Western CPAC – John Ziegler Ejected After Dust-up with ACU Chair

Rabble-rousing filmmaker John Ziegler interviewed American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene at the ACU’s Western CPAC yesterday, and he turned loose the bulldog style he usually reserves for MSNBC anchors.  Ziegler confronted Keene about comments he made about Sarah Palin, and about the FedEx scandal.  Profanity, threats of violence, and a “Kanye moment” ensued.

Ziegler gave Mediaite an exclusive first look at video of the interview, and his subsequent ejection.

The balance of the official interview is comprised of Ziegler trying to get Keene to account for comments that Sarah Palin “whined” about media coverage, and that she “bailed” on her post as Alaska Governor.  Keene largely sticks to his guns, saying that he respects Palin, but that she mishandled the press and her resignation.

Then, Ziegler asks Keene who paid him to trash Palin, a reference to the Politico story that detailed the ACU’s solicitation of around $3 million from FedEx to support their position on pending legislation.  FedEx didn’t pay, and shortly thereafter, ACU endorsed FedEx rival UPS’s position, creating the strong impression that ACU’s opinion was for sale.  Keene says that his position on the legislation was consistent.

After defending the point for a few minutes, Keene gets up and tries to end the interview.  Ziegler follows Keene, continuing to question him about the FedEx incident and his support for Arlen Specter.  Keene becomes agitated and tries to grab Ziegler’s mic away from him.

Ziegler sticks with him for a good 5 minutes more after that, even as Keene calls him a “scumbag,” tells him “I’m not going to hit you, but I’d like to,” then says, “You’re an asshole.  Got that on the air?  Asshole!”

Keene then ducks into a speaking event. leaving Ziegler to heckle him from just outside the room by offering him $20 to write a pro-Palin op-ed.

Ziegler’s speaking spot is then canceled, and he is told he’s being expelled from the conference.  When I spoke to John last night, he told me that he could hear conference organizer Jim Lacy’s comments as he ate lunch, and couldn’t take it.  In the video, Lacy is explaining Ziegler’s exit to the crowd, when John comes onstage to correct the record.  Amazingly, he somehow manages to get ahold of a live microphone, and proceeds to tell the entire conference that David Keene is a “sellout” before being escorted from the stage by security.

I met John Ziegler at February’s CPAC in DC, where he was just beginning his quest to clear Sarah Palin’s name via his film, Media Malpractice. The highlight of that conference, of course, was another Ziegler kerfuffle, this one with Daily Beast’s Max Blumenthal. While it was easy for conservatives to choose sides in that fight, Ziegler’s conflict with the organizers of CPAC will be a true test of conservative goodwill toward him.

This is also not Ziegler’s first brush with forcible ejection.  He was arrested earlier this year for trying to interview attendees of a journalism awards show at USC.

Ziegler says he will have video and commentary on the incident online “ASAP.”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.