Hutaree

Prosecutors: Hutaree Member Engaged In Dramatic Armed Standoff With Police

Justin Elliott | April 9, 2010, 6:14PM

Joshua Stone

One of the nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia prepared for a violent showdown with police -- to the point that he "secreted weapons" around the rural Michigan home where he was holed up late last month -- before finally surrendering after a daylong standoff, prosecutors allege in a new court filing.

The new allegations regarding Joshua Stone -- the 21-year-old son of alleged Hutaree leader David Stone -- come in a filing by the government arguing against bail for Stone. The government's account reveals that heavily armed police surrounded a property in rural Hillsdale County for an entire day before Stone and other unidentified associates -- all allegedly armed -- finally surrendered.

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David Vitter

Report: Dry Cleaning Corp. Official Gave Illegal Donation To Vitter

Justin Elliott | April 9, 2010, 2:51PM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

A former official with a dry cleaning corporation seeking to curry favor with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) says he was reimbursed for a $4,800 contribution to the senator, which if true is a violation of federal campaign finance law, the Times-Picayune reports.

Vitter's office told the paper that "he believes that if the company violated campaign finance laws they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

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Tea Party Natoinal Federation

New Tea Party Federation Aims To Unite Movement -- But One Key Group Stays Away

Zachary Roth | April 9, 2010, 1:11PM

A crowd gathers at a tea party

An organizer of February's National Tea Party Convention has launched a new effort to unite the fractious Tea Party movement. But one major Tea Party faction isn't on board.

A coalition of Tea Party groups yesterday announced the formation of the National Tea Party Federation (NTFP), saying it will aim to act as a "clearinghouse" for Tea Party groups, and promote the goals of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets."

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Larry North

Why Was Accused Man In TX Pipe Bomb Case Angry At The Government?

Justin Elliott | April 9, 2010, 12:54PM

Larry North

Could Larry North's alleged spree planting pipe bombs in East Texas mailboxes have some connection to the savings and loan crisis of two decades ago?

Yesterday, one of the prosecutors on the case told TPMmuckraker that North "was disenchanted with the federal government, and ... he was disenchanted with an individual who he perceived that had wronged him."

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Don Blankenship

Judge Who Vacationed With Massey CEO Now Running For Congress

Zachary Roth | April 9, 2010, 10:43AM

Former West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Elliott Maynard and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship

These aren't the best of days for Don Blankenship, whose systematic downplaying of safety concerns as the CEO of Massey Energy helped lead to last week's deadly mining disaster, and got him named the "seventh scariest person in America." But by next January, things may be looking up for the hard-charging coal boss: He could have a very close friend in Congress.

Elliot "Spike" Maynard is running in the Republican primary to take on Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.), whose district encompasses the heart of West Virginia coal country. Maynard, a former State Supreme Court judge, has said that his campaign "is about protecting the coal industry, including all the jobs associated with it," and has charged that Washington Democrats have "declared war on the coal industry."

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Hans von Spakovsky

Vote-Suppression Guru Spakovsky Is Back At It (CORRECTION ADDED)

Zachary Roth | April 8, 2010, 3:34PM

Hans von Spakovsky

TPMmuckraker's favorite voter-suppression guru, Hans Von Spakovsky, is back in the saddle.

As you might remember, Spakovsky, a northern Virginia resident, was appointed earlier this year to a seat on the three-member Fairfax County Board of Elections, after a stint as a consultant to the US Commission on Civil Rights. And this week, Spakovsky and the board's other Republican member sparked outrage by voting to direct the BoE registrar to not distribute voter registration forms in languages other than English.*

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Larry North

Prosecutor: East TX Man Distributed Pipe Bombs Because Of Anger At Government

Justin Elliott | April 8, 2010, 12:40PM

Larry North

An East Texas man who federal prosecutors allege left explosive devices including pipe bombs in multiple area mail boxes, was motivated in part by anger at the government, Brit Featherston, first assistant U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas tells TPMmuckraker in a phone interview.

"It does appear that there were two motives: one, that he was disenchanted with the federal government, and, two, he was disenchanted with an individual who he perceived that had wronged him," says Featherston of 52-year-old Larry North, who was arrested today.

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Hutaree

In Secret Tape Alleged Hutaree Leader Preached Against New World Order (AUDIO)

Justin Elliott | April 8, 2010, 12:10PM

David Stone, Sr.

