Caught by the Smoking Gun

On Sept. 6 in Roanoke Rapids, NC, a man attempted to purchase $150 worth of groceries. To pay for his items, he handed the clerk a $200 bill bearing the portrait of President George W. Bush complete with a White House drawing on the backside featuring lawn signs reading "We Like Ice Cream." The clerk accepted the bill and offered back $50 in change.

 Where's the first place you can turn to find this story and a picture of the bill ? The answer ought to be obvious: thesmokinggun.com Founded by former Village Voice reporter William Bastone and his colleague Daniel Green, the New York-based website has churned out a truly staggering amount of work since its establishment in 1997. With a book under its belt and a CourtTV show bearing its name, the website has become a phenomenon of muck-raking reporting at its all-time best.

 It's entirely true--all material used on the site is obtained from government and law enforcement sources--and comes to represent a fascinating study in journalistic audacity and celebrity megalomania. Recently, the website published the true account of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1977 interview with "Oui" magazine in which Arnold discusses his participation in a gang bang, the size of his penis, receiving oral sex backstage at bodybuilding contests, his stripper girlfriend, smoking pot and "f---ing the sh-t" out of women. Needless to say, the story caused a huge scandal in the California recall election process, particularly after the Republican contender initially denied the reports.

 Within 24 hours of putting up the Schwarzenegger material, the site had registered over 700,000 hits. The Smoking Gun had scored another success.

 The Schwarzenegger team originally suggested that the story was somehow the work of political opponents--that it had been construed as a journalistic weapon against him. Indeed, some have asked if this sort of explosive, flashy journalism possesses any real value. The truth is that it's not only valid--it's influential as well. After all, it was The Smoking Gun's editors who broke the scandal that changed the landscape of the California gubernatorial election process. They got the lead, they found the old "Oui Magazine," they made the story happen. Only hours after they posted the interview did the editors of every major American newspapers come around to reading the tale. And Schwarzenegger is hardly the only celebrity to be hit hard by The Smoking Gun; no one is immune from its prying eyes. The site has acquired mug shots of many celebrities--from sports to Hollywood to Carmen Electra--and put them out for the world to see.

 Indeed, with a mere four people working on the site, The Smoking Gun has made some impressive finds. Michael Jackson is a favorite target, and who can blame them? An actual copy of the lawsuit brought against Jackson charging sexual assault of a teenage boy was posted, revealing all the carefully guarded details of the case. Even Tom Cruise got a taste of the smoking gun when the strict "confidentiality" agreement he forces all his employees to sign was posted. And just this year the site published the never-before-released witness statement that led to the rape conviction of director Roman Polanski.

 But for all the serious muck-raking that goes on, the site is a master at fun, flighty stories as well. Where else can you learn that the Fab 5 from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" have a contact worth only $3,000 per person a show (and have to fly coach!), or that Mariah Carey demands Cristal, champagne glasses and bendy straws in her dressing room? Or that Xina Aguilera insists on Flintstone's chewable vitamins for hers? And J Lo, don't even go there.

 The website recently posted a sneak preview of the next installment of MTV's Real World set in San Diego: cast-member Robin Hibbard, a 23 year-old Coyote Ugly bartender from Tampa was recently arrested and charged with "misdemeanor battery" (including nine hours in jail) for assaulting a 29 year-old Marine in an area nightclub. Head's up for the season ahead.