
Rumors have been abounding since Harry said that he had an accident while exercising with stretch bands to maintain his body tone. Mike Leahy of Breitbart has been on the story and has shown how, based upon his statement that they were attached to his shower door, that the door would have not withheld the stress and that the reach of the stretched bands would be impossible in the space available. Since then, the good Senator has made a few changes to his story but none seem feasible.
But today, while listening to John Hinderaker of powerhouseblog.com fill in for Laura Ingraham, a likely scenario came to light from a guest on his show. The man had called Hinderaker because he was aware of his coverage of the Harry Reid story and said he had some important information. A telephone interview was set up and the recording was played as part of the show yesterday. It's important to note that the authenticity of the comments are not fully verified, but they do tie together with some of the limited information which has come out. You be the judge of it yourself.
The guest, Easton Elliot of Las Vegas, a self-described rehabilitation specialist for persons having drug or alcohol issues, was holding sessions for clients at a local AA chapter on New Year's Eve. Sessions were held hourly since New Year's Eve is a particularly tough time for those with a drinking issue. A man entered, showing signs of inebriation and agitation with blood evident on his clothing. He stayed for quite a while, identified himself as Larry, and said he had been in a fight with a family member. He even commented on the possibility of the Secret Service looking for him, but this wasn't taken seriously since people in his condition routinely ramble about strange things.
After a time, he asked if someone could give him a ride to Searchlight, a nearby town and also the home of Senator Reid, and then left. Elliott thought nothing further of it until he saw on the television news several weeks later a picture of Senator Reid's brother, Larry Reid, on television after being arrested for punching a state trooper. His jaw dropped as he realized that this was the same Larry who attended the New Year's Eve AA meeting.
Elliott had also seen the coverage of Senator Reid's "accident" and started putting two and two together. He spoke with some other staff members at the AA clinic who remembered as he did, one even calling local TV 8 news with the information. They quickly informed him they had no interest. Ultimately, he called John Hinderaker who was closely following the story.
Hinderaker requested a comment from Reid's staff before going public with this story. They indicated they had nothing to say but didn't deny it. And he also called the Capitol Police, not the Secret Service, since that police agency has security responsibility for Senator Reid and his family. He was trying to confirm the time of their receiving word of the "accident" since that would give more credibility to the story. They declined and have also literally gone silent.
Now you might be saying to yourself that this is of no significance, but any time a high powered Washington politician is assaulted it is news. And it makes all of us wonder what really happened. Obviously the accident report offered by Reid himself has been changed and has significant holes in it. And, of course, since his brother has a dubious track record the story offered by Elliott becomes much more believable if not totally verifieable. And finally, if neither of these situations is what really happened, why would someone want to viciously attack Senator Reid? With a history of questionable dealings and the accumulation of great wealth on a Senator's salary a reality, who else could have wanted him harmed? Were they trying to either silence him or send a message? America has a right to know.
I'll leave it at that, folks, and I hope the Senator recovers fully. But his quick announcement that he is not running next year, which normally would not raise flags because of his age, now takes on a different appearance. I suspect we'll never really know the full story and, in the end, I don't think American government will miss the departure of Mr. Reid. It is, after all, time for something different in the way Washington, D.C. performs.
Hat tip to John Hinderaker of powerlineblog. com for his discovery.