April 25, 2010 - May 1, 2010

Report: FBI Opens Criminal Probe Of Massey Energy

Derek Hawkins | April 30, 2010, 5:42PM

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship

The FBI has launched a criminal investigation of the Massey Energy Co. mine where earlier this month an explosion killed 29 West Virginia miners, according to the Associated Press.

Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, the wire service reported that the FBI has interviewed nearly two-dozen of the company's current and former employees in its probe of the April 5 accident.

Muckraker Favorites Star On Time's Least Influential List

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 2:55PM

Clockwise from top-left: Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), and former AIG Financial Products chief Joseph Cassano

Much more entertaining than Time's 100 Most Influential People list is its 100 Least Influential -- juvenilely titled the "Bum Hundred."

And that's only partly because it contains a handful of TPMmuckraker favorites. For instance:

The Gulf Coast BP Oil Spill: A Timeline

Justin Elliott | April 30, 2010, 2:28PM

An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig

Ten days ago, after an explosion occurred on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig off the Gulf Coast, the initial word from the Coast Guard was that there was no oil spill. That soon changed as the government announced that 1,000 barrels of thick oil per day were spilling into the ocean.

Then, in a dramatic shift on Wednesday evening, the government changed its 1,000 barrels estimate to 5,000 barrels per day. BP initially rejected the new estimate about the spill, which experts now believe could be worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.

We're sure to learn more in the coming months and years about what the government and BP knew about the scope of the disaster, when they knew it, and whether they responded appropriately. For now, TPMmuckraker decided to take a look at the course of events, and the shifting public statements of company and government officials on the spill.

American Border Patrol

Anti-Immigration Group: Mexicans Want To Kill 'Gringos'

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 12:34PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a U.S. Border Patrol officer at the Arizona-Mexico border

In another sign of the heightened tensions surrounding illegal immigration in Arizona, a far-right anti-immigration group is stoking fears of violent Mexicans out to murder white people -- and invoking hard-line sheriff Joe Arpaio -- in a bid to raise money. The group's leader tells TPMmuckraker that in the wake of Arizona's draconian new immigration law, "the irresistible force of globalism and the Mexican invasion is about to meet the immovable object of American sovereignty."

A fundraising flyer sent this month by the American Border Patrol -- a group of anti-immigration advocates who conduct airplane missions to monitor the Arizona-Mexico border -- leads with an incendiary quote attributed to Jose Angel Gutierrez, the founder of La Raza: "We have got to eliminate the gringo. And what I mean is, if worse comes to worst, we have got to kill him." Above the quote is a picture of an immigrants rights protest, including a prominent banner declaring: "We Are Indigenous, The Only Owners Of This Continent." (See the flyer here.)

Jenny Beth Martin

Tea Party Patriots Leader Named To Time's Top 100

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 10:21AM

Jenny Beth Martin

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck have gotten more coverage for it, but another conservative member of Time's 100 most influential people is a more interesting inclusion...

That's Jenny Beth Martin, the Georgia-based co-leader of the Tea Party Patriots -- perhaps the Tea Party faction with the strongest claim to grassroots authenticity.

Hutaree

Hutaree Leader On Police: We Can 'Burn Their House Down'

Justin Elliott | April 30, 2010, 10:19AM

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).

Prosecutors seeking to keep the Hutaree locked up without bail Thursday released secretly recorded tapes of the militia members discussing attacks on police, the Detroit News reports.

Hutaree leader David Stone is heard on the tapes, recorded by an undercover FBI agent in February, talking about local police as an appealing target.

Tom DeLay

DeLay Money Laundering Case May Finally Be Headed To Trial

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 4:38PM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

Five years after he was charged with conspiracy and money laundering in an alleged scheme to funnel corporate money into the 2002 Texas elections, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may soon stand trial after a ruling by a state appeals court cleared perhaps the final remaining obstacles in the case.

And his lawyer tells TPMmuckraker DeLay couldn't be happier with the state of the case.

"He wants to go to trial. He's been wanting to go to trial from the very beginning," says Dick DeGuerin, the high-profile Texas defense attorney who is representing DeLay. "There's no evidence by any stretch of the imagination that could convict him."