In an audio tape recorded by an undercover FBI agent while members of the Hutaree Christian militia were allegedly in a van en route to a militia "summit" in Kentucky, alleged Hutaree leader David Stone denounces Interpol and other "law enforcement mercenaries called the brotherhood working for the New World Order."

CNN got its hands on the audio, which was played during the bond hearing for Stone, who is being held in an alleged plot to kill police.

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Leura Canary

Siegelman And Stevens Prosecutors Team Up -- And Controversy Ensues

Zachary Roth | April 8, 2010, 12:08PM

Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL) and U.S. Attorney Leura Canary

OK, this is one of those stories where there's just so much potential muck that no one comes out looking too good...

The Justice Department is investigating credible allegations that an Alabama lobbyist tried to bribe lawmakers for their votes on a recent high-profile state bill. But the prosecutorial team -- which includes several members of the group that ran the controversial Don Siegelman case as well as the Justice Department lawyer who's under investigation for misconduct in the Ted Stevens case -- is being accused of conducting a politically motivated prosecution on behalf of the state's Republican governor.

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Danziger Bridge

New Orleans Cop Explains How Police Gunned Down Unarmed Civilians In Post-Katrina Incident

Justin Elliott | April 8, 2010, 9:47AM

Fmr. New Orleans Police Officer Michael Hunter, center, shown in 2007 before turning himself in for an earlier set of charges in the Danziger shootings

A former New Orleans police officer has given authorities a shocking account of the killing by police of two unarmed civilians and the wounding of four others on Danziger Bridge in post-Katrina New Orleans.

The account of the September 2005 incident by former Officer Michael Hunter, 33, who pleaded guilty yesterday to charges associated with the coverup of the shootings, is contained in a court filing that you can read in full below.

In this excerpt, Hunter describes another officer shooting Ronald Madison, 40, a mentally disabled man, in the back with a shotgun. A second officer then beat the dying man on the ground, according to Hunter.

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Bob McDonnell

Sons Of Confederate Vets Split On McDonnell Apology

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 7:06PM

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

Some neo-Confederates aren't happy about Governor Bob McDonnell's apology this afternoon for failing to mention slavery in his proclamation of Confederate History Month.

In an interview with TPMmuckraker, Brandon Dorsey, of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, called McDonnell's move "an insult," and charged that the governor had undermined the purpose of the resolution," and damaged himself with his core supporters. But another member of the group disagreed, saying he supported the apology "one hundred percent."

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Jerry Moran

Rep. Jerry Moran: Allegations Of C Street Rent Break Are Attacks On My Faith

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 5:56PM

Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS)

So this is a pretty neat trick.

Rep. Jerry Moran (R- KS) is trying to turn charges that he's getting a break on his rent at C Street into attacks on his Christian faith. Seriously.

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Horace Cooper

Abramoff Scandal Figure Pleads Guilty To Hiding Gifts On Disclosure

Justin Elliott | April 7, 2010, 5:44PM

Horace Cooper

Former aide to Dick Armey and former Bush Labor Department official Horace Cooper plead guilty today to falsifying a disclosure report after accepting gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2003.

"Cooper admitted that in 2003 he solicited and accepted gifts from Jack A. Abramoff and Neil G. Volz, former Washington lobbyists who had a client with business before the DOL. Cooper admitted he concealed his receipt of these gifts from DOL ethics officials and his supervisors," according to a Justice Department press release.

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Rick Green

Leading Texas Supreme Court Candidate Has Checkered Ethical Past, Religious-Right Worldview (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | April 7, 2010, 2:20PM

Rick Green

A former Texas legislator who has a good shot at being the next justice on the state's Supreme Court would bring to the job a checkered ethical past, a Bible-based view of the law, endorsements from Chuck Norris and Alan Keyes, and a commitment to "keeping God in the equation" in American civic life.

Meet Rick Green.

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Goldwater Institute

Group That May Bring Health-Care Lawsuit Is Backed By Big-Name Conservative Funders

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 11:14AM

Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ)

A conservative think tank that's funded by several prominent backers of right-wing causes may bring a lawsuit over health-care reform on behalf of the governor of Arizona.

The Goldwater Institute has offered to bring the suit for free, and Gov. Jan Brewer is considering the offer, a spokeswoman for the institute told TPMmuckraker.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Far-Right Virginia AG Launches PAC

Zachary Roth | April 7, 2010, 10:00AM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's far-right attorney general, has launched a political action committee to bolster his influence within state politics.

