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The Terminator's Lawyer Tried to Intimidate the Reader, Too

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the machine gunner/actor, has been caught with his pants down. He has admitted being the father of a child born to a long-time staffer more than ten years ago.

Schwarzenegger's wife has left him.

His long-time lawyer has been Los Angeles attorney Martin (Mad Dog) Singer. In 2009, the Reader was working on a story about lawsuits filed against Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills private equity group that owns the Union-Tribune. The suits, which were a matter of public record, charged that the company engaged in sexual harassment, and women who slept with executives were rewarded financially; the suits named names.

The Reader got a letter from Singer saying that Platinum might file a defamation suit "giving rise to potentially astronomical damages." Warned Singer, "You proceed at your peril."

Then came the knee-slapper: Singer claimed that his threatening letter was not for publication or other use. After consulting our lawyer, we published both the story and Singer's threatening letter in its entirety. Other publications such as the Wall Street Journal had published his blistering missives.

Now, it turns out, back in 2001, a magazine had printed a story charging that Schwarzenegger was engaging in marital infidelity. The staff of then-Governor Gray Davis had sent copies of the article around, just in case Schwarzenegger ran for governor, as was being rumored then.

Sure enough, Singer rushed out with his threatening letter. The story was false and defamatory, Singer warned in the five-page letter. Singer noted that USA Today had refuted the article, and Schwarzenegger's Hollywood colleagues had come forward to defend the Terminator against false charges.

Thanks to Matt Potter for sending this along.

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A couple of accidental crashes at California English

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the machine gunner/actor, has been caught with his pants down. He has admitted being the father of a child born to a long-time staffer more than ten years ago.

Schwarzenegger's wife has left him.

His long-time lawyer has been Los Angeles attorney Martin (Mad Dog) Singer. In 2009, the Reader was working on a story about lawsuits filed against Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills private equity group that owns the Union-Tribune. The suits, which were a matter of public record, charged that the company engaged in sexual harassment, and women who slept with executives were rewarded financially; the suits named names.

The Reader got a letter from Singer saying that Platinum might file a defamation suit "giving rise to potentially astronomical damages." Warned Singer, "You proceed at your peril."

Then came the knee-slapper: Singer claimed that his threatening letter was not for publication or other use. After consulting our lawyer, we published both the story and Singer's threatening letter in its entirety. Other publications such as the Wall Street Journal had published his blistering missives.

Now, it turns out, back in 2001, a magazine had printed a story charging that Schwarzenegger was engaging in marital infidelity. The staff of then-Governor Gray Davis had sent copies of the article around, just in case Schwarzenegger ran for governor, as was being rumored then.

Sure enough, Singer rushed out with his threatening letter. The story was false and defamatory, Singer warned in the five-page letter. Singer noted that USA Today had refuted the article, and Schwarzenegger's Hollywood colleagues had come forward to defend the Terminator against false charges.

Thanks to Matt Potter for sending this along.

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Schwarzenegger's sexual harassment history featured in Democrat's Issa hit

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