Tea Party Nation

Tea Party Nation Speaks Out: 'We Never Did This To Be Rich And Famous'

Christina Bellantoni | January 30, 2010, 5:49PM

At a tea party in Washington, D.C. in 2009

Tea Party Nation organizers today issued a long defense of their unraveling convention, lambasting former members they say are trying to harm the movement and outlining for the first time in great detail their event's sponsorships and problems.

We've been following the travails of the upcoming Tea Party Nation convention for weeks, with key speakers withdrawing and the Tea Party Express group backing out as well thanks to feuds over the cost and expected profits of the convention.

Sherry Phillips wrote a long email to members of the Tea Party Nation mailing list titled "Setting The Record Straight."

Phillips said organizers were encouraged to speak out against the "intense media scrutiny and attacks by former members" but she stayed silent so as not to further divisions "that are already hurting this movement."

"We will stay silent no longer," she wrote.

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John Ensign

Ensign's Payments To Law Firm Spike

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2010, 5:46PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Sen. John Ensign paid nearly $18,000 in the last quarter of 2009 to the law firm where he has retained counsel, Politico reports, based on filings released this afternoon. That compares to just $850 for the previous quarter.

The payments, which came from Ensign's campaign account, constitute further evidence that the federal probe said to be underway into the Nevada senator's sex-and-lobbying scandal may have heated up lately.

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U.S. Attorneys

Five Fired U.S. Attorneys Come Together To Remember The Bush Years (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | January 29, 2010, 5:04PM

George W. Bush

Five of the U.S. attorneys fired in the Bush Administration purge in 2006 gathered for a panel discussion this week at Arizona State University College of Law to talk about the firings and the line between policy and politics.

Rarely, if ever, have so many of the fired U.S. attorneys gathered in one place for a public discussion.

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Mary Landrieu

James O'Keefe: Portrait Of An Activist As A Campus Gadfly

Justin Elliott | January 29, 2010, 1:14PM

James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe and his brand of Candid-Camera activism first appeared on the national stage with last year's ACORN pimp scandal. But the origins of O'Keefe's methods go back to his time at Rutgers, where he launched an alternative newspaper, carried out his first video sting operations, and generally cultivated an image as campus conservative gadfly.

After graduating in 2006, but before he launched the stunt video career that landed him in jail in New Orleans this week, O'Keefe became one of those recent alumni who couldn't let go, hanging around Rutgers' New Brunswick, New Jersey, campus as resident right-wing agitator.

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Scott Roeder

BREAKING: Roeder Found Guilty Of Murdering Dr. George Tiller

Justin Elliott | January 29, 2010, 12:06PM

Scott Roeder in court , January 29, 2010

A Kansas jury just found Scott Roeder guilty of first degree murder in the killing of abortion doctor George Tiller at his church last May.

The jury reportedly deliberated for less than hour. Roeder, an extremist anti-abortion activist, admitted on the stand that he killed Tiller.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

O'Keefe Statement On Breitbart Site: We Could Have Used 'Different Approach'

Justin Elliott | January 29, 2010, 11:26AM

James O'Keefe

Portraying himself as an "investigative journalist" who has been victimized by the mainstream media's "journalistic malpractice," James O'Keefe said today the alleged phone-tampering episode in New Orleans Monday was merely an attempt to investigate Sen. Mary Landrieu's alleged lack of responsiveness to her conservative constituents.

In a statement posted on Andrew Breitbart's Big Government site, O'Keefe writes: "On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building."

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Sarah Palin

Palin Still Psyched For Tea Party Convention Despite Growing Exodus

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2010, 10:03AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

It looks like Sarah Palin may be left holding the bag at a Tea Party event that almost no one else in the movement wants anything to do with.

The former Alaska governor still plans to speak at the much-maligned National Tea Party Convention next month in Nashville. "You betcha I'm going to be there," she told Fox News last night.

