Paul denies report that he approved anti-gay newsletters

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has flatly denied a Washington Post report that he was deeply involved in the company that produced provocative, racially charged and anti-gay newsletters and that he signed off on articles.

The newsletters from the 1990s have dogged Paul for years, resurfacing as his presidential campaign gained momentum. The Texas congressman has denied writing the inflammatory passages – the articles included racial, anti-Semitic and anti-gay content – and said that he didn't read them at the time or for years afterward.

The Post story published Jan. 27 said the newsletters were part of a marketing strategy by Paul's company and that three people familiar with his businesses described his involvement with the newsletters.

“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product,” Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul's company, told the Post. “He would proof it.”

Paul told CNN: “She's made that story up. ... It's completely false.”

The Post reported that Eric Dondero Rittberg, a former longtime Paul aide, said he witnessed Paul proofing, editing and signing off on his newsletters in the mid-1990s.

Ed Crane, the longtime president of the libertarian Cato Institute, told the Post that he and Paul discussed direct-mail solicitations at the time and that they agreed that “people who have extreme views” are more likely than others to respond.

“I don't know what he's talking about,” Paul told CNN. “I don't recall that conversation.”

Source: AP