W.F.B. vs. the SEC
William F. Buckley Jr., the conservative columnist, editor, spy novelist and talk-show Torquemada, strikes an all wise posture when lecturing Presidents, diplomats and others on their ethical responsibilities. But last week, on the firing line himself in a civil fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Buckley found himself pleading, of all things, ignorance.
The SEC accused Buckley of misusing his position as chairman of the publicly owned Starr Broadcasting Group, Inc., a Westport, Conn., firm owning radio and TV stations throughout the U.S. The charge was that he arranged to have the company bail him and...