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Stan Dai

'Penis Monologues' Scribe Worked At Program To Recruit Female Spies

Justin Elliott | January 29, 2010, 9:34AM

Stan Dai

Stan Dai, the accused Landrieu phone tamperer who penned an anti-feminist parody called The Penis Monologues as a conservative activist in college, went on to work for a program designed to get women and minority students interested in espionage work.

Newsweek reports:

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Campaign Finance

Dem Consultants: Citizens United Ruling Not Such a Big Deal

Zachary Roth | January 29, 2010, 9:12AM

Since the Supreme Court struck down limits last week on corporate-funded independent expenditure campaigns, Democrats and good-government advocates have been quick to warn of a flood of new corporate money entering American politics. But with campaigns already awash in corporate cash, some Democratic political pros doubt we'll notice much difference.

In a typical response, Fred Wertheimer, the dean of Washington's campaign-finance reform community, called the ruling "a disaster for the American people and a dark day for the Supreme Court," predicting that the decision will unleash massive new corporate spending into the electoral arena. And even President Obama warned in Wednesday's State of the Union speech that the decision could open the door to foreign corporations influencing our elections -- a concern we've raised ourselves.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

Landrieu's New Orleans Office Swept For Bugs After Phone Incident

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 6:26PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

What's a U.S. senator to do after a visit from a man known for planting hidden cameras?

Sweep the place for bugs, cameras, and any other listening devices, of course.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

Landrieu Calls Out Phone Tamper Crew For 'Feeble Explanation'

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 5:30PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Sen. Mary Landrieu is blasting the men charged with tampering with the phones at her New Orleans office, dismissing a new explanation from the attorney of one of the men as "feeble."

"Senator Landrieu believes this feeble explanation is a clear and calculated effort to divert attention away from the fact that his client stands accused of a federal crime that could land him in prison for up to 10 years," said Landrieu Press Secretary Rob Sawicki, in a statement to TPMmuckraker.

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House Ethics Committee

Ethics Smackdown! House Panel Slams Rival Body Over Stark Probe

Zachary Roth | January 28, 2010, 3:57PM

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

Tension between two Congressional ethics bodies boiled over today in connection to an investigation of a California congressman.

The House Ethics committee announced that it had voted unanimously to dismiss a probe into whether Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) improperly took advantage of a tax break for Maryland homeowners.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

Lawyer For Alleged Phone Tamperer: Plan Was To Embarrass Landrieu

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 3:45PM

Robert Flanagan

The attorney for accused phone tamperer Robert Flanagan tells the AP that Flanagan, James O'Keefe, and co. were trying to expose Sen. Mary Landrieu for allegedly ignoring phone calls from health reform foes.

The comments from Attorney Garrison Jordan are partly in line with the theory we outlined earlier -- that the alleged plot arose from complaints that Landrieu's staff were not responding to constituents' calls.

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Pete Stark

House Ethics Panel Clears Rep. Pete Stark In Tax Break Probe

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 2:33PM

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

In a unanimous vote, the House ethics committee has found that Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) did not violate ethics rules in allegedly taking a tax break on a property he owns in Maryland.

You can read the panel's statement here (.pdf) and the lengthy report on the matter here (.pdf).

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Orly Taitz

Birther Queen Files 'Orly Taitz v. Barack Hussein Obama,' Says She's Mulling Run For Office

Rachel Slajda | January 28, 2010, 1:10PM

Orly Taitz

Orly Taitz, the dentist and lawyer whose birther lawsuits we've been following, filed a new suit in D.C. District Court Wednesday: Dr. Orly Taitz v. Barack Hussein Obama.

The suit, like Taitz's others, claims President Obama is not a U.S. citizen and demands his birth certificate.

It also alleges that Attorney General Eric Holder has ignored her allegations and calls to the Justice Department -- a "game of hide and seek," she says, that's "infantile at best and treasonous at worst."

