Suhail Khan

Muslim Ex-Bush Official: 'Intern Spy' Hunt Threatens Careers Of Good Americans

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 5:42PM

Suhail Khan

Suhail Khan has seen this happen before. He was working as a senior political appointee for the Bush White House through Sept. 11, 2001, until this past January.

The same crowd of what he calls "professional bigots" -- people, he says, like Frank Gaffney and Dave Gaubatz -- have launched campaigns against specific Muslims working in the government, accusing them of terrorist sympathies.

The only thing different about the call by four House Republicans this week for authorities to investigate alleged "infiltration" of the Hill by Muslim interns, Khan told TPMmuckraker today, is that "they're not going after individuals by name."

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Muslim Mafia

Interview: Man Who Went Undercover As Muslim Intern Speaks To TPM

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 4:52PM

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad shakes hands with intern Chris Gaubatz, aka David Marshall.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Change your name. Grow a beard and learn the ways of Islam. Present yourself at the Council on American Islamic Relations. Acquire an internship. Wear a wire. Take whatever isn't bolted down.

That's the mission Chris Gaubatz accepted last year. And Gaubatz, who sells insurance for a living, told TPMmuckraker in an email interview that he never once felt guilty during the six months as a Muslim intern spy and that, well, some of the CAIR folks were pretty darn nice, despite any terrorist sympathies.

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John Sweeney

Sweeney's License Suspended For Refusal To Take Sobriety Test

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 4:17PM

Fmr. Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY)

John Sweeney may have to take the bus for the next year and a half.

The former New York GOP congressman has had his driver's license suspended for refusing to take a sobriety test when police pulled him over for speeding in April and smelled alcohol on his breath.

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Sue Myrick

Myrick's Office Hasn't Submitted Muslim 'Intern Spy' Probe Requests Yet

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 4:00PM

Remember how the House sergeant at arms hadn't heard of the call Wednesday by four GOP lawmakers for a probe of alleged infiltration of the Hill by Muslim intern subversives?

It turns out that's because Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), the de facto leader of the group, who also wrote the foreword for the book on which the charges are based, hasn't yet submitted a request for an investigation, Myrick's office tells TPMmuckraker.

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David Safavian

Former DOJ Prosecutor: Ring Case Was "Extremely Problematic" From The Start

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 3:17PM

Kevin A. Ring

A former prosecutor with the Justice Department's Public Integrity unit has called the case against Kevin Ring "an extremely problematic prosecution," since the favors that Ring was accused of doing for public officials weren't in themselves illegal.

A mistrial was declared in the case yesterday, after jurors deadlocked on the charges against the former Team Abramoff lobbyist.

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David Safavian

Safavian Gets A Year In Prison For Role In Abramoff Scandal

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 1:52PM

David Safavian

David Safavian, the former Bush Administration official who was convicted for the second time in December for lying and obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff probe, was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison, the Washington Post reports.

Safavian, who was chief of staff at the General Services Administration, was also convicted of lying on a financial disclosure form about the costs of Abramoff's famous 2002 golf junket to Scotland, which Safavian attended.

The Post reports that Safavian, whose wife is pregnant, made a plea for leniency to the judge today:

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Private Prison Business

The Muni Bonds In The Hardin Jail Project: Who Lost Money?

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 1:41PM

Two Rivers Detention Center

We posted an investigative piece Monday about the back story on the empty jail in Hardin, MT, explaining how a consortium of companies made millions on the project that has netted exactly nothing for the struggling town.

But what about the $27 million in high-risk municipal bonds that were issued to fund the construction of the speculative jail in 2006 and 2007?

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Barack Obama

Indicted Man Threatened To Kill President And Scrawl "Fed ..." On His Chest

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 12:57PM

President Barack Obama speaks at a Human Rights Campaign event.

In the latest unhinged threat on Barack Obama's life, a California man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after allegedly writing a deranged and racist email screed that urged recipients to "kill the 'president,'" and seemed to invoke the recent death of a Census Bureau worker in an apparent act of anti-government violence.

