even though our MI told him something was happening. He ignored them and entertained his pals at a Christmas reception.
Eisenhower was an equally lousey
President of the United States. He was not hands on. He allowed the French to nearly drain the gold reserves at Ft. Knox until he was finally found on a golf course and had to sign an executive order on the golf course to stop the French pilfering. He allowed Allen Dulles, CIA chief, to dupe him into setting up Republic of the Congo Prime Minister Patrice Lamumba for execution for merely stating in a speech that King Baudin of Belgium suppressed his people. McCarthy comes along and a few words from Ike would have pulled his plug. Nope Ike ignored the good junior senator from Wisconsin. Just like Ike neglected to put the brakes on the Military/Industrial Complex that he told us about in his Farewell Speech on the election of President John Kennedy to succeed him in office. Yeah Ike sure was good for this nation, at least the corporate side of it. The kind of politico they like--great talker, name recogition, but a do nothing at heart. Yep, Ike sure is a contender for one of the mediocre best.
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