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Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Is Latest To Pull Out Of Tea Party Convention

Zachary Roth | January 28, 2010, 12:47PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has become the latest to pull out of a scheduled speaking gig at the controversial National Tea Party Convention next year.

Like Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) earlier today, Bachmann's office cited concerns about the event's financial arrangements. Some Tea Partiers have accused the convention's organizer, Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation, of seeking to profit from the confab.

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Tea Parties

Blackburn Backs Out Of Controversial Tea Party Convention, Bachmann May Follow

Zachary Roth | January 28, 2010, 11:25AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

The much-maligned National Tea Party Convention may be unraveling, as one of its scheduled GOP speakers backs out, and another mulls doing likewise.

The convention, planned for next month in Nashville, grabbed headlines by announcing that Sarah Palin and Republican Congresswomen Michele Bachmann and Marsha Blackburn would speak.

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

Judge Orders 25-Year-Old O'Keefe To Live With His Parents

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 11:12AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), James O'Keefe

As if James O'Keefe hasn't suffered enough indignity after botching an alleged phone tampering operation at a U.S. senator's office, getting arrested, and being photographed leaving jail, the judge in the case has now ordered that he reside with his parents until the next hearing.

Magistrate Judge Louis Moore made the order Tuesday as part of the conditions of release for O'Keefe, 25. (Read them here)

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Tea Parties

Tea Party Fundraising Email Shows Obama As Pimp

Zachary Roth | January 28, 2010, 10:10AM

Dale Robertson

A Tea Party group whose founder already has been in hot water for holding a sign that referred to taxpayers as "niggars" has doubled down on racist appeals.

TeaParty.org, a Houston-based group founded by Dale Robertson, yesterday sent an email fund-raising solicitation, obtained by TPMmuckraker, headlined "Obama Pimping Obama-Care, One Last Time!"

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Landrieu Phone-Tampering Scandal

NBC: Landrieu Plot Aimed To Test Sen's Response To Disabled Phone System

Justin Elliott | January 28, 2010, 9:07AM

James O'Keefe

Mystery solved? NBC is reporting that James O'Keefe and his three companions were carrying out a plan to gauge how the staff of Sen. Mary Landrieu would respond if their office phone system were disabled, following complaints by conservative constituents that anti-health reform calls were not getting through to the New Orleans office.

Republicans have slammed Landrieu in recent months over what they've dubbed the "new Louisiana Purchase" -- a reference to extra Medicare funding for the state she won in the Senate health care bill. And Rasmussen found just 34% of voters in the state, where tea partiers have targeted Landrieu for her support of reform, back the health plan.

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James O'Keefe

The Landrieu Phone Case: Not A Bugging After All?

Justin Elliott | January 27, 2010, 5:38PM

James O'Keefe

While initial media reports (including on TPM) described the episode at Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office as an attempted bugging, that term does not appear in the affidavit and the lawyer for one of the charged men tells TPMmuckraker, "the complaint is not about a wiretap."

It's still a mystery what exactly filmmaker James O'Keefe and his companions intended to do when they allegedly arrived at Landrieu's office. But the accurate way to describe what allegedly happened would be attempted phone tampering.

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Stan Dai

Alleged Phone Tamperer Plays Young Nat-Sec Expert (Video)

Zachary Roth | January 27, 2010, 2:28PM

Stan Dai

Before he hooked up with James O'Keefe in an alleged bid to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu's phone-lines, Stan Dai had developed an impressive resume as a precocious national-security expert.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

According to information Dai posted in September 2007 on the university's online alumni directory, he lived in Naperville, Ill., helped run a "Defense Deparment regional defense counterterrorism/irregular warfare program" and then became assistant director of the Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence at Trinity Washington University, which prepares undergraduates for careers in intelligence.