Bob McDonnell

In Latest Rightward Shift, McDonnell Lets VA Police Pray To Jesus

Zachary Roth | April 29, 2010, 4:32PM

Va. Secretary of Administration Lisa Hicks-Thomas and Gov. McDonnell (R-VA) pause in memory of the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy

It's not long the worst thing he's done since taking office, but Virginia governor Bob McDonnell is certainly leaving little doubt as to who he's listening to.

McDonnell, a Republican, yesterday quietly reversed a policy, instituted under the previous governor, Democrat Tim Kaine, prohibiting Virginia State Police troopers from referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers.

Florida Republican Party

Fmr. FL GOP Official: Forensic Audit Of Party Books Will Show Widespread Cronyism

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 1:57PM

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer

Forensic auditors going through the books of the Florida Republican Party recently discovered that a close friend of Gov. Charlie Crist was paid over $350,000 for unspecified consulting work that no one seems to have known about. But, the former No. 2 at the state party tells TPMmuckraker, that revelation may be only the beginning.

"I think there were a lot of cronies that were receiving pay washed through the Republican Party of Florida," says Allen Cox, who stepped down as vice chair of the party in January after going after chairman and Crist ally Jim Greer, who was ousted soon after, for financial mismanagement.

Hutaree

Judge Questions Holding All Nine Defendants In Hutaree Trial

Eric Lach | April 29, 2010, 11:09AM

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).

At a bond appeal hearing for members of the Hutaree militia on Wednesday, a federal judge questioned prosecutors about the evidence being used to justify holding all nine defendants until trial, according to a report in The Detroit News.

U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts said that the seditious conspiracy charge requires proof of "imminent lawless action ... against the United States."

Obama Administration

Pursuing Bush-Era Case, Obama DOJ Hits Times Reporter With Subpoena

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 10:26AM

Pres. Obama and Fmr. Pres. George W. Bush

Following in the footsteps of the Bush Administration, President Obama's Justice Department has approved a subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen demanding he reveal sources for a chapter in his 2006 book about a botched CIA operation to infiltrate Iran's nuclear program.

Risen was first subpoenaed about the matter during the Bush Administration, in February 2008. The operation in question, described in Risen's State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, began in 2000, during the Clinton years.

Florida Republican Party

Crist Switch Puts GOP Spending Scandals At Center Of Florida Race

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 9:09AM

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio

With the expected news that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is opting to run for Senate as an independent, the general election is set to have two major candidates -- Crist and presumptive GOP nominee Marco Rubio -- tarred by the wide-ranging spending scandal that is rocking the state Republican Party.

The scandal -- in which GOP officials are accused of spending party money on lavish personal expenses along with other financial malfeasance -- is tailor-made for attacks ads come the general election season, which is shaping up to be a three-way contest among Crist, Rubio, and likely Democratic nominee Rep. Kendrick Meek.

RNC Census Mailers

Steele On RNC 'Census' Mailer: We Followed The Rules -- Dems Just Wrote A Lousy Bill

Ben Frumin | April 28, 2010, 6:47PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

RNC Chairman Michael Steele defended the RNC's 'Census' mailer in an appearance on CNN a few minutes ago, saying the mailer "complied to what the law required."

The RNC mailer bears the words "Census Document" and, in all caps, "DO NOT DESTROY/OFFICIAL DOCUMENT," on the outside of the envelope. In smaller letters, it says: "This is not a U.S. government document."

AZ Immigation Law

'Stunning' Clause In AZ Immigration Law Lets Citizens Sue Govt For Lack Of Enforcement

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 6:45PM

Illegal immigrants are searched before being deported

A highly unusual provision of the Arizona immigration bill -- and one that has flown largely under the radar until now -- could take police resources away from violent crimes in favor of immigration enforcement, as well as triggering a flood of time-consuming lawsuits. One expert calls the provision "stunning."

A clause of the bill, signed last week by Governor Jan Brewer, allows Arizona citizens to file suit against any government entity that "adopts or implements a policy or practice that limits or restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law."

Danziger Bridge

Civilian Pleads Guilty For Lying To FBI About Post-Katrina Shootings

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 3:56PM

The Danziger Bridge in New Orleans

A man who was on the scene of the deadly police shootings of unarmed civilians on Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina pleaded guilty today to lying to an FBI agent about what happened that day, and for illegally possessing a firearm.

