Sindey Blumenthal has long been viewed as one of Bill Clinton’s and then Hillary Clinton most aggressive supporters. Often criticized for his scorched earth tactics against any critics of the Clinton, Blumenthal now faces his own fight after an arrest the day before the New Hampshire primary for aggravated drunk driving.
Nashua police say Sidney Blumenthal was arrested early Monday after being clocked at 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. Blumenthal, 59, is an adviser on Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Smelling alcohol, officers said they administered a field sobriety test, which Blumenthal failed. Though Blumenthal declined to take a Breathalyzer test, he was arrested on a charge of aggravated drunken driving due to the speed, Masella said.A handcuffed Blumenthal spent about four hours at a police station before being bailed out Monday morning, Masella said.
Blumenthal was often accused by critics of some of the most personal and vicious attacks on critics during the Clinton terms. He was involved in litigation over such allegations after the Clinton administration. The most noted was his strange litigation over allegations that he is a spouse abuser — litigation that led to Blumenthal not just losing but actually paying damages to the accused publishers.
In 1997, Matt Drudge reported in his Drudge Report that Blumenthal abused his spouse. Blumenthal sued both Drudge and AOL, but the federal court held held that, even though AOL received advance notice of the content of the Report and federal law protected AOL from liability. Notably, while Blumenthal sued Drudge for $30 million, he dropped the action and agreed to pay Drudge’s attorneys after nearly four years of litigation. Drudge reported that Blumenthal agreed to pay him the money in exchange for an agreement that Drudge would not sue him.
Despite these controversies, Blumenthal remained a major force in the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and a columnist for Salon.com and the Guardian.
