New Black Panthers

Fox News Interviews The Head Of The New Black Panthers Party (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 5:47PM

Fox's Megyn Kelly interviews Malik Zulu Shabazz

On Fox News this afternoon, permanently outraged anchor Megyn Kelly interviewed Malik Zulu Shabazz, the head of the New Black Panther Party, which is considered a black separatist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

It was, shall we say, heated.

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Gawker

How Lady Gaga Helped Leak 150,000 Classified State Department Cables

July 9, 2010, 2:22PM

Adrian Chen | Gawker

More details are emerging about the case of Wikileaker Pvt. Bradley Manning and they are... Gagalicious. Manning's plan to download and leak thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks hinged on lip-syncing to "Telephone".

Manning allegedly leaked the Iraq Apache helicopter video, and it's believed he also downloaded over 150,000 diplomatic cables from the military's SPIR-Net and shared them with Wikileaks. How did he do it without arousing suspicion? According to the New York Times:

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Republican National Committee

RNC Says It Recouped Nightclub Expenses

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 1:46PM

RNC chairman Michael Steele

The Republican National Committee has responded to a report in the Daily Caller today claiming the RNC had never recouped the $2,000 spent at a racy L.A. nightclub. A spokesman for the RNC says the report is wrong, and it has gotten the money back.

The Caller reported today that they couldn't find any reimbursements for the $1,946 bill in the RNC's Federal Elections Commission filings. When the expense came to light in late March -- causing plenty of embarrassment for the party and leading to multiple firings -- the RNC promised to recoup the money.

But RNC spokesman Doug Heye says the party did get its money back, in a different way.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Anadarko To BP: We're Not Paying That Bill

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 1:13PM

Anadarko CEO James Hackett and a still from the Gulf

Anadarko, the Texas-based oil company that has a 25 percent stake in the leaking Gulf oil well, has told BP that it won't pay its share of the response costs, totaling more than $272 million.

BP sent Anadarko an invoice last month (seen exclusively at TPMmuckraker) for a quarter of the expenses associated with the well and response efforts, including payments to the government and the drilling of relief wells.

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Glenn Beck

Will Beck's Fundraiser For The Troops Actually Support The Troops?

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 11:52AM

Fox News personality Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck is holding a much-hyped rally next month in front of the Lincoln Memorial -- a rally he has promoted by saying it will be remembered as a turning point in American history for hundreds of years. He is also promoting the rally as a fund-raiser for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a charity which gives scholarships to the children of Special Ops soldiers killed in combat, and financial assistance to wounded troops.

It's a respectable cause, and the charity has been rated highly by Charity Navigator.

But read the fine print (as pointed out by Bill Press) on Beck's site, and one wonders exactly how much of the donations Beck is soliciting will make it into the charity's coffers.

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Arizona

Jon Stewart On AZ Training Video: So...'Mexicans Are F*cked' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 9, 2010, 10:00AM

As we reported last week, Arizona released a training video for law enforcement officials training them how not to be accused of racial profiling while implementing the state's new immigration law. After watching the video, Jon Stewart concluded last night: "Mexicans are f*cked."

He was also confused by one speaker in the video, who said that "no officer should ever say, 'Show me your papers.' That's just rude."

Stewart asked: "What is that guy, the Emily Post of the open range? Racial profiling is rude. Tasering Mexicans, why it's just not done! And remember officers, always serve subpoenas from the left. Take documentation from the right."

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FEC

FEC Clears Obama, Crist, Others After Complaints

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 9:12AM

Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL)

The Federal Elections Commission announced yesterday that it found no evidence of wrongdoing in six complaints, including ones against Charlie Crist's Senate campaign and President Obama's Victory Fund.

The complaint against Crist, filed late last year by Tampa Republican Club president Liz Wessel, alleges that he and a lobbyist friend violated FEC law when his friend, Rich Heffley, created an anti-Rubio web site without disclosing who he was.

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Arizona

Judge Strips AZ Prosecutors Of Power After They Allegedly Gave Suspect Confess-Or-Die Ultimatum

Jillian Rayfield | July 8, 2010, 4:30PM

A judge has ordered that the Apache County Attorney's Office in Arizona be stripped of its prosecution powers, after one of its criminal investigators allegedly pressured a murder suspect to plead guilty, implying if he didn't he would face the death penalty.