The guilty plea from David Ryder, 45, follows several guilty pleas from police officers who were involved in covering up the shooting, which left two unarmed civilians dead and four seriously injured. The Justice Department press release on the case describes how Ryder misled an FBI agent in the case:

J.B. Van Hollen

Wisc. AG's Office Asked GOP Consultant For Advice On HCR Lawsuit

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 12:57PM

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen

When Wisconsin attorney general J.B. Van Hollen announced last month that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of several other AGs by suing the federal government over health-care reform, he presented the issue as a pressing legal and constitutional priority. "Wisconsin must act to protect its sovereign interests and the interests of the citizens of this state by bringing an action to contest the constitutionality of the (law)," Van Hollen, a Republican, wrote in a letter to the governor.

That may be how he sees things. But emails released this week by Van Hollen's office suggest that politics was hardly absent from the initiative.

RNC Census Mailers

House Passes New Bill Banning RNC 'Census' Mailer Once And For All

Ben Frumin | April 28, 2010, 11:11AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Moments ago, the House passed a new bill that seeks to ban misleading Census mailers once and for all.

The new legislation, prepared by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the top GOPer on the House Oversight committee, would close any loopholes in the existing law that already bans deceptive fundraising mailers of the sort sent recently by the RNC.

The new bill passed the House by voice vote.

Gizmodo

Gizmodo And The Prototype iPhone: What Do We Know?

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 11:04AM

A screenshot from Gizmodo's video revealing the next generation iPhone

Less than ten days after the tech blog Gizmodo published pictures of Apple's next iPhone model, the police raided the home of a Gizmodo editor and what began as a story about the next hot gadget has morphed into a story about media ethics, the First Amendment, and the power of Apple Inc.

As you may know by now, soon after its initial post revealing the next generation iPhone, Gizmodo published a version of events of how it acquired the iPhone: Apple engineer Gray Powell left the iPhone at the bar at Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City, CA, near the company's headquarters. An unidentified person picked it up and, according to Gizmodo, tried in vain to contact someone at Apple to return it to. Gizmodo ultimately acquired the prototype iPhone for $5,000 in cash.

Kris Kobach

AZ Immigration Bill Writer's Resume: GOP Activist, Ashcroft Aide, Arpaio Ally

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 9:29AM

Kris Kobach

The controversial Arizona immigration bill signed into law last week was written in part by a conservative immigration law expert and Republican activist who's a former top aide to John Ashcroft, was recently hired by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and is running for statewide office.

Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, was brought in by far-right Arizona legislator Russell Pearce to help draft the legislation that critics are calling "a social and racial sin."

Voting

Report: CA Voters Tricked Into Registering As Republicans With Pot Petition

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 8:39AM

Orange County authorities are launching an investigation into possible voter registration fraud after a local newspaper reported over a hundred cases of voters being tricked into registering as Republicans by petitioners who asked them to sign petitions for, among other causes, legalizing pot.

The Orange County Register reported last week that the Orange County District Attorney's office announced it would team up with the Secretary of State on the case, following a Register report that 99 written complaints were filed since March by voters who said they were registered as Republicans without their consent.

Republican National Committee

RNC On 'Census' Mailers: It's Dems' Fault For Writing An 'Unclear' Bill

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 5:46PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

Now this is some chutzpah...

The RNC is taking all kinds of heat for sending out a misleading fundraising mailer marked "Census," even after the recent passage of a law aimed at banning such mailers. And now it's blaming Democrats for writing what it calls unclear legislation.

Scott Bloch

Ex-Bush Official Pleads Guilty To Contempt In Geeks On Call Case

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 5:23PM

Geeks On Call and former U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch

Former Bush Administration Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch today pleaded guilty to misdemeanor contempt of Congress for withholding information regarding his use of Geeks on Call to scrub computers while he was under investigation for retaliating against employees.

Sentencing in U.S. District Court in Washington is scheduled for July 20. The Legal Times reports on one hiccup in the proceedings today:

Republican National Committee

On RNC Census Mailer, Dem Rep. Slams 'Party Of Loopholes'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:40PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The RNC hasn't elaborated -- despite several requests -- on its view that its misleading "Census" fundraising mailer is legal, despite a recently passed law that aimed to ban such missives.

