Editing Larry Flynt (section)

==Politics==
Flynt was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] when [[Bill Clinton]] was president. In 2013, he said he was "a [[civil libertarian]] to the core",<ref name="hp20Nov">{{cite news |title=Larry Flynt, ''Hustler'' magazine publisher, on gay rights, politics, and porn |date=November 11, 2011 |website=[[The Huffington Post]] |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/10/larry-flynt-gay-rights-hustler-magazine_n_1086970.html |access-date=November 22, 2013 |first=Curtis |last=Wong}}</ref> though he once attempted a presidential run as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite news |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |date=January 3, 1984 |title=The FCC |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |issn=0190-8286 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/01/03/the-fcc/54d6bbf2-3904-439a-a0ec-fa9461a4d150/ |access-date=August 1, 2020}}</ref> He was a staunch critic of the [[Warren Commission]] and offered $1&nbsp;million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assassin of [[John F. Kennedy]]. In 2003, Flynt was a candidate in the [[2003 California recall|recall election]] of California governor [[Gray Davis]], calling himself a "smut peddler who cares".<ref>{{cite news |title=Candidates |website=CNN |date=August 6, 2003 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/06/candidates.announce/index.html}}</ref> He finished seventh in a field of 135&nbsp;candidates with 17,458&nbsp;votes (0.2%).<ref>{{cite news |title=What happened to the top 10&nbsp;finishers in California's 2003 recall election? |date=October 5, 2013 |newspaper=The Mercury News |place=San Jose, CA |language=en-US |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/10/05/what-happened-to-the-top-10-finishers-in-californias-2003-recall-election/ |access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref>

Flynt repeatedly weighed in on public debates by trying to expose conservative or Republican politicians with sexual scandals. He did so during the [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeachment proceedings against President Clinton]] in 1998, offering $1&nbsp;million for evidence and publishing the results in ''The Flynt Report''. These publications led to the resignation of incoming House Speaker [[Bob Livingston]]. In 2007, Flynt repeated his $1&nbsp;million offer and also wrote the foreword to Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer's ''The Brotherhood of Disappearing Pants: A field guide to conservative sex scandals'', which contained some cases published by Flynt.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Joseph Minton |last1=Amann |first2=Tom |last2=Breuer |date=2007 |title=The Brotherhood of Disappearing Pants: A field guide to conservative sex scandals |publisher=Avalon |isbn=978-1568583778}}</ref>

In 2003, Flynt purchased nude photographs of former [[Private First Class|PFC]] [[Jessica Lynch]], who was captured by Iraqi forces, rescued from an Iraqi hospital by U.S. troops and celebrated as a hero by the media. He said he would never show any of the photographs, calling Lynch a "good kid" who became "a pawn for the government". Flynt supported activist groups opposed to the [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]] in 2004 and 2005. He was a strong supporter of [[LGBT rights]] and [[same-sex marriage]].<ref name="hp20Nov" />

In 2012, Flynt offered a $1&nbsp;million reward for information on [[Mitt Romney and tax returns|Mitt Romney's unreleased tax returns]] and ran two full-page ads in ''[[USA Today]]'' and ''[[The Washington Post]]'' to promote the offer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bazilian |first=Emma |date=September 7, 2012 |title=Larry Flynt offers $1&nbsp;M reward for Mitt Romney tax returns |website=Adweek |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/press/larry-flynt-offers-1m-reward-mitt-romney-tax-returns-143474 |access-date=December 17, 2012}}</ref>

Flynt endorsed [[Mark Sanford]] in the 2013 special election for [[South Carolina's 1st congressional district]], saying "His open embrace of his mistress in the name of love, breaking his sacred marriage vows, was an act of bravery that has drawn my support."<ref>{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Gentilviso |date=April 30, 2013 |work=[[Huffington Post]] |title='America's great sex pioneer' gets big endorsement |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/larry-flynt-mark-sanford_n_3189201.html}}</ref>

In January 2015, following the attack on ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'', Flynt criticized the American media for refusing to broadcast the caricatures of Mohammed from the satirical weekly.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hervaud|first=Alexandre|title="Charlie Hebdo" : Larry Flynt, l'icône du porno, s'attaque à l'autocensure américaine|url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/2015/01/22/charlie-hebdo-larry-flynt-le-roi-du-porno-s-attaque-a-l-autocensure-americaine_1186376/|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=Libération|language=fr}}</ref>

In May&nbsp;2015, Flynt endorsed [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Gass |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Larry Flynt endorses Hillary Clinton |website=[[Politico]] |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/larry-flynt-endorses-hillary-clinton-117547.html}}</ref> In an interview with ''Marfa Journal'' later that year, he described his political views as "[[Progressive liberalism|progressively liberal]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title = Interview with Larry Flynt on Marfa Journal |department = Maria Minerva |first = Maria |last = Juur |website = mariaminerva.com |url = http://mariaminerva.com/Interview-with-Larry-Flynt-on-Marfa-Journal |access-date = February 17, 2016 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160205233405/http://mariaminerva.com/Interview-with-Larry-Flynt-on-Marfa-Journal |archive-date = February 5, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref>

In October&nbsp;2017, Flynt offered a $10&nbsp;million reward for any evidence that would lead to the impeachment of President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Larry Flynt just offered a $10&nbsp;million reward for the goods on Trump |date=October 13, 2017 |website=Verified Politics |url=http://verifiedpolitics.com/larry-flynt-just-offered-10-million-reward-goods-trump-2/ |access-date=October 15, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Larry Flynt, ''Hustler'' publisher, offers $10&nbsp;million for dirt leading to Donald Trump's impeachment |date=October 14, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/14/larry-flynt-hustler-publisher-offers-10-million-di/ |access-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> A 2019 Christmas card from Larry Flynt Publications, sent to several Republican congressmen, depicted Trump's [[assassination]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jessica |last=Chasmar |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |date=January 3, 2020 |title=Hustler's Christmas card to Republicans depicts Trump's assassination |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/3/hustlers-christmas-card-to-republicans-depicts-tru/ |access-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104050126/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/3/hustlers-christmas-card-to-republicans-depicts-tru/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>