New York, May 30—A few months after Senator Goldwater lost the Presidential election, I received a message, delivered by hand, from Ralph Ginzburg, the pornographer, advising me to use such influence as I have on Senator Goldwater to restrain him from pursuing a libel suit he had instituted against Ginzburg and his journal, Fact Magazine. You know Goldwater, Ginzburg said to me in effect, and you should tell him that if he proceeds with this lawsuit, I shall be forced to reveal such information about him as I have heretofore—such being the reticence of Mr. Ginzburg—withheld from the public.
I passed along the communication to Senator Goldwater’s lawyer and we chatted about it, and learned that another friend of the senator’s had received an identical message by telegram. I wondered why Mr. Ginzburg disdained the use of the United States mail. That was innocent of me. The possible reason why, said the lawyer patiently, is that there is a law against using the post office for purposes of blackmail.
Comments