BOLTON'S GAYBAITING OF A WHISTLE-BLOWER

One aspect of wacko John Bolton -- Bush's nominee for UN ambassador -- that hasn't received enough attention is how he gay-baited a Texas businesswoman, Melody Townsel, in Moscow when Townsel got on Bolton's shit list. Her crime was blowing the whistle on the failures and substandard performance of a US. AID subcontractor whom Bolton, then in private practice, represented.

From Howie Kurtz's WashPost column of April 22, on "Bolton Bashing Bonanza":

"USA Today meanwhile, caught up with businesswoman Melody Townsel, who says Bolton once threw a file folder and a tape dispenser at an American businesswoman in Moscow, disparaged her weight and alleged she was gay in an attempt to get her to withdraw criticism of a foreign-aid project."

"When Townsel got into a dispute with a company represented by Bolton in 1994 and would not withdraw her complaint, she says, Bolton spread rumors that she had stolen money and also referred disparagingly to her weight and hinted that she was a lesbian. . . . Kirby Jones, a Washington consultant, said Townsel told him of Bolton's behavior at the time. "

You can read the entire USA Today story on Townsel by clicking here. And Daily Kos has the complete text of a letter Townsel wrote to Senators recounting Bolton's deranged persecutions of her. Townsel wrote:

"As a maligned whistleblower, I've learned firsthand the lengths Mr. Bolton will go to accomplish any goal he sets for himself. Truth flew out the window. Decency flew out the window. In his bid to smear me and promote the interests of his client, he went straight for the low road and stayed there.

"John Bolton put me through hell -- and he did everything he could to intimidate, malign and threaten not just me, but anybody unwilling to go along with his version of events. His behavior back in 1994 wasn't just unforgivable, it was pathological...."

Joe Biden and Chris Dodd raised the Townsel matter in the last hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that postponed a vote on Bolton's nomination -- but didn't mention the gay-baiting. It will be interesting to see if it comes up when the panel comes back from its recess hiatus....