It seems that all the time he's spent around dirty politicians has taught Dan Moldea a thing or two about skirting the truth. Yesterday, the D.C.-based private investigator assured us he had not been hired by Larry Flynt to help out in his new $1 million quest to nail a cheating government official. "I haven't talked to Larry in a long time," he said.

Not two hours later, the Hustler publisher dropped by MSNBC's Hardball to talk about his mission. "I have got one of the best detectives in Washington," he bragged. "His name is Dan Moldea. He is very good."

"Yeah, that was a problem, wasn't it?" laughed Moldea when we called him this morning. "I just probably shouldn't comment about anything right now. I stand by what I said. I have made no deal to participate in this."

"I'm in a difficult position right now," he added. "There are other things going on that obviously you're not hip to. I'm very loyal to Larry, and if he wants to talk to me about something, I'm more than happy to listen."

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