On September 28th, according to the indictment filed by prosecutors and examined by TPMmuckraker, John Gimbel of Crescent City sent an email whose subject line read:

Operation kill big-[epithet]-rig: kill the 'president' [epithet], then write 'fed shit' on his chest with a felt tip.

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Rick Perry

Arson Expert: Perry's "Conflict" Hurts Panel's Credibility

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 10:10AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A nationally known arson expert who had been scheduled to testify before a Texas panel probing an investigation that may have led to the death of an innocent man has slammed Governor Rick Perry's handling of the case.

In an email to an official for the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Craig Beyler called for the appointment of the panel members ousted by Perry last month, and the resignation of the new members that Perry appointed in their place. And he said that Perry, a Republican, should recuse himself from making appointments to the panel because -- having signed off on the execution despite a last minute bid from the convicted man's lawyer for a postponement -- the governor has a "conflict of interest."

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Loretta Sanchez

Sanchez On 'Muslim Intern Spy' Hunt: 'I Am Appalled'

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 6:12PM

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

We told you earlier about the strong statements from Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and André Carson (D-IN) denouncing the call by four Republicans for the sergeant at arms to probe whether a Muslim advocacy group planted "intern spies" on the Hill.

But it looks like Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) was first out of the gate on this one.

She released this statement yesterday:

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American Private Police Force

The Unkindest Cut: Hardin Loses Its APPF Mercedes SUVs

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 5:59PM

Michael Hilton

Did we just hear the death rattle of the Hardin-American Private Police Force deal?

The last two Mercedes SUVs that the mysterious private security contractor brought to the tiny Montana town have been taken back.

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Dave Gaubatz

Meet The Man Behind The Intern Spy Wars: Muslim Mafia Author Dave Gaubatz

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 5:18PM

Muslim Mafia Co-Author David Gaubatz

Let's take a closer look at the co-author of Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America, just out from WND Books, and now at #16 among all books on Amazon.

That would be David Gaubatz, a former Air Force investigator and Arabic speaker, who dispatched his son Chris to grow a beard and go undercover as a Muslim to obtain an internship at the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Gaubatz, who has long warned about the threat of Islamism in the United States, has claimed that he found Saddam's long-lost WMDs while in Iraq and has labeled Obama "Muslim" and a "self-admitted 'crack head.'"

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CAIR

Dem Rep Who Posed With Fake Intern Condemns GOP Anti-Muslim 'Fearmongering'

Christina Bellantoni | October 15, 2009, 3:58PM

Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and "CAIR intern" Dave Marshall, aka Chris Gaubatz

Rep. André Carson had no idea the guy he posed with at an Islamic event was a fake intern, and thinks the accusations that the Council on American Islamic Relations planted spies on Capitol Hill is "shameful."

A spokesman for Carson (D-IN), one of two Muslim members of Congress, told TPM the campaign to investigate whether CAIR spies were interns is "fearmongering at its worst."

Justin Ohlemiller, Carson's communications director, said in an interview the photo is one of dozens members of Congress take every week with constituents and at events. He didn't know the man was pretending to be Muslim and doesn't recall interacting with him.

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Global Warming

Behind Chamber Controversy: What's Driving Energy Firms On Climate Change?

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 3:52PM

Lately, we've been documenting the exodus of companies from the Chamber of Commerce over its opposition to serious efforts to address global warming.

But as the Senate gets set to take up climate change legislation, already passed by the House, there's a larger question behind the Chamber's woes: What's motivating energy-sector companies on both sides of the issue, and how are their positions affecting the debate on Capitol Hill?

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Kevin Ring

Judge Will Declare Mistrial In Kevin Ring Case

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 2:08PM

Kevin A. Ring

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. plans to declare a mistrial on seven of eight counts in the case of top Jack Abramoff operative Kevin Ring, the Legal Times reports.

Ring was indicted last year on charges of bribing government officials and members of Congress with meals and event tickets in return for help for clients of Abramoff's lobbying firm.

