For the Record: Ken Mehlman Likes the Bubbly

Yesterday we posted this photo of RNC chair Ken Mehlman, dancing up a storm at the Bloomberg afterparty:

We noted that Mehlman’s decision “to dance while holding a beer” was “tres frat boy,” calling into question the rumors about Mehlman’s, um, dancing ability.

Alas, this observation was erroneous. The tipster who took the picture just informed us: “That’s not a beer, that’s a glass of champagne.”

We apologize to our readers for this mistake. We apologize to Mehlman for this correction — which will probably cause him another six months of difficulties.

Earlier: Ken Mehlman Waves His Hands in the Air, Like He Just Don’t Care

READ MORE: Funny Pictures, alcohol, booze, corrections, dancing, drinking, for the record, ken mehlman, parties, supposedly good dancing republicans, top, whca, whcd

For the Record: Finlay Lewis Did Not Oversleep

But he did have what sounds like a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Here’s what actually happened with respect to yesterday’s White House pool report, from Mr. Lewis himself (whose email we reprint with his permission):

You might have at least picked up on my invitation to call for details. No, I didn’t oversleep — I’m recovering from surgery and my pain pills didn’t kick in until 4 a.m. There was a communications mixup with my back up meaning the one and only poolable event - Bush’s appearance with the governors — was uncovered. Scott’s announcement and the aborted takeoff were open coverage, and therefore not my responsibility. I included those items only for the sake of the making a little fun of myself — systems failures etc. I arrived in the office to deal with the missed pool assignment with four hours sleep and my arm in a sling.

We apologize to Finlay Lewis, a well-respected veteran of the White House press corps, for the incorrect implications of our original post. As for why we didn’t call him for details, well, we’re bloggers — we can’t remember the last time we picked up the phone!

(When we’ve called people in the past, in our feeble attempt to engage in this thing you call “reporting,” we’ve gotten less than stellar responses.)

Earlier: Wednesday Morning Massacrette: Have You Seen This Man?

READ MORE: Media, White House, copley news service, corrections, finlay lewis, for the record, pool reports, press, screw-ups

For the Record: We Never Said Chelsea Was a Cokehead

We previously asked you about a blind item, from Payola Six, concerning the cocaine-using daughter “of a high-powered politician.” In your guesses, some of you suggested Chelsea Clinton. We dismissed such speculation: “Chelsea Clinton was jokingly named (jokingly, since she’s probably too much of a goody-goody to do coke).”

Alas, unfortunately for Chelsea, the National Enquirer took this rumor and ran with it (article not available online, so yeah, we sheepishly bought a copy at a Wawa’s over the weekend). The article begins:

Chelsea Clinton is embroiled in a shocking drug scandal, the National Enquirer has learned. Source said the former First Daughter is furious after she was linked to a gossip item about cocaine use on a widely-read political website.

In light of the Enquirer spin, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you that we here at Wonkette said the exact opposite: that Chelsea — now working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York, where she’s well-liked and well-regarded by her colleagues — is an unlikely candidate for cocaine use.

And despite their salacious lede, the Enquirer’s own reporting points away from Chelsea too. They quote “a source close to Chelsea” as saying: “Chelsea is furious because she has never touched drugs. It’s well-known she had plenty of fun in college, sometimes drinking way too much, but that never included drug use. Chelsea is not the sort of person who needs drugs or cocaine to have a good time.”

To read about more logical cokehead daughter candidates, but whose names don’t sell as many supermarket tabloids as Chelsea Clinton’s, click here.

(The scandal-loving among you may be disappointed to hear that there’s no truth to this latest Chelsea rumor. To make up for it, here’s something about the former First Daughter that probably is true: she just checked into the trendy Viceroy Hotel, in celeb-studded Santa Monica. Enjoy your stay, Chelsea!)

Chelsea Checks Into Viceroy [Hotel Chatter]

Earlier: Guessing Game Results: The Cokehead Daughter

READ MORE: blind items, chelsea clinton, cocaine, corrections, drugs, for the record, gossip, guessing game, national enquirer, unverified rumors

For the Record: William Bode Too ‘Busy’ to Represent Washingtonienne

Earlier this month, we reported on the highly suspicious “notice of withdrawal” (hehe) filed by William Bode, former lawyer to Jessica Cutler, the Blogger Formerly Known as Washingtonienne. Now we bring you this update.

By way of summary: lawyers to Robert Steinbuch, the ex-lover of Jessica now suing her for invasion of privacy, moved to disqualify William Bode as Cutler’s lawyer. They argued that Bode had a conflict of interest, alleging that he was “W” — the middle-aged partner in a small Georgetown law firm, with whom Cutler had a sexual relationship, as described in her blog.

So what happened next? Bode withdrew from the case, filing a cursory notice of withdrawal that was conspicuously silent on the allegations that he was “W.”

Now Bode tells the Legal Times what he never bothered to tell the Court: that he is not “W.” Bode claims that he withdrew from Cutler’s case because he is “too busy.”