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Leadership Institute

The Leadership Institute: The Group That Helped Launch The Conservative Careers Of Two Alleged Phone Tamperers

Ben Frumin | January 27, 2010, 2:15PM

James O'Keefe

We know that at least two of the young men charged in connection with attempts to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu's office phones led conservative college newspapers that received seed money from The Leadership Institute. But what's the Leadership Institute?

On its website, the nonprofit boasts that it "prepares conservatives for success in politics, government and the news media." It's trained more than 79,000 students over the years, and employs 58 people. The group is led by longtime Republican player Morton Blackwell, who was elected to the RNC's executive committee in 2004.

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Stan Dai

The Penis Monologues: Accused Phone Tamperer Blasted Feminists In Conservative College Paper

Justin Elliott | January 27, 2010, 1:20PM

Stan Dai

Earlier we outlined the background of the alleged Landrieu phone tamperers in the rarefied world of college conservative journalism, where three of the four got their start. Now, it's worth taking a look at one of the articles produced a few years back by one of the four, Stan Dai. Its title: The Penis Monologues.

Thanks to Lindsay Beyerstein who first noticed Dai's first-person parody, you can read the Penis Monologues in full here.

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Pelican Institute

Conservative Group With Ties To Alleged Landrieu Phone Tamperers Went After ACORN

Zachary Roth | January 27, 2010, 11:55AM

Kevin Kane

The conservative think tank to which James O'Keefe and at least one of his alleged co-plotters have ties enjoys a prominent voice in Louisiana politics -- and has lately gone hard after ACORN.

O'Keefe -- who gained national notoriety last fall for his ACORN sting -- and three other men were arrested Monday after allegedly trying to tamper with phones in the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu. O'Keefe, was scheduled to give a speech last week on investigative journalism to the Pelican Institute. Robert Flanagan, who was arrested with O'Keefe, works at Pelican, according to his lawyer, and has written blog posts on policy issues on Pelican's website.

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James O'Keefe

Utah GOP Group Cancels James O'Keefe As Keynote Speaker At Lincoln Day Dinner

Eric Lach | January 27, 2010, 9:54AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), James O'Keefe

Bad news for those planning to attend the Feb. 4 Lincoln Day Dinner of the Salt Lake County Republicans: the keynote speaker, James O'Keefe, won't be making it after all.

O'Keefe, the filmmaker famous for dressing up as a pimp in an ACORN video sting, was arrested with three other men Tuesday for allegedly attempting to tap the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-LA) New Orleans office.

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Torture

CIA Man Who Claimed Waterboarding Worked Admits He Was Wrong

Rachel Slajda | January 27, 2010, 9:33AM

In his new book, the former CIA operative who made the bombshell -- and thoroughly debunked -- claim that a terrorism suspect was made to talk after one waterboarding session has admitted he was wrong.

John Kiriakou made waves, and supplied the pro-torture crowd with ammunition, when he told ABC News in December 2007 that al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah gave information that prevented dozens of terrorist attacks after being waterboarded once, for about 30 seconds.

The claim was full of holes, and ABC admitted so, quietly. For one, Zubadayah was actually waterboarded at least 83 times, according to a Justice Department memo. And Kiriakou, the head of the man's capture team, was not present for his interrogation and instead relied on reports.

Kiriakou admits he was wrong on the second-to-last page of his new book, titled "The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror," according to Foreign Policy.

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James O'Keefe

Breitbart: I Pay A Salary To Alleged Landrieu Plotter O'Keefe

Justin Elliott | January 27, 2010, 9:03AM

Andrew Breitbart

Conservative new media figure Andrew Breitbart revealed last night on Hugh Hewitt's radio show that he pays a salary to James O'Keefe, the filmmaker who was charged yesterday in an alleged attempt to tamper witt the phones of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

But Breitbart, who runs the Big Government site where O'Keefe's now-famous ACORN sting videos were posted, is maintaining that he had no "connection to" the incident at Landrieu's New Orleans office.