The investigator was former county sheriff Brian Hounshell, who had earlier been stripped of his sheriff duties after he was convicted of felony theft in a corruption case.

If they're not careful, Arizona sheriffs might start to get a bad name...

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Broward

7 Cops And An FBI Agent Charged In Florida Mortgage Fraud Ring

Eric Lach | July 8, 2010, 1:20PM

Street sign in Broward County, Florida.

Federal prosecutors in Florida have accused eight current and former law enforcement officers, along with a group of attorneys and mortgage brokers, with falsifying documents to obtain $16.5 million in loans in order to buy and flip real estate, reports the Miami Herald.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Fisheries Plans To Revisit Opinion On Gulf Oil Spill Effects On Endangered Species

Rachel Slajda | July 8, 2010, 1:04PM

An endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is treated after it was found covered in oil.

We told you yesterday about a 2007 document that shows that the National Marine Fisheries Service drastically underestimated the size of a potential oil spill and its effect on endangered species like sea turtles when they signed off on lease sales for drilling sites in the Gulf. A Fisheries official now tells TPMmuckraker that, once the leak is resolved the agency will revisit the opinion.

The agency is charged with enforcing the Endangered Species Act, and part of its mandate is to consult with other federal agencies on whether a proposal -- in this case, opening more of the Gulf to oil and gas drilling -- will jeopardize the existence of protected species.

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Jim Greer

Greer Suing Florida Republicans For $120K Severance Package

Rachel Slajda | July 8, 2010, 10:07AM

Former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer

Former Florida GOP chair Jim Greer is, as you know, in legal hot water for allegedly using a shell company to skim money from the party -- charges to which he pleaded not guilty last week. But he's also suing the Republican Party of Florida, demanding the severance package he says was promised to him when the party ousted him in January.

Greer was pushed out in January, as the party tried to scrub its image in the wake of reports of lavish spending. Party officials negotiated a severance package with Greer. According to Greer, that agreement is a binding contract. But according to the party, the agreement was never finalized and is null and void.

The severance package offered Greer 11 months of consulting fees totaling $123,750, close to his annual salary of $130,000, plus health benefits.

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Booby Traps

Two More Suspects Charged For Targeting CA Police In Connection With Booby Trapping Incidents

Jillian Rayfield | July 7, 2010, 4:43PM

A screen shot from the Hemet Police website

Two more suspects where charged today in connection with a series of booby trapping incidents over the past few months that have targeted police in Hemet, California.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Enviro Agency Dramatically Underestimated Oil Spill Effects When Signing Off On BP Lease, Docs Show

Rachel Slajda | July 7, 2010, 3:17PM

A Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is recovered for clean up.

A federal agency charged with protecting endangered species signed off in 2007 on a new round of oil drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that even if the new drilling led to a major oil spill, only some 60 endangered turtles would be killed, according to the official agency opinion reviewed by TPMmuckraker. But in the two months since the Deepwater Horizon blew, government scientists say more than 400 sea turtles have been found dead so far.

In 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service, which enforces the Endangered Species Act, was asked to give its "biological opinion" on the impact of new oil drilling leases -- including the lease of the now-leaking Macondo prospect -- on endangered species, including turtles, sperm whales and sturgeon. Under the law, the Minerals Management Service, which leases the underwater wells, had to get NMFS's sign-off that the drilling wouldn't jeopardize the populations of endangered species.

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Islamic American Relief Agency

Ex-Rep Pleads Guilty In Case Of Lobbying For Group With Terrorism Ties

Jillian Rayfield | July 7, 2010, 2:08PM

Former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI)

Former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI) pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice and "acting as an unregistered foreign agent," in connection with his work as a lobbyist for a group with terrorism ties.

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Mark Siljander

Conservative Ex-Rep In Court For Alleged Ties To Terrorism Ring

Jillian Rayfield | July 7, 2010, 12:22PM

Former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI)

Former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI) will be in court today for a plea hearing on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged ties to an international terrorism ring. The trial is set to begin next Monday.