The Legal Times reports:

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André Carson

Right-Wing Spy Posing As Muslim Intern Snagged Pic With Congressman

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 1:21PM

Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and "CAIR intern" Dave Marshall, aka Chris Gaubatz

Chris Gaubatz, who went undercover as a Muslim to infiltrate the Council on American-Islamic Relations for a new book from WorldNetDaily, posed for a picture with Muslim Democratic Rep. André Carson (IN) while under guise as "CAIR intern" Dave Marshall.

The picture with Carson, who became the second Muslim member of Congress when he took office in 2008, was taken at the convention of the Islamic Society of North America in Ohio last year.

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Sue Myrick

GOP Rep Takes Campaign Against Muslim 'Intern Spies' To Fox

Justin Elliott | October 15, 2009, 12:36PM

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad shakes hands with intern Chris Gaubatz, aka David Marshall.

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) is today pressing on in the campaign against supposed infiltration of terrorist-linked Muslim interns in key national security committees on Capitol Hill.

As we told you yesterday, the charges are based on a book published by WorldNetDaily, which draws on the work of an actual intern spy, the son of the co-author who went undercover at the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

An animated Myrick complained on Fox News this morning that "quite frankly, [CAIR makes] everybody else look like they're being paranoid by saying anything about them."

Here's the video of the Myrick segment:

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Rick Perry

Defending Himself, Perry Attacks Executed Man As "Monster"

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 11:03AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Texas governor Rick Perry has defended his handling of a death penalty case that may have led to the execution of an innocent man -- and launched an extraordinary attack on the dead man himself.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Perry yesterday called Cameron Todd Wilingham a "monster," a "bad man," and "a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that she wouldn't have those kids."

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ACCCE

Bonner Hearing Postponed After GOP Complaints

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 10:13AM

Jack Bonner

Not so fast...

This morning's hearing, at which astroturf lobbyist Jack Bonner was scheduled to testify about the forged letters sent by his firm to lawmakers, has been postponed a week.

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Michael Steele

Behind The GOP.com Re-Launch: Meet The Writer Steele Used To Buff Party's Image

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 6:37PM

Author of GOP.com "Heroes" section, Michael Zak's homepage

The big GOP.com relaunch has been plagued by technical and other snafus, as we've been documenting. But those mishaps may be the least of it.

The new site is at pains to present the party as racially tolerant, and to stress its anti-slavery history. But Michael Steele and Co. have outsourced that task to a writer who has argued that Democrats' "socialist policies have recreated a vile new version of the slave system."

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Intern Spy vs. Intern Spy

Citing Work Of Right-Wing Intern Spy, GOP Accuses Muslim Group Of Infiltrating Hill With Intern 'Spies'

Justin Elliott | October 14, 2009, 5:56PM

Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ), Paul Broun (R-GA) and Sue Myrick (R-NC) at an October news conference about CAIR and Muslim Mafia

Four House Republicans are charging that the Council on American Islamic Relations is infiltrating Capitol Hill with undercover interns, and they're basing the charge on a WND-published book that itself is based on the work of a man who posed as a Muslim to infiltrate CAIR as ... an intern!

In other words, it's Intern Spy vs. Intern Spy.

As Greg Sargent notes, the office of Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) does not have a list of the "Manchurian Interns" that she claims may have penetrated national security-related committees.

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John Ensign

Criminal Probe Of Ensign Seen As Likely

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 1:40PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Could the worst be still to come for John Ensign?

An expert consensus may be forming that the Justice Department will likely launch a criminal investigation into the philandering Nevada senator and his relationship with Doug and Cynthia Hampton.

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Bonner & Associates

Bonner To Testify On Forged Letters

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 11:16AM

Jack Bonner

Astroturf lobbyist Jack Bonner will testify tomorrow in front of a Congressional panel investigating the forged letters his firm sent this summer, according to a witness list for the hearing obtained by TPMmuckraker. Also testifying will be Steve Miller, the CEO of the coal industry group that had hired Bonner to gin up opposition to climate-change legislation.