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James O'Keefe

Alleged Landrieu Phone Tamper Crew Emerged From World Of Conservative Campus Journalism

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 8:33PM

James O'Keefe

Three of the four young men charged in the alleged phone tampering attempt at Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office Monday were involved in the well-funded, opportunity-rich world of conservative campus journalism in recent years, a link that provides potential clues about how the men knew each other and why they came to hatch the alleged plot.

James O'Keefe, Joseph Basel, and Stan Dai each founded or led the alternative conservative newspapers on their respective college campuses.

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James O'Keefe

Landrieu Phone Tampering Case: What Is The Pelican Institute?

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 6:48PM

Filmmaker James O'Keefe

There's a lot we still don't know about the four men implicated in the alleged attempt to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu's phones yesterday, but a little-known organization called the Pelican Institute appears to be key to the story.

Located at 400 Poydras St. in downtown New Orleans -- half a block from Landrieu's office at 500 Poydras St. -- Pelican describes itself as a state policy think tank dedicated to advancing "sound policies based on the principles of free enterprise, individual liberty, and limited government."

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James O'Keefe

Filmmaker Behind ACORN Stings Arrested For Attempted Phone Tampering At Landrieu's Office

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 3:38PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe, the young conservative filmmaker who was behind the undercover operations that led to the ACORN scandal last year, was arrested with three others for allegedly trying to tamper with the phones at the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) yesterday.

The FBI announced today the foursome have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony.

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Alan Mollohan

Dem Rep Mollohan In The Clear As Feds Close Years-Long Probe

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 3:31PM

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)

After nearly four years, the Justice Department has ended its investigation of Rep. Alan Mollohan' (D-WV) without filing criminal charges, Mollohan's office announced today.

The investigation was thought to center on problems with Mollohan's financial disclosures, and non-profits he helped create which also benefited from his prodigious earmarking.

The AP reports:

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Jack Abramoff

Lobbyist Claims He Brought Down Jack Abramoff

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 2:33PM

Tom Rodgers

In a new story in The Hill, little-known Washington lobbyist Tom Rodgers is portrayed as the key whistleblower whose information ultimately brought down corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But it's unclear how big a role Rodgers actually played.

And while the article says this is the first time Rodgers has come forward, he has in fact been talking publicly about his role in the Abramoff saga since at least 2008.

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Tiller Trial

Will Admitted Killer Of Abortion Doc Be Allowed To Put Abortion On Trial?

Justin Elliott | January 26, 2010, 11:30AM

Dr. George Tiller and Scott Roeder

Pro-choice groups fear a decision by the judge in the murder trial of abortion doctor George Tiller will essentially give defendant Scott Roeder a high-profile platform to argue that he was justified in killing Tiller last May.

In what one legal expert calls an "unprecedented" decision, Sedgwick County Judge Warren Wilbert two weeks ago declined to bar Roeder's lawyers from pursuing a defense based on "voluntary manslaughter" -- a lesser charge than first-degree murder that carries a sentence of roughly five years. Roeder faces a life sentence if convicted of murder.

But attorneys for pro-choice groups tell TPMmuckraker the real fear is not that Roeder will be convicted of the lesser crime, but that the judge's move sets a bad precedent, and could in essence put the issue of abortion and Tiller's practice on trial.

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Tea Parties

Another Tea Party Convention Sponsor Pulls Out

Zachary Roth | January 26, 2010, 9:14AM

Tea party in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009

Another sponsor of the upcoming National Tea Party Convention has pulled out, citing fears over possible "profiteering and exploitation of the grassroots movement" by the organizing group, Tea Party Nation (TPN).

Philip Glass of the National Precinct Alliance, a conservative activist group, said in a statement, according to the New York Times:

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Campaign Finance

Game Change: Corporations Gearing Up To Exploit New Money-In-Politics Rules

Zachary Roth | January 25, 2010, 7:55PM

In the wake of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling on money in politics, corporations looking to affect the process already are strategizing with lawyers, consultants, and PR pros on how to capitalize on the changed landscape.

