Larry Klayman is getting to them

By Joseph Farah

One thing about these Clintonistas: When you expose them, they come
after you.

On a recent Fox News program, the host suggested to me that it wasn’t
very subtle of the Internal Revenue Service agent who audited my
organization to admit that he was on a political fishing expedition.

“There’s nothing subtle about the way this administration goes after
its enemies,” I explained.

The latest target of politically motivated attacks by the
administration is Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman. Because this
committed, dynamic and active freedom fighter is so effective, the only
surprise is why it took so long.

Probably because Klayman is a successful litigator and an experienced
Washington pro, the worst of the assaults are not coming from the IRS,
or even directly from the government. The approach is different. But it
is vicious, nonetheless.

They’re coming after Klayman with an orchestrated smear campaign in
the media.

You can bet the White House’s team of “private investigators” (they
were called “plumbers” in another disgraced administration) dug up the
“dirt.”

And what did they find on Klayman? That he sued members of his family
to recover expenses paid to care for his late beloved grandmother, Yetta
— the woman who raised Klayman from birth. The slimers from Newsweek and
other news organizations picked up on this anecdote to illustrate their
ridiculous point that Klayman would “sue anyone — even his own mother.”

Here’s the real story. Klayman was extremely close to his
grandmother. When he learned that she was being neglected by her
daughter and stepson after being hospitalized with a broken hip, Klayman
and his wife, Stephanie, took her out of her nursing home in
Philadelphia to Washington to care for her.

Because Medicaid denied coverage, her life savings of $90,000 had
been misappropriated and her health insurance permitted to lapse, the
Klaymans guaranteed payment of the medical expenses, which amounted to
more than $50,000. After her death at 89 last August, Yetta’s daughter
and stepson refused to pay the expenses, despite admitting the fact that
they had possession of his grandmother’s money.

To protect the interests of the nurses who cared for his grandmother
during the day, when the Klaymans worked, he was forced to bring an action to recoup
enough money to keep his promise.

Now, in my book, this little story makes Larry Klayman even more of a
hero than he already was with me. It shows he is true to his principles
and compassionate. But the Clinton partisans in the press use a piece of
the story to hurt Klayman and trample the memory of his grandmother.

Yetta Goldberg was a first-generation American who embodied
everything this country stands for — self-reliance, freedom,
determination, family values, love. She earned nickels and dimes selling
dresses and lived only to serve her loved ones and others. All she ever
asked was to be taken care of when she could no longer take care of
herself. She did not ask for a handout from anyone — including her
family. Instead, she set aside a nest egg to pay for medical care and
entrusted it to her daughter.

But, through no fault of her own, she was left alone and helpless —
except for her nurses and Larry and Stephanie Klayman.

Klayman had to make an unimaginably cruel choice — between family
members who didn’t seem to care and a bedridden grandmother who had
trusted them. No one should have to make such a choice. But Klayman made
the right one. He put his talent and skills to use to fight for his
grandmother like no one else would.

The state, by the way, was of no help in this battle. The District of
Columbia courts refused Klayman standing — even to intervene to require
that his grandmother’s infections be treated and that she not be
deliberately starved to death. Klayman guaranteed his grandmother’s
bills be paid because he knew that’s what his grandmother would have
wanted and because it was the right thing to do.

Our society has witnessed a devastating breakdown of family values in
the last 30 years. But Larry Klayman still believes in them, and he
proved it by taking care of Yetta Goldberg in her final days.

It shows, once again, that Larry Klayman will do what is right — no
matter who is involved. Klayman is a guy who never shrinks from his
standards of ethics and morality. He’s a man who looks to no one but God
for guidance and direction. He’s just the kind of person we need in
times like this.

Joseph Farah

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union. Read more of Joseph Farah's articles here.