There is no longer any doubt—not that there ever truly was. Ron Paul, the libertarian hero, was aware of and, indeed, intimately involved in, the production of the newsletters that printed a number of racist, homophobic, and conspiratorial screeds under his name.

Since The New Republic’s Jamie Kirchick exposed the extent of the vitriol in Paul’s newsletters in 2008, Paul has been trying to dodge responsibility. Some of what he says is generally believed to be true—he didn’t write the worst of the content himself—but he’s gone further than that. He and his campaign staff say he didn’t know what was sent out under his name. “I’ve never read that stuff,” he told CNN. Indeed, Paul and his team maintain that he doesn’t even know who wrote it. (Lew Rockwell is the man reportedly responsible for much of it, though he denies that; he remains close to Paul.) Paul’s supporters, fanatical as ever, have convinced themselves he’s telling the truth, that the media is just smearing him at the behest of its corporate, neo-con masters. But, as the Washington Post’s Jerry Markon and Alice Crites revealed on Friday, that’s just not true.

“People close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day,” Markon and Crites reported. They went on to write:

“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product.… He would proof it,” said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman…. A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said. “It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government,” said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this stuff. It was good copy. Ron Paul is a shrewd businessman.”

Even this can be explained away, if you’re looking to do so—politicians lie all the time. But what Paul has done with the newsletters cuts to the very core of the image that has made him the sensation he is. Paul’s supporters see him as unfailingly honest and principled, but his dishonesty about the newsletters shows that’s not true. And the problem is bigger than that.

Bad enough that Paul distributed the material—worse that he apparently didn’t believe it. According to the Post, he made a conscious choice to defame entire groups of people, to frighten his readers—people who trusted him—and to encourage hatred. And it wasn’t because he was principled, or honest, or a lone truth-teller—he did it as a “businessman” trying to increase sales. He did it to make money. Now he’s asking a whole new group of people to trust him. And, sadly, they do.

Photograph by John W. Adkisson/Getty Images.