A Tangled Story of Addiction

After the case was closed, prosecutors told McCain's lawyer that they would make the report public. Before it was released, Sen. McCain dispatched Jay Smith, then his top strategist, to Phoenix to line up interviews between Cindy McCain and journalists from four selected media outlets who were unaware of the report. Smith did not include two news organizations that had learned about the report, the Arizona Republic and New Times, an alternative weekly in Phoenix.

McCain told the reporters that she was stepping forward willingly. "If what I say can help just one person to face the problem, it's worthwhile," she said.

Two reporters wrote that McCain said she had completed a drug treatment program at the Meadows, a facility in Wickenberg, Ariz., as part of the agreement with federal prosecutors. But days later, federal officials said that no agreement had been reached and that she had not yet been accepted into a diversion program, which would include approved treatment. McCain issued a statement saying the reporters erred, but she did not disclose details of her treatment.

The only public reference to treatment is her mention in the county investigator's report of a one-week stay at the Meadows.

Once the county report was released, along with Gosinski's journal, a few reporters challenged McCain's account. Only New Times published excerpts from Gosinski's diary. Within a few weeks, the story died in Arizona, without receiving national exposure. Gosinski ultimately ran out of money and let his lawsuit against McCain die.

Gosinski, who has moved to Nebraska, was initially reluctant to tell his story when contacted by The Post in May. He is still viewed with enmity by some in the drug investigation, including the Johnsons, who hold him responsible for the doctor's troubles.

He eventually gave several lengthy interviews and provided The Post with a copy of his journal. He subsequently cut off contact and asked that his name not be printed, saying he became frightened by the prospect of facing the McCain campaign on his own.

On Wednesday, he said he had changed his mind. He appeared at a news briefing in Arlington set up by a Democratic Party consultant. Gosinski, a registered Republican, said that he sought help orchestrating a single media event because so many reporters wanted his story, but that he has had no contact with the Obama campaign or the Democratic National Committee.

He also signed an agreement with the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a D.C.-based watchdog group, which will provide legal representation for him in the event of a lawsuit.

Controversy Fades

McCain's drug use became national news during her husband's first presidential campaign in 2000. Newsweek published a first-person account of her struggle, but it included some errors.

"It began with Vicodan [sic]. In 1989, I had ruptured a couple of disks carrying my 1-year-old, Bridget, in a pack on my back," she wrote.

But Bridget was not born until 1991. In other accounts, McCain said she hurt her back while picking up her son Jimmy, who was a toddler at the time of her injuries.

As the McCains traveled in the Straight Talk Express bus in 2000, interest in Cindy McCain's story faded when it became clear that she and her husband weren't headed for the White House.

This year, as the McCains campaigned again, Cindy McCain granted interviews about her past problems to "Access Hollywood" and Jay Leno. She called her addiction a life-changing crisis.

"Your life experiences make you," she told "Access Hollywood," "and hopefully you learn from them."

Research editor Alice Crites and staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.