The Arkansas Times received a shout-out in the White House press room Monday from an unlikely fan.
This would normally be a cause for tepid celebration, but Monday’s circumstances warranted no cheers. A reporter from a conservative out-of-the-mainstream “news” outlet mentioned the Arkansas Times in a question to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The question by Liam Cosgrove of the blog Zero Hedge had to do with the zany “Clinton Body Count” conspiracy theory popular among extremist right-wing circles. Cosgrove’s question focused on the death of Mark Middleton, a 59-year-old man who died by suicide at Heifer Ranch in Perryville. Arkansas Times Editor Emeritus Max Brantley wrote about Middleton’s death in 2022.
Middleton was a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton who lost unrestricted access to the White House after using his connections in private business in the early 1990s, a fact which has fueled speculation and conspiracy theories from Clinton detractors.
So, was Killary in on it? There’s no reason to believe that Middleton’s demise was anything other than a tragic and sad suicide. Of course, that’s not stopped conspiracy theorists from weaving Middleton’s death into some larger sinister plot.
In any event, the Arkansas Times was mentioned at the White House press briefing Monday. So there’s that.
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