Paul may, indeed, have not have authored the political and cultural commentary that would make these newsletters such a political liability. The most common suspicion is that the material was written by Lew Rockwell, his former chief of staff and the man listed as editor on these letters’ mastheads.

But the notion that he was totally unaware is increasingly difficult to believe. Certainly, in May of 1987, he was acknowledging that he knew about and was invested in the success of these newsletters, and they would generate an estimated $1 million in one year alone. And as reported by Andrew Kaczynski, the video archivist, he continued to take ownership of them through 1995.