"Liberty Now" is designed to "support the efforts of Ken Cuccinelli in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and to elect Republicans to non-federal offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia," according to a filing made by the organization with the IRS last month.

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Hutaree

Report: Hutaree Created Map Of Country With Locations Named After Themselves

Justin Elliott | April 7, 2010, 9:09AM

Members of the Hutaree militia: Joshua Stone, Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr. (left-right, top row); Michael Meeks, David Stone, Sr., Joshua Clough (second row); Kristopher Sickles, Jacob Ward, Thomas Piatek (bottom row).

The ex-fiance of the leader of the Hutaree Christian militia tells the AP that the group harbored delusions of grandeur to the point that they created "a big map on a room in their house of their own country and their own names of their countries and cities and stuff."

Andrea Harsh, who was engaged to alleged Hutaree leader David Stone, described the map as "very extensive."

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Young Eagles

The GOP's Young Eagles: 'If You've Got a Little Insecurity Complex, But You've Got Money -- What A Cool Group To Hang Out With'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 5:29PM

Clockwise from top-left: Italo Zanzi, Ryan Morfin, John Roby Penn IV, and Penn with others at an event in Washington, D.C.

So: Who's your favorite member of the Young Eagles?

As we're guessing you know by now, that's the RNC-created program for young donors whose night out at a bondage-themed LA club ended up on the committee's tab -- triggering the latest round of speculation over whether Michael Steele can survive.

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Ryan Morfin

High-Rolling Young RNC Donor Touts 'Philanthropic Discipline'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 3:21PM

Ryan Morfin

We've told you about J. Roby Penn IV, the gala-hopping heir to an oil-and-gas fortune who's a regional director for the RNC's Young Eagles program. (Sample quote: My ancestors, actually, weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready.")

And here's another of the fledgling money-men behind the hard-partying group whose trip to a bondage-themed club has helped throw the RNC into crisis...

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J. Roby Penn IV

'If You Don't Have An Oil Well, Get One': Inside The Lavish Lifestyle Of One Young Eagle

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 2:15PM

John Roby Penn IV (second from left) and others at an event in Washington, D.C.

The Young Eagles have been in the spotlight lately, after it emerged that the RNC picked up the tab for a trip taken by the group to a bondage-themed L.A. club. Other planned events, including a Texas bird hunt, a trip to the Indy 500 , a bull-riding event, and a jaunt to London to hobnob with Tory party leader David Cameron, are now said to be up in the air.

But just who are the Young Eagles? We showed you the Facebook page of the group's mid-Atlantic director, J. Roby Penn IV, which includes quotes like: "I believe in a purpose driven life... if life's purpose is backgammon and tennis," and "If you don't have an oil well, get one." And here's a bit more to fill out the picture of the 29-year old oil-and-gas heir.

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Young Eagles

Young GOP Donor: 'I Believe In A Purpose Driven Life ... If Life's Purpose Is Backgammon And Tennis'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 12:46PM

John Roby Penn IV (right), with Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, at an event in Washington, D.C.

"My ancestors, actually, weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."

Haw haw haw haw haw! That's from the Facebook page of J. Roby Penn IV, the 29-year-old oil-and-gas heir who serves as the mid-Atlantic director of the RNC's Young Eagles program.

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Neil Alpert

FLASHBACK: New RNC Fundraiser Allegedly Spent PAC Money On Nightclubs

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 7:34PM

RNC Chair Michale Steele

The man recently hired by Michael Steele as a Republican National Committee fundraiser was accused in 2005 by a political action committee he chaired of improperly using PAC money on personal nightclub bills, according to a copy of the complaint filed against him.

Bank records obtained by TPMmuckraker show that Neil Alpert, who began working as Steele's "special assistant for finance" last month, used the debit card of the PAC he chaired at Washington's Dream Night Club, which is also known as Club LOVE. An online review describes the club's "four levels of state-of-the-art diversions and urban scenery [attracting] entertainers, pro athletes and DC's sexiest civvies."

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Iraq War

Wikileaks: Video Shows 'Murder' Of Iraqis By U.S. Helicopters (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 5:33PM

A still from the video obtained by WikiLeaks

The group Wikileaks has released a video that it describes as showing "the indiscriminate slaying" by U.S. troops "of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad," including two Reuters employees.

The graphic and disturbing video, which a senior military official told the AP is authentic, shows 17 minutes of footage taken from the air. In it, US helicopters fire on a group of men after concluding that several of them are holding weapons.