"There clearly are clients who are asking questions about what it means for them," Larry Noble, a former general counsel for the FEC who's now a lawyer at Skadden Arps, told TPMmuckraker. "They're asking: 'what is it that I wasn't allowed to do before that I can now do?'"

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Kabul Shooting

Coke, Booze, Assault: Blackwater Contractors' Past Revealed In Murder Case

Justin Elliott | January 25, 2010, 6:35PM

SUV involved in May 2009 traffic incident

The two former Blackwater contractors who were charged this month with murder for the shooting death of two Afghan men left the military with other-than-honorable discharges for behavior ranging from assault to going AWOL and testing positive for cocaine, according to service records that surfaced in bond hearings, the AP reports.

A judge in federal court in Virginia has ordered Christopher Drotleff and Justin Cannon held in custody; arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. The judge called Drotleff "a danger to the community based on the nature of the charged offense, his history of alcohol abuse and criminal and military history which include crimes of violence."

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Laurie Mylroie

Bush Pentagon Hired Conspiracy Theorist As Al Qaeda Specialist

Justin Elliott | January 25, 2010, 1:12PM

Terrorism analyst Laurie Mylroie

When the Pentagon's internal think tank decided in 2004 it needed a better understanding of Al Qaeda, it turned to an unlikely source: the terrorism analyst Laurie Mylroie, who was known as the chief purveyor of the discredited idea that Saddam Hussein was behind Sept. 11 and many other attacks carried out by Al Qaeda.

Mylroie was paid roughly $75,000 to produce a 300-page study, "The History of Al Qaida," for the Defense Department think tank, known as the Office of Net Assessment, a DOD spokesman tells us. The study, which is dated September 2005, was posted on an intelligence blog last month.

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Campaign Finance

Reformers: Court Decision Creates 'Huge Opening' For Foreign Companies To Sway Elections

Zachary Roth | January 25, 2010, 1:03PM

Last week's Supreme Court ruling striking down the ban on direct corporate spending in elections could allow overseas corporations -- even those controlled by foreign governments -- to pour money into U.S. elections, supporters of campaign-finance regulation warn.

"Clearly there's a huge opening now," Stephen Spaulding of Common Cause told TPMmuckraker.

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Steve Buyer

Watchdog Files Ethics And IRS Complaints Against GOP Rep Over Iffy Foundation

Justin Elliott | January 25, 2010, 11:23AM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) golfing in 2006

Zeroing in on Rep. Steve Buyer's questionable charity, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington today asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Buyer "violated ethics rules by abusing a charity for private purposes and by trading legislative assistance for donations to the charity and a job for his son."

The watchdog is also asking the IRS to probe whether the Indiana Republican's Frontier Foundation "violated federal tax law by failing to operate for its stated public purpose of helping needy students and by doing little more than paying for the congressman to play golf with donors with interests before his committee."

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DynCorp International Inc.

IG: Single Staffer Assigned To Oversee $2.5 Billion Dyncorp Iraq Contract

Justin Elliott | January 25, 2010, 9:33AM

Iraqi police officers stand at attention

It's hardly news that U.S. government contracts in Iraq have been a mess of fraud, abuse, and lax oversight for years. But a new Inspector General report that reveals the State Department assigned just one oversight officer to a $2.5 billion police training contract still manages to shock.

The report (.pdf) released today by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction is the second study in the past few years that showed lax or nonexistent oversight on the large police training contract of Virginia-based Dyncorp.

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Torture

ACLU Sues Justice Department On Torture Report

Zachary Roth | January 25, 2010, 9:08AM

John Yoo

The ACLU filed suit Friday in a bid to force the Justice Department to release its internal report on torture.

The long-awaited report from the department's Office of Professional Ethics considers whether DOJ lawyers like John Yoo broke ethics rules in writing the memos that approved torture.

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