The bizarre tale of Scott, "Brad," Indymedia, the FBI and Promptergate (4 UPDATES)

Promptergate just may have received confirmation from a source within the Republican party. More importantly: The FBI may have illegally tried to track down the leaker.

The story, I am sorry to say, is complex. You can find a preliminary version on the Is Bush Wired site. However, since that site is often unreachable (due, some say, to outside attack -- though the likelier culprit is high traffic), I will summarize as best I can -- and then we'll take a look at the latest twist.

Our story begins on the anti-globalization Indymedia site run out of Portland. Before proceeding, let us pause to note two facts:

1. Indymedia did breakthrough work on this story.

2. The FBI recently seized the Indymedia servers run by Rackspace, a web hosting company. (See updates!)

Back to our tale. Indymedia offered this post from a man claiming to be Brad Menfir:

I have contacts within the Republican Party. I was told by Scott Zale, a Republican operative in eastern Tennessee that he knows it to be a fact that Bush was wired. He said that within the Bush campaign, there are certain mid-level staffers that have leaked this tidbit because it was just "too fantastic to ignore."

Zale told me that the transmission device is popular with other high profile officials in the Bush administration. It helps everybody stay "on message." Zale said that Bush was only fed ready responses to just certain types of questions. He didn't know which questions those were but admitted that Bush just sounded(to him)to be more articulate at certain "opportune" times.

Zale confided that he was told that the president wore a loose fitting jacket during both debates. The device protuded because Bush has a tendency to hunch over and shrug his shoulders a lot.

This is a true story as it was told to me. If you want to know more, please contact Scott Zale at the Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters in Knoxville, Tn. Thanks.

Is Bush Wired confirmed that a Scott Zale worked, occasionally, in the Knoxville Bush/Cheney office.

Later, a man claiming to be Scott Zale wrote to Indymedia, asking "Please shut down this blog." (Well, he did say "please!")

Scott -- if he truly is Scott -- wrote that the man who called himself "Brad Menfil" is actually someone else, someone he would not name.

Scott then made this striking statement:

The Knoxville Times called me at 6am this morning asking me to confirm or deny the "Bush is Wired" story they read here at Portland IMC. My immediate response was, "What is the Portland IMC?" and I then I issued a "no comment". Other than that, I did say that "Brad Menfil" is not a real person.

Please stop speculating about this. Our president is a great man and can only get hurt by this. I suspect this isn't going to go away and I regret anything that I said to "Brad" that may contribute to downfall of a great man and president.

Please drop this for the good of our country. We have bigger problems and should not be distracted by matters that don't ultimately determine the measure of an honest man. I want to say that the right answers are what matter most, not whether or not those answers were "fed" my someone else. President Bush is a good messenger regardless.

Obviously, these words do not read like a denial of Promptergate. Quite the opposite!

Later -- on the same Indymedia site (and I don't think this part of the tale has reached "Is Bush Wired" yet) -- we got this noteworthy comment:

Scott Zale is right, "Brad Menfil" is not my real name and I didn't hear this story from him, he heard it from me. Sorry Scott.

I do work for Bush-Cheney and I can only say that the substance of my first posting is correct, even though I used a fake name. I hope everybody understands why I would do this.

I got a call from Scott this morning (actually, about 10 minutes ago). He said that he had been contacted by ABC and Fox after his own posting.

I don't share his belief that ignoring this would be good for the country. I'm sorry I involved Scott and didn't have enough courage to use my real name. I hope the truth gets out and Scott is absolved.

Thanks for reading this, "Brad Menfil."

My gut tells me that something real lurks beneath the surface of these posts. But: These revelations seem almost too convenient. How could ABC and Fox find "Brad" so easily when Brad is not even his real name? How could journalists find Scott Zale when I have yet to do so (and I have tried)?

I'm wondering, in short, whether we're witnessing the set-up for one of those spectacular Rovian bank-shots.

On the other hand -- if "Brad" and Scott are legit, then we have a fairly good explanation as to why the FBI seized the Indymedia servers. The information on those servers would give away the identity of "Brad."

Of course, if the FBI seized "evidence" merely to aid the Bush campaign -- well, we would now have a huge story.

For now, let us presume that the real Scott Zale wrote to Indymedia. And let us further presume that Mr. Zale gets the chance to read these words. I have this response:

Yes, Scott, you're right. This country does have massive problems. There are those of us who sincerely believe that your candidate has made those problems worse.

And that is why we need to know everything we can about the man chosen to deal with those problems. We need to know about his health. We need to know if he plays the electoral game fairly, or if he feels that the ends justify any means. We also need to know about -- let us speak frankly -- his intellectual limits.

We need to know if the man in charge is really in charge.

So my attitude toward "promptergate" is precisely the same as yours would be if you discovered that Bill Clinton had worn such a device. I am honest enough to admit that, if the shoe were on the other foot -- that is, if the Democratic president were incapable of speaking for himself -- the Republicans would have a legitimate gripe, and grounds for an investigation. Can you be honest enough to confess that we Democrats, and all other Americans, have a legitimate need for answers from George W. Bush?

Can't you cast off the partisan blinders and try to see this matter objectively?

UPDATE 1: This story just became even weirder. Remember when Scott Zale said that he had been contacted by the Knoxville Times? Well, we now have reason to question whether such a periodical even exists.

True, they have a web site. They say that the are up to issue #173. But...

The text presented on this site may well be cobbled together from clips taken from other sources. The contact info remains mysteriously absent. There is no listing for "Knoxville Times" on any of the "yellow pages" directories that I have consulted. Directory Assistance has no listing for any entity in Tennessee calling itself the Knoxville Times. (What kind of newspaper keeps its phone number a secret?) And sources at the major Knoxville papers told Is Bush Wired that they've never heard of the thing.

Either the Knoxville Times is a small start-up operation (not impossible), or the tale of Scott and Brad just became very fishy indeed.

Did I say "fishy"? Maybe I should say "spooky"...

UPDATE 2: The BBC reports that the court order to seize the Indymedia servers was issued last Thurday. "Brad" made his Indymedia debut on Saturday. So the chances of "Brad" being the target now seem small. But why did the FBI go to such lengths?

UPDATE 3: Register.com confirms a reader's information that the home of the "Knoxville Times" website is -- in Australia.

Spookier and spookier. I don't know whether to say "G'day" or "Howwwwwwwww-DEE!"

UPDATE 4: Nobody named Zale in Tennessee (with a listed number) knows of a Scott Zale. The only evidence of his existence comes from the Knoxville Bush/Cheney headquarters -- which, as some of you may recall (and as a sharp-eyed correspondent reminded me), recently made the news in another context: On October 5, an unknown assailant in a passing vehicle shot up the office. The Bushites blamed those bloodthirsty Democrats, of course.

But, but, but...

This shooting incident mirrors one which occurred at Bush headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. In that case, however, we have the proven involvement of Phil Parlock -- serial hoaxer, far-right activist, and all-around asshole.

Both of these shooting incidents carry the strong aroma of greasepaint. As in: Theatrics. Humbug. Staged illusion.

Odd, isn't it? G.O.P. central in Knoxville is home to both a questionable shoot-em-up and the "Scott Zale" yarn. Coincidence?