This summer, Bonner & Associates sent forged letters to several lawmakers, urging them to oppose the legislation. The letters, sent on behalf of Bonner's client, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, purported to come from local minority, senior, women, and veterans groups. Bonner has blamed the letters on a temporary employee, but as we've shown, his firm's modus operandi makes such occurrences all but inevitable.

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American Private Police Force

Montana AG Suspends Probe Of American Private Police Force

Justin Elliott | October 14, 2009, 10:56AM

Michael Hilton

The attorney general of Montana has suspended a short-lived probe of the American Private Police Force, saying that "Captain" Michael Hilton's failure to answer the AG's questions "speaks volumes about his company's legitimacy."

Attorney General Steve Bullock released this statement last night:

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Cameron Todd Willingham

Evidence Builds That Perry's Office Pressured Panel On Willingham Probe

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Things are looking worse and worse for Texas governor Rick Perry, accused of stifling a state panel's probe into that flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett, the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has now told the Houston Chronicle that lawyers for Perry told him the case was inappropriate, and that the hiring of a nationally known fire expert was a "waste of state money."

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Steve Buyer

Despite Denials, Buyer Has Close Ties To Questionable Charity

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 5:33PM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)

And the award for boldest denial in the face of evidence of financial mischief goes to ... Rep. Steve Buyer!

As we've been reporting, Buyer, Republican of Indiana, is closely affiliated with the Frontier Foundation, an organization that has taken in over $800,000 from industry groups who Buyer is in a position to help. Despite its stated mission, the foundation hasn't given out a single scholarship, but has spent $258,136 over six years on salary, meals, travel, and "fundraising expenses."

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American Police Force

American Private Police Force Faxes One Page Non-Response To AG's Request

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 3:50PM

Michael Hilton

In the least surprising development of the day, American Private Police Force has declined to answer the Montana attorney general's questions seeking information about its (supposed) business and (supposed) past clients.

Attorney General Steve Bullock sent a letter two weeks ago demanding the information, before the deal for APPF to run a jail in Hardin fell apart.

KTVQ in Billings reports:

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Astroturf

Congress To Hold Hearing On Bonner's Forged Letters

Zachary Roth | October 13, 2009, 2:27PM

Jack Bonner

This should be fun...

A congressional panel will hold a hearing Thursday into those forged letters urging lawmakers to oppose climate change legislation. The letters purported to come from minority, senior, and veterans' groups, but in fact were sent by Bonner & Associates, a GOP-aligned astroturf lobbying firm, on behalf of a coal industry client.

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Steve Buyer

Buyer-Linked Foundation: Who Gave, And Where Did The Money Go?

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 12:55PM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)

Yesterday, we told you about the foundation closely linked to Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) that's taken nearly a million dollars from companies with interest in legislation moving through his committees, but given out nothing for its stated purpose, college scholarships for Indiana students.

Here's a closer look at who has donated to the Frontier Foundation, and how some of the money has been spent.

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Orly Taitz

Orly Taitz Responds To Judge's $20k Fine: Shove It!

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 11:33AM

Orly Taitz

Reached on her cell phone by TPMmuckraker and informed of the $20,000 fine imposed on her by a federal judge this morning, Birther attorney Orly Taitz responded, first, with laughter.

"So he didn't recuse himself?" Taitz asked, after letting out an extended, nervous-sounding chuckle.

Still defiant after months of legal wrangling and, by our count, three written denunciations by federal district court Judge Clay Land, Taitz said she had absolutely no plans to pay the $20,000 fine.

"Are you kidding? Of course not," she said, asked whether she planned to send a check. "This is a form of intimidation."

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Orly Taitz

Judgment Day: Birther Taitz Fined $20,000 For Misconduct

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 11:00AM

Orly Taitz

Finally fed up with Orly Taitz's repeated frivolous and conspiracy-ridden filings in a Birther lawsuit, the judge in the case has fined the crusading attorney $20,000.