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John Ensign

Associates Dish On Ensign's 'Selfishness and Arrogance'

Zachary Roth | April 5, 2010, 4:53PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Las Vegas Sun has taken a deep-dive look into the reputation that Sen. John Ensign enjoys among those who know him -- and come back with some pretty damning testimony.

Reports the paper:

In interviews with the Las Vegas Sun, more than a dozen friends, associates and Republican allies, some of whom have known Ensign for years, describe him as a politician who has grown narcissistic and reckless -- a detached, self-righteous figure with almost no regard for those who helped send him to Washington or keep him there.

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W. Allan Jones

Fighting Criticism, Pay-Day CEO Turns To Blogging

Derek Hawkins | April 5, 2010, 4:12PM

W. Allan Jones

To push back against criticism of the pay-day lending industry, W. Allan Jones, the high-living pay-day lender entrepreneur we've told you about, has turned to blogging. In his only post so far, the Tennessee multimillionaire and founder of the pay-day lending giant Check Into Cash, Inc., defended the industry's sky-high annualized interest rates.

As we've reported, Jones co-founded the Community Financial Services Association (CFSA), an industry trade group that played a key role in convincing Congress to weaken provisions in the financial regulatory reform bill intended to crack down on the industry's predatory lending practices.

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Leura Canary

Ethics Complaint Alleges New Politicized Probe Involving Siegelman Prosecutor

Zachary Roth | April 5, 2010, 1:30PM

Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL) and U.S. Attorney Leura Canary

A U.S. attorney in Alabama whose close ties to local Republicans were at the heart of previous high-profile charges of politicized justice is drawing scrutiny again. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department received a formal complaint alleging that an investigation being run in part by U.S. attorney Leura Canary was intended to influence the vote on an upcoming bill in the statehouse, and asking that Canary be removed from the probe because of her "close political ties" to Governor Bob Riley.

This isn't the first time that Canary's ties to Riley and Alabama Republicans have generated controversy. Numerous observers have charged that the prosecution by Canary's office of former governor Don Siegelman, who in 2006 was convicted on corruption charges, was politically motivated. Canary's husband, Bill Canary, a top Alabama GOP political consultant and associate of Karl Rove, ran Riley's 2002 gubernatorial campaign against Siegelman, a Democrat.

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Hutaree

Report: Hutaree Member Wanted Guns To Protect Self From 'Crime Family'

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 1:16PM

Jacob Ward

Jacob Ward, one of the nine alleged Hutaree militia members charged in an alleged plot to kill police, reportedly became irate at Ohio police last year after they refused to press charges against his mother, who had confiscated Ward's AK-47 and pistol.

The Detroit Free Press reports on the unusual reason Ward, of Huron, Ohio, said he needed the guns:

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Republican National Committee

RNC Hires Fundraiser Who Used Employer's Money To Pay Rent

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 10:39AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Already reeling from a spending scandal and a crisis of confidence, the Republican National Committee has hired a fundraiser who was ordered in 2007 to reimburse a previous employer for unauthorized personal expenses, including his own rent.

The hire of Neil Alpert as Michael Steele's "special assistant for finance" was first reported by Politics Daily.

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Joseph Cassano

Report: AIG Probe Likely Wrapping Up Without Criminal Charges

Zachary Roth | April 5, 2010, 10:10AM

Former AIG Financial Products chief Joseph Cassano

The federal probe into the circumstances that triggered the near-collapse of AIG in 2008 has "hit a brick wall," unnamed sources have told CBS News.

Joseph Cassano, the AIG exec at the center of the probe, will sit down next week with DOJ lawyers, in what will likely bring an end to the investigation. Cassano is former head of AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company responsible for the disastrous credit-default swaps that led to the firm being bailed out to the tune of $180 billion.

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John Ensign

Report: Probe Focused On Whether Ensign Deliberately Evaded Reporting Rules

Zachary Roth | April 5, 2010, 9:25AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The federal probe into Sen. John Ensign's sex and lobbying scandal is said to be focused on whether the Nevada senator structured financial transactions in order to evade reporting requirements. That's according to "a reliable source familiar with the deliberations occurring inside the Justice Department," reports Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun.

Ralston's report suggests that the $96,000 payment from Ensign's parents to the Hamptons -- which was called a gift, but appears to have been an unreported severance payment from the senator -- may have run afoul of "structuring" laws. If that's accurate, it raises another question: could Ensign have dragged his mother and father -- a wealthy and well-connected casino entrepreneur -- into legal jeopardy with him?

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