But it may hang on the fact that the law, which passed last month, only forbids mailers with the word "census" on the outside of the envelope -- while in the RNC's mailer, "Census" is visible through the envelope's window.

Republican National Committee

Postal Service Probing RNC 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:04PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The U.S. Postal Service is investigating the RNC's deceptive "Census" fundraising mailer, a spokesman tells TPMmuckraker.

Last night, Congressional Democrats sent a letter to Postmaster General John Potter, urging him to probe whether the mailer violates a law passed last month aimed at banning such mailers.

Scott Rothstein

Scott Rothstein's COO Charged In Connection With Ponzi Scheme

Eric Lach | April 27, 2010, 3:57PM

Scott Rothstein

The chief operating officer of Scott Rothstein's former law firm has been charged with conspiring to launder money from Rothstein's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a report in The Miami Herald.

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Debra Villegas, Scott Rothstein

Republican National Committee

GOP Rep. To Steele: Stop 'Deceptive And Misleading' Census Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 3:49PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has fired off a letter to RNC Chair Michael Steele, urging him to put a stop to the deceptive "Census" mailers that the party has been sending of late.

Chaffetz writes that he's concerned that the mailer "violates not only the spirit but the letter" of the law passed by Congress last month -- of which Chaffetz was a co-sponsor -- which aimed to ban such mailers.

Stop Too Big To Fail

Reich Blasts Anti-Reform Group For 'Cynically Distorting' His Words In TV Ad

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 2:07PM

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich

Former Clinton Secretary of Labor Robert Reich today slammed an anti-financial reform group that is using his name and image in a new television ad for "cynically and purposefully distorting what I said."

As we noted earlier, the group, Stop Too Big To Fail, today announced new ads in three states calling for senators to vote against financial reform. The ad at one point flashes Reich's picture and the female narrator says, "Even President Clinton's secretary of labor said [of the Dodd bill], 'it preserves the possibility that the Fed could launch another bank bailout.'"

Darrell Issa

GOPer Readying New Legislation To Ban RNC 'Census' Mailer Once And For All

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 1:32PM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is working on new legislation that would close any loopholes in the law banning deceptive fundraising mailers of the sort sent recently by the RNC, according to his office.

"We're gonna do everything we can to protect the integrity of the census," Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for the California Republican, told TPMmuckraker. "If there is a loophole, we want to close it." Bardella said he expected the legislation would be introduced today and marked up next week.

Stop Too Big To Fail

Shady Anti-Financial Reform Outfit Cites Robert Reich In New Ad (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 12:50PM

A screen shot from a Stop Too Big To Fail ad featuring former Labor Secretary Robert Reich

The shady anti-financial reform group Stop Too Big To Fail today announced a new TV advertising push in three key states that features an out-of-context quote from former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to bolster its case to kill financial reform.

As TPMmuckraker has reported, Stop Too Big To Fail is the project of a veteran astroturf operation called Consumers for Competitive Choice, and it's using the services of an ad agency that worked with the Swift Boat Vets For Truth in 2004. It has already spent $1.6 million on anti-reform ads and won't say who's funding the group's efforts.

Stop Too Big To Fail previously featured progressive economist Simon Johnson on one of its media conference calls before he realized the goals of the outfit and demanded it stop using his name. Now, Stop Too Big To Fail has turned to using Reich to add credibility to a message designed to sound progressive, while in fact advocating to kill the financial reform legislation.

Republican National Committee

GOP Rep: RNC 'Census' Mailer 'Outrages Me'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 12:27PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The outrage over that RNC "Census" fundraising mailer -- sent just weeks after Congress passed a law to ban such mailers -- has gone bipartisan.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), a co-sponsor of the legislation passed last month, told The PlumLine's Greg Sargent that the mailer is intended to "deceive people," and added that he and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will send a letter to RNC chair Michael Steele urging him to put a stop to the missives.

Republican National Committee

GOP 'Census' Mailer Consultant Dismisses Concerns As Political 'Ankle Biting'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 11:47AM

GOP consultant Walter Lukens and RNC Chair Michael Steele

The Republican consultant behind the RNC's misleading fundraising mailers marked "Census" proudly touts the mailers on his firm's website. And he's dismissing the bipartisan outrage over the missives as "the ankle biting of the political process," adding that the Virgin Mary "had to go to Bethlehem to be part of a census."