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Wikileaks

Army Intelligence Analyst Charged In Wikileaks Probe

Rachel Slajda | July 6, 2010, 12:58PM

Pfc. Bradley Manning

An Army intelligence analyst, arrested in April for allegedly leaking a classified military video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack in Baghdad to WikiLeaks, is now facing eight criminal charges in connection with the leak.

Pfc. Bradley Manning was charged Monday with violating the Espionage Act by transmitting classified information to an unauthorized third party. He's also facing criminal charges for abusing access to a secret-level network, and is accused of uploading unauthorized software to the network.

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Nevada

In The NV Desert, A Duel Between Sheriff And D.A.

Rachel Slajda | July 6, 2010, 11:04AM

Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett

The Wall Street Journal tells the tale of a feud in the deserts of Nevada, where a sheriff recently arrested the district attorney on charges that he misused public funds, prompting the D.A. to arrest one of the sheriff's deputies, creating an intractable boondoggle for the poor desert county where they live.

The Nye County feud has been going on for years. It came to a head in May, when the sheriff, Tony De Meo, had a deputy arrest the D.A., Robert Beckett. De Meo alleges that Beckett is illegally using money his office collects from a bad check program to fund his wife's cheerleading squad. No charges have been filed, as Beckett refuses to file charges against himself.

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Jane Norton

Norton: I Wasn't A Lobbyist, I Did 'Member Education' On Health Care

Brian Beutler | July 6, 2010, 9:46AM

Colorado senate candidate Jane Norton (R)

Colorado Senate hopeful Jane Norton (R) has been trying for months to square her public denials that she ever worked as a lobbyist with a fairly long paper trail indicating years worth of lobbying, or lobbying-like activity. Now she has a new explanation for the work she did in the 1990s.

In a strange exchange with the Colorado Statesman, Norton claimed she couldn't recall the title of the lobbying job she had with the AARP in the mid-90s. "It was so short, I think it was even less than a six-month stint," she said. "So that might have been why. But I can't even remember what -- May I get back with you on that and call you on it?"

For the record, she was AARP's director of state government relations. But Norton's campaign seemingly couldn't bring itself to say that. So instead Norton's campaign spokesperson followed up with the Statesman after the interview and vaguely offered that from December 1993 to March 1994 Norton "did member education on health and consumer issues." In political jargon, that's a euphemism of sorts for grassroots lobbying.

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Jim Greer

Greer Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Charges

Rachel Slajda | July 6, 2010, 9:34AM

Former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer

Former Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud on Thursday. A tentative trial date was set for Oct. 18, two weeks before Florida's Senate and gubernatorial elections.

Greer is facing six felony counts of grand theft, fraud and money laundering stemming from allegations that, as chair, he secretly awarded a party contract to his own shell company and funneled 10 percent of the party's donations to the firm. He was ousted as chair in January over charges of financial mismanagement of the party.

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Denny Rehberg

Rehberg Files Lawsuit Blaming Firefighters For Trees Burned In Forest Fire

Megan Carpentier | July 5, 2010, 6:26PM

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), fresh off his Republican primary win, filed a lawsuit Friday against the City of Billings and the Billings Fire Department for damages sustained in a 2008 fire. Rehberg is the developer of record for the 1,000-acre subdivision that is managed by his wife.

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Jim Greer

Greer's Defense Attorney Plans To Call Crist, McCollum To The Stand

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 5, 2010, 4:08PM

Former FL GOP Chair Jim Greer

Embattled former Florida Republican Party chair Jim Greer is ramping up his defense against fraud charges in the Sunshine State -- and he plans to enlist some of his old friends to help. At a press conference Monday, Greer's attorney, J. Cheney Mason, told reporters that he'll call past and current heavy-hitters in the Florida GOP to the stand as he defends Greer, including Gov. Charlie Crist, state Attorney General Bill McCollum and current state GOP chair John Thrasher.

According to the AP Mason told reporters that the multiple fraud charges Greer faces in state court are due to "right-wing conservatives who turned against Crist, the man who picked Greer to head the state party, and decided to punish the governor by ruining Greer".

Greer is the "victim" in the case, Mason said.

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