Clinton Aide Sues AOL, Columnist for Libel

Presidential advisor Sidney Blumenthal filed a $30-million defamation suit against America Online and cyber gossip columnist Matt Drudge, who alleged the Clinton aide had abused his wife. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleged that Drudge knew the claim was false or made no attempt to check its accuracy when he said in an Aug. 10 Drudge Report that Blumenthal “has a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up.” The suit alleges 20 acts of libel, slander and invasion of privacy and seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages. It was filed on behalf of Blumenthal and his wife, Jacqueline Jordan Blumenthal, director of the president’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Dulles, Va.-based America Online, which was named as a defendant in the suit because it makes the Drudge Report available to millions of subscribers, had no immediate comment. Drudge, of Los Angeles, could not be reached. But on Wednesday, his Web site was topped by the headline, “White House Aide Sues Internet Reporter.”