Trump and the ghosts of scandals past
THE EVENING ENDED BADLY. ON DEC. 13, 1950, THE Washington columnist Drew Pearson was being feted at a birthday dinner at the Sulgrave Club near Dupont Circle. A vocal opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy, Pearson had relentlessly attacked the Wisconsin lawmaker ever since McCarthy launched his red-hunting campaign that February. Still, small-town Washington being small-town Washington, McCarthy was invited to the party. He was, one notable guest recalled, spoiling for a fight. Emboldened by shots of bourbon, McCarthy asked Pearson to step outside, but the columnist demurred.
