drudge blog

Is it possible to be falsely accused of making a political contribution? Can a political backer make a donation using someone else’s name and address and get away with it? That question emerged in 2001 but hasn’t been completely scrutinized.

Newsmeat.com reports a 2001 soft-money donation to RNC Republican National State Elections committee in the amount of $2,358, under the name of “Matt Drudge” under his home address (which anyone can track down). After this donation was reported, Drudge told Salon he has “never” given money “to anyone in politics” and called it “a fraud. Someone did it in my name.”

In the same vein, Drudge has quipped on the radio show that “I’ve never given money to a politician in this life.” Hehas co-hosted events at the Republican National Convention, and it’s not as though he keeps his attendance there nor his politics a secret. Donating money to the RNC would be a strange thing for Matt to hide or lie about, but I can imagine why some donors would want to keep a potential conflict of interest under wraps.

Would you sign a check and fill out the accompanying documentation in your legal name (Matthew, which someone online reported he used as a voice mail greeting), or your usual nickname? Newsmeat’s database records donors like Natalie Portman in her actual legal surname. How exactly was this contribution in question processed – whether it came from the Drudge pocket or anyone else’s?

It is always possible that Matt helped underwrite a dinner, whether or not he remembers it or views it as a political donation, and that it is legally registered as such. Perhaps it is a question of legality, perhaps semantics. Did Matt put the cookie in the jar, did he buy the flour, did he allow the use of his kitchen, did he roll the dough, did he emcee a segment on a cooking show, or did he just stick around and help lick the bowl?

Eat well, question everything. And if something looks fishy, question before eating.