The website for The Lukens Company, run by GOP consultant Walter Lukens and boasting a list of big-name clients, includes "Republican National Committee Census" as an example of the firm's work. The mailer is said to be the "most successful prospecting package for [the] RNC," and to have "generated hundreds of thousands of new donors to the RNC file."

PMA

House Ethics Mounts Rare Defense Of Probe Into Dem Lobby Shop

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 9:39AM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee, typically one of the least communicative institutions in Congress, has released a three-page statement defending its investigation that found no wrongdoing in the case of now defunct lobbying firm PMA Group, which was allegedly involved in exchanging campaign contributions for defense earmarks.

"[D]isclosing specific investigative steps taken in the PMA matter could compromise any ongoing criminal investigations; harm the ability of the Committee to investigate any additional allegations of wrongdoing in this or related matters; discourage those who might bring credible allegations to the Committee in the future from doing so; and chill the voluntary cooperation of those called before the Committee in various investigations," said Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Jo Bonner (R-AL), chair and ranking member of the ethics panel.

Republican National Committee

Congressional Dems Call For Probe Of RNC 'Census' Mailers

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 9:20AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

In the wake of TPMmuckraker's report yesterday on the RNC's deceptive fundraising mailers, Congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation. The mailers, marked "Census Document," were sent just weeks after Congress passed a law aimed at banning such misleading missives.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and William Clay (D-MO), both senior members of the House Oversight committee, yesterday evening sent a letter to the Postmaster General, urging him to "act swiftly" to put a stop to the mailers. You can read the letter here.

Congressional Trust 2010

RNC and NRCC Join Forces For New Midterm Fundraising Operation

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 8:36AM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the NRCC chair

In a sign that the 2010 money race is heating up, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee earlier this month set up a joint fundraising committee which will allow each group to benefit from the other's donor base as well as inject money into key House races, NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay confirmed to TPMmuckraker.

NRCC Deputy Finance Director Jenny Sheffield Drucker describes the advantages of the committee, called Congressional Trust 2010, in an April 23 email to prospective donors obtained by TPMmuckraker: "It allows the RNC and the NRCC to fund such activities as direct contributions and coordinated expenditures for Republican House candidates in targeted races across the country."

Goldman Sachs

Trader At Heart Of Goldman Suit: I Sold Shoddy Mortgage Products To 'Widow And Orphans'

Ben Frumin | April 26, 2010, 4:48PM

Wall St. bull and Fabrice Tourre (inset)

It sure sounds like Goldman Sachs bond trader Fabrice Tourre knew exactly what he was doing.

In a series of 2007 emails released over the weekend by Goldman Sachs, Tourre, who was charged earlier this month in the SEC's civil fraud case against Goldman, comes across as a sly dealer of financial products that he seemed to know were ticking time bombs -- bragging about selling them to a "widow and orphans" -- but also as someone ethically conflicted about doing so.

Republican National Committee

DNC Slams 'Disturbing' RNC 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 4:02PM

Picking up on TPMmuckraker's report from this morning, the Democratic National Committee is slamming its Republican counterpart for sending out a misleading fundraising mailer marked "Census Document", even after Congress last month passed a law aimed at banning such mailers.

DNC chair Tim Kaine accused Michael Steele and co. of "flouting a law passed by Congress unanimously, and signed by the President, as a direct result of the RNC's previous efforts to confuse people on this very issue."

Spencer Barasch

Ex-SEC Official's Pitch To Prospective Client: I Promoted The Guys Who Filed Complaint Against You

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 2:22PM

Spencer Barasch

"I am friends with and helped promote two of the guys who signed the Complaint against Mark. Someone should tell Mark to look at my profile on my firm website, my SEC press releases, and advise Mark to add me to his defense team."

Those are the words of former SEC Fort Worth enforcement chief Spencer Barasch, in a 2008 email pitching his services to a person close to Mark Cuban, the billionaire Texas businessman then facing an SEC insider trading complaint, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Joe Arpaio

Big Winner On Arizona Immigration Law: Arpaio

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 2:01PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

One big winner in Arizona's draconian new immigration law? Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Since the law was signed last week, the hard-line Maricopa County lawman has been making the media rounds to praise it, as well as to thumb his nose at the federal investigation into his own controversial immigration enforcement tactics. And lately he's even been talking up a possible run for governor.