Opening with a quote from Justice Cardozo on the privilege of bar membership, Judge Clay Land of the U.S. District Court in the Middle District Of Georgia goes on for some length -- the order is 43 pages -- explaining his reasoning:

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Bernard Madoff

Failing Upward: Many SECers Who Failed To Catch Madoff Haven't Paid A Price

Alex Amend | October 13, 2009, 9:49AM

Ever wonder what happened to the SEC staffers and supervisors who, for nearly two decades, managed to miss Bernie Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, despite a persistent whistle-blower and multiple inquiries -- a monumental level of incompetence that "astonished" even Madoff himself?

Well, some saw their failures rewarded with high-paying private-sector jobs, while others are still at the agency, charged with catching the next Madoff.

Via CNN, here's a quick look at what happened to some of the major players.

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Private Prison Business

Behind Montana Jail Fiasco: How Private Prison Developers Prey On Desperate Towns

Justin Elliott | October 12, 2009, 3:14PM

Two Rivers Authority parade float, 6/27/09

With the unraveling of the deal for the shadowy American Private Police Force to take over and populate an empty jail in Hardin, Montana, it's pretty clear that the small city got played by an ex-con and his (supposed) private security firm.

But an investigation by TPMmuckraker into how Hardin ended up with the 92,000 square foot facility in the first place suggests that, long before "low-level card shark" Michael Hilton ever came to town, Hardin officials had already been taken for a ride by a far more powerful set of players: a well-organized consortium of private companies headquartered around the country, which specializes in pitching speculative and risky prison projects to local governments desperate for jobs.

The projects have generated multi-million dollar profits for the companies involved, but often haven't created the anticipated payoff for the communities, and have left a string of failed or failing prisons in their wake.

"They look for an impoverished town that's desperate," says Frank Smith of the Private Corrections Institute, a Florida-based group that opposes prison privatization. "They come in looking very impressive, saying, 'We'll make money rain from the skies.' In fact, they don't care whether it works or not."

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Denny Rehberg

Musician: Rehberg Didn't Seem Drunk On Night Of Boat Crash

Justin Elliott | October 12, 2009, 12:20PM

The scene of the Aug. 27 accident, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) inset.

Ever since the boat accident in late August in which Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and two staffers were seriously injured, the congressman has denied that he had been drinking heavily and has maintained that the driver, who was charged with felonies last week, was not impaired either.

Now, a musician who says he saw Rehberg in Lakeside, MT, shortly before the accident, has come forward to say that Rehberg was not drunk.

Terry Brick, a member of the Toby Stone Duo, playing the night of the crash, said in a letter to the Missoulian Friday that Rehberg was not exhibiting the signs of inebriation:

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Cameron Todd Willingham

Former Panel Chair Says Perry's Office Pressured Him On Death Penalty Probe

Zachary Roth | October 12, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

It's starting to look more and more like Texas governor Rick Perry orchestrated an effort to thwart a state probe into an arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett -- the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, who Perry declined to reappoint last month -- is now saying that Perry's aides tried to pressure him over the direction of the inquiry his panel was conducting into the steps that led to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for arson. Perry, as governor, signed off on the execution, despite clear evidence that the investigation was flawed.

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Steve Buyer

Corporate Money In, No Money Out: What's Going On At Rep. Buyer-Linked Foundation?

Justin Elliott | October 12, 2009, 9:57AM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)

A foundation closely linked to Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) has collected over $800,000 in donations, much of it from industry sources with stakes in legislation moving through Buyer's committees, but has given out just $10,500 in six years and spent a whopping $258,136 in operating expenses, the Lafayette Journal & Courier reported Sunday.

Buyer's daughter is the president of the Frontier Foundation, which was set up purportedly to give scholarships to Indiana students, Buyer himself was described as "honorary chairman" in a 2004 solicitation letter, and the organization in June listed Buyer's district office as its office.

Despite all of that, Buyer's office told the newspaper, "It's not Congressman Buyer's foundation," and declined an interview request.

The Journal & Courier reports:

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