C’mon, Bill, do you really expect us to buy that? When was the last time a middle-aged male lawyer said he was too “busy” for Jessica Cutler? Unless you’ve found a younger and hotter intern to sleep with, we’re disinclined to believe you.

As for why Bode refused to address the allegations in any court filing, but was willing to discuss them with the media, our theory boils down to two words: Rule 11.

(Note to non-lawyers: Rule 11 is this rule that says you can’t lie to the Court, ‘n stuff. But lying to the media is okay — and everybody does it.)

Dirty Talk: Washingtonienne Blogger Loses Lawyer [Legal Times]
Love and Libel in Washington [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: A Spinoff from Her Sitcom: Jessica Cutler’s Legal Drama

READ MORE: corrections, for the record, jessica cutler, law, law suits, lawyers, robert steinbuch, sex, sex scandal, sex scandals, top, washingtonienne, william bode

For the Record: Ada Smith Is Even More Crazy Than We Thought

Earlier today, we blogged about New York State Senator Ada Smith, who has been accused of assaulting a former aide by throwing hot coffee in her face and pulling at her hairpiece. We were then deluged with reader mail about additional misdeeds by Senator Smith.

Here’s one representative message:

You should probably mention this in your ada L smith post: “Smith was also charged with biting a New York City police officer’s hand during a traffic dispute in 1998. In 1996, she was accused of threatening a former staff member with a knife. In both cases, Smith denied the charges.”

oh, and don’t forget the middle initial, i’ve personally been reprimanded for such a demonical offense.

Another reader directed us to this article, which mentions that Smith has “been accused of threatening a staff member with a cleaver.” And check out these song lyrics, an Ada-licious reworking of a Britney Spears classic.

In sum, Senator Ada L. Smith is far more insane than we originally reported. We regret the error.

Cops Probe Senator in Attack Claim [Times Union]
Senator With a History Investigated for Throwing Hot Coffee in Aide’s Face [Ithaca Journal]
Oops I Did It Again [Democracy In Albany]

Earlier: Cynthia McKinney Ain’t Got Nothing on Her

READ MORE: ada smith, corrections, crime, for the record, lunatics, new york, violence

For the Record: The Spanking Fetishist Is at the Other Campus

Here at Wonkette, we own up to our mistakes. Earlier today, we stated that Robert Steinbuch, the former lover of Jessica Cutler who is now suing her for invasion of privacy, teaches at the same law school where Bill Clinton — another man with a thing for interns — once taught.

This was erroneous (as several readers explained to us). Here was our favorite correction email:

Forgive the hairsplitting from flyover land (it’s our third favorite hobby here, after flag-wavin’ and meth-producin’), but Mssr. Steinbuch, Esq. is imparting his knowledge at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock law school, not here at the flagship campus in Fayetteville (where Mssr. Clinton, ex-Esq. once taught). While this fact does little to change the gist of your story, it does have some important potential consequences for our quaint inter-school rivalry.

First, it clearly advantages our law students over those in Little Rock, since they can focus on torts and such without the distraction of forcing thoughts about ‘entry through exits’ from their minds. Second, it reinforces our latent sense of superiority over our lesser counterpart in the state capital. Here in flagship Fayetteville, we hire people before they go on to achieve distinction through indiscretion, while poor Little Rock is left to employ has-beens whose days of scandalous productivity have passed them by.

We regret the error — and apologize to the good people of Fayetteville.

Earlier: A Spinoff from Her Sitcom: Jessica Cutler’s Legal Drama

READ MORE: Arkansas, bill clinton, corrections, for the record, fun with corrections, jessica cutler, robert steinbuch, washingtonienne

For the Record: Justice Scalia Is Less Cool Than We Thought

In response to our earlier post about Justice Scalia making an obscene gesture just after attending Mass, a reader sent us this message:

After reading the article, I don’t think it was the bird. Try this:

In the grand scheme of Italian gestures, it’s sorta tame. I have seen it interpreted anywhere from “you’re boring” to “I don’t give a fuck.” Either works here. As my union friends used to say, “What are you gonna do, take away my birthday?”

The Herald article is a little vague, but we’re inclined to agree with this reader: Justice Scalia’s gesture wasn’t a full-fledged flipping of the proverbial bird. But it still wasn’t exactly the most polite of actions; in some quarters, it could be interpreted as pretty darn close to giving someone the middle finger. So we will downgrade Nino a few levels on both the vulgarity and coolness scales.

Even after the downgrade, Justice Scalia is still way cooler than any of the other justices. Could you imagine any of his colleagues engaging in such a gesture? Yeah, we didn’t think so. (Of course, the justice most likely to be familiar with such a gesture — Justice Samuel Alito, the other Italian-American member of the Court — is way too mild-mannered to indulge in such behavior.)

Italian Hand Gestures: Gesture 26 [About.com]

Earlier: Guess Nino Didn’t Give Up Cursing for Lent

READ MORE: SCOTUS, antonin scalia, corrections, for the record, obscene gestures, samuel alito, supreme court, top