Talkin’ Linda McMahon and ‘Character and Integrity’ with Chris Benoit’s Father

Mike Benoit – Chris Benoit’s father – is among the blog readers who have encouraged me to join the fray over The New York Times‘ politically tinged follow-up to its earlier report exposing how Richard Blumenthal, at a minimum, twisted and hyped accounts of his stateside service in the Marine Reserves during the Vietnam War.

Raymond Hernandez of The Times makes his latest contribution to the commonweal in a story today headlined “G.O.P. Hopeful Criticizes Blumenthal on Integrity.” See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/nyregion/01mcmahon.html?_r=1&th&emc=th.

The G.O.P. hopeful, of course, is Linda McMahon, Democrat Blumenthal’s Republican opponent in the Connecticut U.S. Senate race. So far as I know, ace reporter Hernandez (whose main work on the Blumenthal story apparently has consisted of being fed damaging videotape by McMahon operatives) has not done a single story on the policy substance of this campaign; nor has he clued Times readers in on Linda’s own hefty portfolio of evasions of and variations on the truth. (One such example involves the trifling matter of arguable obstruction of a federal criminal investigation of her husband and their company, the predecessor of World Wrestling Entertainment.)

Even so, as I told Mike Benoit, I didn’t want to weigh in heavily on The Times and Blumenthal. For one thing, despite whatever lapses there might have been in Times standards here, I don’t think the way Blumenthal has touted his military record is objectively defensible. For another, it has nothing to do with the issue on which I am trying to elevate public consciousness: the disgusting and avoidable pandemic of death in the pro wrestling industry on Linda McMahon’s watch. And finally, I have no desire to be a tool of Blumenthal or any other candidate.

Mike Benoit – who is no more in cahoots with me than I am with Blumenthal – persisted. He emailed:

Let me just make my small contribution to the list of things that Linda McMahon was responsible for as the CEO of WWE that would point to her lack ofcharacter and integrity.

(1) Appeared on Good Morning America talking about my grandson’s retardation being the cause of June 2007 Tragedy. There is absolutely no documentation of Daniel having any mental disorder.

(2) Having Dr Cyril Wecht call the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in an attempt to influence their investigation of the Benoit case.

(3) Having a private investigator by the name of Clifford Cormany pose as my rep at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to get information on the Benoit case back in July 2007.

(4) Having their lawyer attempt to get our lawyer to believe that Nancy killed Daniel and then Chris killed Nancy, suggesting it would be in both our best interests.

(5) When # 4 did not work, starting a rumor that Nancy and Chris were selling drugs out of their house.

(6) Failure to pay the balanceof Chris’s wages and royalties due from merchandise sales up to June 25/07 to his surviving children.

Can she really call out someone questioning their character and integrity when her own lack of same is in question?

For readers interested in how some of these subjects have been covered on my blog, see the following from the archives:

• “Linda McMahon and ‘Fragile X Syndrome’ (Part 1),” February 3, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/linda-mcmahon-and-%E2%80%98fragile-x-syndrome%E2%80%99-part-1/

• “Linda McMahon and ‘Fragile X Syndrome’ (Part 2),” February 3, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/linda-mcmahon-and-fragile-x-syndrome-part-2/

• “Linda McMahon and ‘Fragile X Syndrome’ (Part 3),” February 3, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/linda-mcmahon-and-fragile-x-syndrome-part-3/

• “Linda McMahon and ‘Fragile X Syndrome’ (Part 4), February 3, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/linda-mcmahon-and-fragile-x-syndrome-part-4/

• “Linda McMahon’s Despicable June 2007 ‘Good Morning America’ Interview,” February 4, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/linda-mcmahons-despicable-june-2007-good-morning-america-interview/

• “For Linda McMahon’s WWE, Depraved Is As Depraved Does,” February 5, 2010, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/for-linda-mcmahons-wwe-depraved-is-as-depraved-does/

• “Chris Benoit’s Dad to Author Muchnick, Part 2: WWE/McMahon Lawyer McDevitt and the Pennsylvania Coroner,” December 11, 2009, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/chris-benoit%E2%80%99s-dad-to-author-muchnick-part-2-wwemcmahon-lawyer-mcdevitt-and-the-pennsylvania-coroner/

• “Ex-FBI Agent, Working for WWE, Poses as Benoit Family Investigator,” May 15, 2008, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/archive-51508-ex-fbi-agent-working-for-wwe-poses-as-benoit-family-investigator/

Irv Muchnick