The book Crisis of Character hasn’t even been published yet but today a group of former Secret Service agents will issue a letter strongly suggesting that author, Gary Byrne, is a liar. Politico, which got an advance look at the letter, reports:

On Tuesday, AFAUSSS, which is strictly nonpartisan, is set to release a statement blasting Gary Byrne author of “Crisis in Character,” saying members “strongly denounce” the book, which they add has made security harder by eroding the trust between agents and the people they protect.

“There is no place for any self-moralizing narratives, particularly those with an underlying motive,” reads the statement from the group’s board of directors, which says Byrne has politics and profit on his mind…

“One must question the veracity and content of any book which implies that its author played such an integral part of so many [claimed] incidents. Any critique of management by one who has never managed personnel or programs resounds hollow. Additionally, why would an employee wait in excess of ten years after terminating his employment with the Service to make his allegations public?” it reads.

This letter from the group of former agents suggests Byrne is lying without actually identifying a specific lie. The thrust of the argument, such as it is, is that Byrne was too low-level to have seen what he claims to have seen.

In fact, Byrne doesn’t claim to have personally witnessed all of the incidents mentioned in his book or to have been an “integral part” of all of them. For instance, earlier this month I wrote about excerpts from the book which dealt with a story involving Hillary Clinton and a broken vase. Byrne says he came in to work one morning and people were talking about a loud screaming match that took place the night before, i.e. he wasn’t there. But he wanted to know if the story of the smashed vase was true so he passed by the office of the White House Curator:

I peeked into the curator’s small, windowless ground-floor office across from the China Room and the Diplomatic Reception Room. It was cluttered with blueprints and history books on the every detail of the White House: fabrics, furniture, artifacts. Sure enough, there was a box containing a light blue vase smashed to bits. The rumors were true!

So in this case Byrne didn’t claim to have heard the shouting only to have seen the aftermath. Is there any reason someone in his position couldn’t have stopped by the curator’s office and seen this? The letter doesn’t seem to offer any reason to believe this story isn’t true.

The letter also takes issue with a story published by the New York Post over the weekend which claims Byrne walked in on Bill Clinton fooling around with Eleanor Mondale in the White House Map Room. Again, the letter from the former agents suggests Byrne is lying but it doesn’t actually offer any proof he didn’t see what he claims to have seen, much less that the affair didn’t happen.

Byrne’s publicist tells Politico, “The Clintons always trash the messenger.” She adds, “This is the first of many Clinton-directed media attempts at character assassination.”

I’ve asked this before but at one point does Bill Clinton stop getting the benefit of the doubt when it comes to affairs? He has been accused of propositioning, groping, even rape. At what point do his denials and those made on his behalf start to ring hollow?