be a 'nut.' We should have nothing to do with him." J. Edgar Hoover added: "I certainly agree." 1957 mistrial Meanwhile, Rushmore's second marriage was deteriorating. In addition to his amphetamine abuse, Rushmore had become an alcoholic, as had his wife Frances. On Monday, September 5, 1955, Frances jumped into the East River in a suicide attempt but was rescued by an air terminal worker. After admitting to the police that she jumped into the water on her own volition, she was taken to Bellevue for observation. Having quit the Journal-American after eleven years, Frances became an account executive for Klingman & Spencer, a prominent Manhattan public relations firm. Meanwhile, Rushmore tried to get Harrison to publish a story about former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt having an alleged affair with her African-American chauffeur. When Harrison refused, Rushmore quit. By early February 1956, he was reportedly an editor at the National Police Gazette. The next spring, despite Giesler's reassurances to the press, Scott's legal effort against Confidential would go nowhere; since the magazine was domiciled in New York State, and the plaintiffs were California residents who initiated the suits in their own state, the suits were quashed. Despite this setback, in addition to Scott's suit, "Giesler said he also would refile in New York a $2 million suit by actor Robert Mitchum against the magazine if it also is quashed here." Though Giesler's initial attack failed, lawsuits from other actors continued to pile up. Back in New York, Rushmore used his severance pay from Confidential to buy a plane ticket to California, where he contacted Giesler's office and offered to become a witness in exchange for a job in Hollywood; Giesler refused. Rushmore then became a witness for California Attorney General Edmund "Pat" Brown. Since Confidential was ensconced in New York State, and New York refused to let Brown extradite Harrison to California, Brown instead put Meade and Hollywood Research Inc. on trial. On August 7, 1957, The People of the State of California v. Robert Harrison et al. trial began.INS (Wednesday, August 7, 1957), "Lawyer Opens Trial Of Two Magazines," Anderson Daily Bulletin (Anderson, Indiana), p. 3 It would eventually involve over 200 actors, most of whom fled California to avoid defense subpoenas. Rushmore, now the state's star witness, testified that Confidential knowingly published unverified allegations despite the magazine's reputation for double-checking facts: "Some of the stories are true and