Private investigator Anthony Pellicano got out of a federal prison last Friday, but he's back in jail where he is expected to face celebrity wiretap charges.

It's a big story in Hollywood.

But most of my colleagues in the press continue to downplay a much bigger story – one with political implications that could make everyone forget about Jack Abramoff.

What no one else is telling the American public about this thug is that he worked for the last president – and that he was hired by someone who wants to be the next president.

Pellicano, as WND reported yesterday, was a member of what has been dubbed President Clinton's "Shadow Team." What he did for the White House during the Clinton years remains shrouded in mystery. But he is a private investigator known for ruthless dirty tricks and rough tactics on behalf of celebrity clients.

Pellicano, now 61, made a name for himself by working for Hollywood's elite before and after being commissioned by Hillary Clinton during her husband's administration to spy on their perceived "enemies."

He was released Friday from a federal prison after completing a 2 1/2-year sentence for possessing illegal arms and explosives, including two live hand grenades and a pile of C4 – complete with blasting cap and detonation cord. Pellicano was immediately transferred to San Bernardino County Jail, sometimes used by federal prisoners, and booked on charges that are under seal. He is expected to be charged with illegal wiretapping.

Pellicano's legal troubles began in 2002 when prosecutors claim he hired Alexander Proctor to threaten Anita Busch, then a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, who was working on a story about actor Steven Seagal and possible links to the Mafia.

Proctor allegedly went to Busch's home, placed a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on the windshield of her car and made a bullet-sized hole in her windshield. He also placed a sign with the word "stop" on the windshield, court documents show. The FBI later raided Pellicano's office, found the illegal explosives and seized documents including many pages of transcripts of illegally wiretapped conversations.

But what no one is talking about is what Pellicano did during the Clinton years. Pellicano was one of several private investigators used by the White House to conduct "shadow" operations. Others included Terry Lenzner, founder and chairman of the powerful Washington detective firm Investigative Group International, and San Francisco private eye Jack Palladino and his wife Sandra Sutherland.

It was Hillary Clinton who hired the "Shadow Team" – some believe to do work that employees of the federal government could not or would not do.

Former congressional investigator Barbara Olson, who was killed Sept. 11, 2001, wrote that, "In the political life of the Clintons, it was she [Hillary] who pioneered the use of private detectives. It was she who brought in and cultivated the professional dirt-diggers and smear artists."

According to former Clinton political aide Dick Morris, Hillary's "Shadow Team" engaged in "a systematic campaign to intimidate, frighten, threaten, discredit and punish innocent Americans whose only misdeed is their desire to tell the truth in public."

In his book, "Hillary's Secret War," author Richard Poe explains that Pellicano's violent career as a private investigator reveals much about the sorts of qualifications Hillary sought in her "Shadow Team."

In the January 1992 issue of GQ magazine, Pellicano boasted of the dirty work he had performed for his clients, including blackmail and physical assault. He claimed to have beaten one of his client's enemies with a baseball bat. "I'm an expert with a knife," said Pellicano. "I can shred your face with a knife."

While we know Pellicano was deeply involved in Clinton damage-control operations – including efforts to discredit former Clinton lovers Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky, much of his work during that era remains secret.

Many of us who tried to alert the public to the crimes of the Clinton administration are all too familiar with the tactics that have now become associated with Pellicano. We experienced break-ins, audits, harassment, threats – some were even killed.

It is amazing – truly amazing – that even now, as Pellicano faces a second haul in federal prison, that no one else in the media is yet asking questions about the role he played on behalf of Bill and Hillary Clinton.