... to any claim of slander (or, more accurately here, libel, since the statement is written, not oral).

And, to be defensible, the truth need not be included in the written statement. It is only necessary, after the fact, to be able to demonstrate the truth of the statement.

Furthermore, a claim that someone "is a crook" is arguably a statement of opinion, which can never be libel.

See the thread starting with this message, for example:

http://www.thechipboard.com/cgi-bin/tcbarc08/tcbarc08.pl?read=239512

If you read all the way through it, you'll find a message by Andy Hughes at:

http://www.thechipboard.com/cgi-bin/tcbarc08/tcbarc08.pl?read=239813

In this message, Andy notes that I was a long time defender of Dean Clark -- which, for reasons that I won't rehash here, I was. However, even I eventually saw the light:

http://www.thechipboard.com/cgi-bin/tcbarc08/tcbarc08.pl?read=239389

I would hope that no club member buys anything from Dean Clark.

----- jim o\-S