Paul Jensen

Attorney For Birther Army Doc Is Former GOP Staffer And Anti-Gay Crusader

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 12:01PM

Attorney Paul Rolf Jensen

The attorney driving the story of the Birther Army doctor facing a court martial for refusing orders is a former Republican Hill staffer and current personal injury lawyer who has dabbled in anti-gay activism and reportedly wrote a letter to the FBI tipping off the feds to New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's use of prostitutes, months before the scandal publicly broke.

Attorney Paul Rolf Jensen runs a California law firm, Jensen & Associates, that focuses on bread and butter personal injury cases involving dog bites, seatbelt failure, and asbestos exposure.

But, says the GOP operative Roger Stone, a friend and sometimes client of Jensen's, he should not be underestimated when it comes to the case of Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin.

Massey Energy

Report: Top Bush Flack's PR Firm Doing Damage Control For Massey

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 11:21AM

Dan Bartlett, former counselor to President George W. Bush, and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship

To fight off damaging publicity in the wake of the explosion earlier this month that killed 29 West Virginia miners, Massey Energy has turned to a firm run by a top communications specialist from the Bush White House.

Austin-based Public Strategies has been advising Massey's board on how to respond to questions about the disaster and the board's oversight of the company, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. Dan Bartlett, who ran President Bush's PR operation, is Public Strategies' president and CEO. Republican consultant Mark McKinnon, who played a leading role in Bush's presidential campaigns, is another principal.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Prepares Aggressive Defense Over Emails Showing Firm Made Money Betting Against Its Own Mortgage Products

Ben Frumin | April 26, 2010, 10:12AM

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein

Goldman Sachs is preparing an aggressive defense of emails released over the weekend by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), which appear to show that the investment bank made money betting against the mortgage market -- and mortgage securities that it was selling to investors.

The emails, Goldman shot back yesterday, were "cherry-picked" from "the 20 million pages of documents and emails" provided to a Senate subcommittee.

Republican National Committee

Even After Law Aimed At Banning It, RNC Still Sending Misleading 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 9:38AM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

The Republican National Committee is continuing to send out a misleading fundraising mailer labeled "Census Document," just weeks after Congress passed a law aimed at banning such mailers.

In response, the Democratic member of Congress behind the new law slammed the RNC for "trying to make a buck on the Census." But Michael Steele and co. are claiming the law doesn't cover their mailer.

Sarah Palin

Report: Palin Pulled Down $12 Million Over Past Year

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 9:12AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin has spent the last year banking $12 million from book sales, speaking fees, a reality show contract, and the lucrative deal that made the former Alaska governor an official Fox News contributor, according to a report in New York.

The lengthy story locates Palin's drive to cash in partly in the hefty legal bills she racked up during investigations into the Troopergate abuse of power scandal that dogged her during the 2008 campaign.

TPMMuckraker April 25, 2010 - May 1, 2010

Derek Hawkins | April 30, 2010, 5:42PM

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 2:55PM

Justin Elliott | April 30, 2010, 2:28PM

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 12:34PM

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 10:21AM

Justin Elliott | April 30, 2010, 10:19AM

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 4:38PM

Zachary Roth | April 29, 2010, 4:32PM

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 1:57PM

Eric Lach | April 29, 2010, 11:09AM

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 10:26AM

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 9:09AM

Ben Frumin | April 28, 2010, 6:47PM

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 6:45PM

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 3:56PM

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 12:57PM

Ben Frumin | April 28, 2010, 11:11AM

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 11:04AM

Zachary Roth | April 28, 2010, 9:29AM

Justin Elliott | April 28, 2010, 8:39AM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 5:46PM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 5:23PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:40PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:04PM

Eric Lach | April 27, 2010, 3:57PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 3:49PM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 2:07PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 1:32PM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 12:50PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 12:27PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 11:47AM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 9:39AM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 9:20AM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 8:36AM

Ben Frumin | April 26, 2010, 4:48PM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 4:02PM

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 2:22PM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 2:01PM

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 12:01PM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 11:21AM

Ben Frumin | April 26, 2010, 10:12AM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 9:38AM

Justin Elliott | April 26, 2010, 9:12AM

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