Larry Klayman gets his man.

• Author: Conniff, Ruth
• Position: The Word from Washington

What a strange turn of events for those rightwing voters sporting "Love my country, fear my government" bumper stickers. After eight years of being scandalized by Bill Clinton, they finally have the President they've been waiting for, the avenging Republican who swept aside Al Gore to "return honor and dignity to the White House"--and what is he doing? Reviewing the Posse Comitatus act to see whether it might be OK to send jack-booted government agents into American citizens' homes.

If anyone represents the Clinton-hating, government-fearing Republican constituency it is Larry Klayman. This former Justice Department lawyer founded Judicial Watch, his own private, nonprofit Attorney General's office, apparently to pursue the Clintons to their graves. He became famous for cracking the Chinagate campaign finance scandal in 1996, and for subpoenaing virtually everyone in Washington. During the last couple of years of the Administration, he investigated every scandal from Gennifer Flowers to Whitewater to Monica Lewinsky, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, and Hillary's pinching of official White House furniture on her way out the door. His litigiousness was so legendary that The Washington Post ran a funny item about how he took his own mother to court.

By now you'd think Klayman would be investigated out, what with the departure of the Clintons and the return of honor and dignity. But what do you know, Klayman and Judicial Watch have been popping up in the news again. It turns out Klayman's focus is not just a relentless hatred of all things Clinton-related (though that seems to play a hefty role in his psyche, not to mention the fundraising base of his organization). No, Klayman is concerned about government corruption even when it wears a Republican suit. Now he is going after Dick Cheney, and joining forces with the Sierra Club, no less, to try to force the Vice President to divulge the names of the people and corporations he consulted with in developing energy policy. Klayman is also demanding answers on Cheney's decision-making role in the accounting practices of Halliburton when he was CEO. To gauge the seriousness of Klayman's challenge, check out Judicial Watch press releases, which equate Hillary Clinton's stonewalling with Dick Cheney's. Klayman even calls Cheney's energy task force "Hillary Clinton Health Care Task Force, Part II."

Judicial Watch also holds nothing back when it attacks the Bush Administration's civil liberties...