Legal News

Site Asking Fred Baron to ?Give the Money Back?

By Ashby Jones

Remember Fred Baron? Of course you do — it wasn’t but a few weeks ago that the former plaintiffs attorney took a few knocks when word broke that he’d paid to move both Rielle Hunter, John Edwards’s former mistress, and a former Edwards campaign staffer across the country.

The controversy has died down, but hasn’t gone away entirely — especially not down in Texas, the epicenter of the flap. The Texas Politics blog, a joint effort of both the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, has a juicy little item about a new Web site aimed at Baron’s supporters, called givethemoneyback.com.

According to Texas Politics, the site is the brainchild of Anthony Holm, a Republican consultant and frequent spokesperson for Houston homebuilder, Bob Perry. The site’s purported aim: to get John Edwards, Barack Obama, Rielle Hunter and others to give back money allegedly donated to them by Baron.

“Are Fred Baron’s values in keeping with the values of Texas? I suggest they are not, and as such they (meaning donations to Democrats, not values) should be returned,” Holm reportedly told Texas Politics.

Matt Angle, a Democratic consultant who manages the heavily Baron-financed Texas Democratic Trust and Lone Star Project, told Texas Politics he suspected the site was truly the work of Perry, a well-known Republican donor. “This is a shadow group that is throwing mud up on the wall hoping it will stick.”

Holm, however, said he’s paying for the Web site himself, with no help from Perry.

The sides are also reportedly squabbling over the donated money came from. Holm’s Web site lists $1.8 million in donations from Baron & Budd, but $1.2 million of them were made after Baron sold his interest in the firm.

Added Angle: “If they are counting contributions from Baron & Budd, it’s false.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 05, 2008 (boomark / email).