‘92 ‘Smear’ Was Hoax, Ex-Perot Aide Says

A private investigator who supported Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential campaign says he made up charges that Republicans were trying to smear the Texas billionaire, charges that eventually led Perot to drop out. Scott Barnes told the Dallas Morning News that he and a former producer for the British Broadcasting Corp., David Taylor, convinced Perot that Republicans had photos of one of his daughters in a compromising position. Barnes, who did occasional work for Perot, said he and Taylor thought a dirty-tricks campaign purportedly linked to the GOP would cause George Bush to lose his presidency. But the plan backfired, Barnes said, because Perot was drawn in, “not realizing the whole thing was . . . a hoax.”