Former New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth, co-author of Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton (Little, Brown & Co., June 2007), appears in the recently released trailer for Hillary: The Movie, a "full-length feature documentary" about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) that “is the first and last word in what the Clintons want America to forget,” according to the film's website. The website also claims, “If you want to hear about the Clinton scandals of the past and present, you have it here!” Citizens United president David Bossie, a Republican activist and discredited former congressional staffer, produced the film. In the trailer, Gerth asserts that Clinton is “a person who's struggling herself with figuring out who she is, or more importantly, how she wants to present herself to the American public.” Gerth is also listed on the website as a member of the film's “cast to end all casts,” although he is not included on the website page labeled “Cast.”

It is not clear from the trailer whether Gerth is being interviewed for the film or whether his appearance is a pre-existing clip. However, the trailer also features a video clip from Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) November 26 interview on ABC's Nightline, and Obama is not named among the film's “cast to end all casts” or on the page labeled “Cast,” suggesting that those lists are limited to people who were interviewed for the film. Further, a Google search and a review of the Nexis news database for Gerth's quote yielded no results.

As Media Matters for America documented, syndicated columnist Robert Novak wrote in his January 20 column that “Former Clinton Adviser” Dick Morris is “asking for a contribution between $25 and $100 or more to finance a critical film documentary of Sen. Hillary Clinton.” According to Novak, Morris wrote in a mailing sent out by The Presidential Coalition, a group run by Bossie: “If you liked how the Swift Boat Veterans turned the tide against John Kerry, you understand how a top Clinton aide can turn the tables and stop a Clinton-style liberal from becoming the next president of the United States.” A February 17 Gannett News Service article reported that Morris and Bossie “are trying to raise $3.5 million to produce a movie critical of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, aiming its release for October or November -- just ahead of the 2008 presidential caucuses and primaries.” In a March 23 blog post, Politico senior political writer Ben Smith reported that “Clinton apostate Dick Morris appears to have scaled back his involvement in 'Hillary, the Movie,' which had earlier been described as a collaboration between him and David Bossie, the longtime Clinton foe who runs Citizens United.” In an email to Smith reported in an update to the post, Morris wrote: “I'll certainly appear in for a segment and wish the project well, but I had to pull out as the producer.”

Conservative media figures appearing on the trailer criticizing Clinton include:

• Washington Times columnist Tony Blankley, who claims that Clinton “makes herself sound like she has diplomatic experience, like she has managerial experience, as if she has policy development experience. She doesn't have any of those things.” Blankley also asserts, “Well, I think it's worth remembering, after her health-care fiasco, the Clinton team put it aside.”

• Novak, who claims that Clinton “does not answer questions straight out.”

• Republican strategist and author of The Extreme Makeover of Hillary (Rodham) Clinton (Regnery, May 2007) Bay Buchanan, who asserts: “She's driven by the power. She's driven to get the power. That is the driving force in her life.”

• Conservative radio host Mark Levin, who says, “She is steeped in controversy, steeped in sleaze, that's why they don't want us to look at her record.” He also claims that Clinton “scares the hell out of me.”

• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who claims, “I mean, certainly, you have to ask whether or not she's learned a lot from that experience. It was a failure. She knows it was a failure. It was a very embarrassing failure for her.”

• Fox News contributor and Dick Morris, who claims, “She's deceitful. She'll make up any story, lie about anything, as long as it serves her purpose of the moment, and the American people are going to catch on to it.” He also describes Clinton as "[r]uthless, vindictive ... ideological, [and] intolerant."

• Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, who purports to offer descriptions of Clinton, says: “Venal, sneaky ... liar is a good one.”

Each of the above is listed as a member of the film's “cast to end all casts,” listed on the page labeled “Cast,” or both.