'Ground Zero Mosque'

Question Amidst Anti-Mosque Flare-Up: What's The Deal With That Church?

Ryan J. Reilly | August 20, 2010, 3:22PM

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

The controversy over the Islamic Center in lower Manhattan has brought up questions about the fate of a church that was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was a small building that was crushed by the collapse of the South Tower when the World Trade Center was attacked. Then-Governor George Pataki committed in 2001 to making sure that a rebuilt church was part of the planning, and Mayor Bloomberg agreed after he took office. With the state committed to help rebuild the church, a new building six times the size of the original location was proposed nearby. In March 2009, the offer on the table was that the church would directly receive $20-million in public funds, and, since the church would be built above a bomb screening area of the parking structure for the rebuilt towers, the New York-New Jersey Port Authority agreed to pay for a $40-million blast proof platform and foundation for the church.

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Brad Peck

Chamber Blasts Employee Who Accused Career Women Of Fetishizing Money

Megan Carpentier | August 20, 2010, 2:44PM

Bradley Peck and Lilly Ledbetter

A post on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's own blog by one of its employees that suggested women are to blame for the wage gap solely because they take time off to have children has gotten a very public smack-down from a top Chamber executive.

In the post "Equality, Suffrage and a Fetish for Money," which went up Wednesday, ChamberPost editor and Senior Director of Communications Brad Peck accused Democratic women who compare the fight for fair pay to the fight for suffrage of having "Scrooge-like fetish for money." This would, of course, be the same Chamber that regularly advocates for policies on everything from environmental regulation to, yes, equal pay to tort reform that would allow its members to increase profits.

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Tom DeLay

Tom DeLay: Still Friends With Jack Abramoff (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | August 20, 2010, 12:37PM

Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay

In a lengthy interview with ABC News' Brian Ross, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says he's still good friends with lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"Jack Abramoff is still a friend of mine," DeLay said. He said he last talked to Abramoff about a month ago, when the lobbyist got out of jail. What did they talk about? "None of your business," DeLay said.

DeLay appeared on ABC after the Justice Department told DeLay it would not pursue charges against him.

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Dove World Outreach Center

Fire Department Blocks Florida Church's Plan To Burn Korans

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 20, 2010, 11:59AM

Dr. Terry Jones, leader of the Dove World Outreach Center

Remember that Florida "church" with the plan to torch a pile of Korans in commemoration of 9/11? Turns out there's one thing they weren't counting on: a local Fire Department that's stingy with outdoor fire permits.

According to the Gainesville Sun, fire chief Gene Prince told the church "that under the city's fire prevention ordinance, an open burning of books is not allowed." Turns out town code 10-63, a "General prohibition on outdoor burning and open burning," specifically outlaws the burning of (section 6) "Newspaper" and (7) "Corrugated cardboard, container board, office paper."

Apparently, bound copies of Islam's holy text fall into those categories. But you didn't really think the Dove World Outreach Center was going to let a pesky fire chief stop its planned tribute to the men and women who died in the terror attacks, did you? The Sun reports that in an email message sent out by the church Wednesday, Dove World proclaims, "City of Gainesville denies burn permit -- BUT WE WILL STILL BURN KORANS."

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Gov't Admits There's A Lot More Oil Left In The Gulf Than They Initially Said

Rachel Slajda | August 20, 2010, 10:26AM

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster washes ashore in Louisiana

Earlier this month, as BP pumped cement into the ruined blowout preventer on the bottom of the Gulf, the government released a four-page, scant-on-details report that claimed that only a quarter of the 4.9 millions of barrels of oil was left in the Gulf. The rest, they said, had been cleaned up, evaporated or dispersed into nonexistence.

And so the government essentially declared 'Mission Accomplished!' in the Gulf.

But skepticism quickly seeped into media reports, followed by scientific findings that there's still oil -- a lot of oil -- floating around in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Erik Prince

Lawyer Suing Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Chases Him to Abu Dhabi

Ryan J. Reilly | August 20, 2010, 9:59AM

A lawyer representing former Blackwater employees who accuse company founder Erik Prince of defrauding the government will head to Abu Dhabi this weekend to depose the head of the controversial contractor.

Susan Burke, who has already settled seven suits against Prince in relation to the shooting of Iraqi citizens in 2007, will depose Prince in the United Arab Emirates, writes her husband Jamison Koehler.

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David Mauricio Rivera

Marco Rubio's Ex-Roomie Attacked Over Car Crash, Alleged Domestic Violence (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 20, 2010, 9:49AM

A 2002 flyer attacking current FL-25 House candidate David Rivera (R).

Meet David M. Rivera. In 1994, a woman named Jenia Dorticos filed a petition for a domestic-violence restraining order against him in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

Now, meet David Mauricio Rivera. He's a Republican candidate for Congress in Florida's 25th district -- one that the National Republican Congressional Committee singled out as a "Young Gun." Since 2002, he's been a member of Florida House of Representatives, working his way up to his current position in which he oversees the state budget for education, transportation, housing and economic development.

Rivera has worked closely with GOP Senate nominee Marco Rubio. They are so close, in fact, that Rivera refers to himself as a "disciple" of Rubio, and the two owned a Tallahassee house together until last month, when it went into foreclosure (a fact Rivera initially denied).

And so begins the story of another strange election controversy in the Sunshine State, revealed in an joint investigation by the Miami Herald and a local television station.

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Iraq Contractors

Notorious Arms Runner To Be Extradited To U.S.

Rachel Slajda | August 20, 2010, 9:21AM

Viktor Bout

Viktor Bout, a notorious arms dealer who allegedly provided weapons to former Liberian president Charles Taylor, the Taliban and FARC rebels, will soon be extradited to the U.S. -- two years after he was arrested in Thailand.

The Department of Justice announced today that Bout will be extradited to face criminal charges of conspiring to sell weapons to a terrorist organization.

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Mosques

Another Mosque Project Comes Under Fire -- In Kentucky

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 20, 2010, 8:44AM

Perhaps it's no longer surprising in the current climate, but yet another mosque construction project is coming under increased attack from critics this month. It's time to add Florence, Kentucky to the list of controversial Islamic construction projects stretching from Temecula, California to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to, of course, lower Manhattan.

It may be that the Cordoba House project in New York has led to increased attention on -- and opposition to -- the Florence, Kentucky mosque project, which has been in the planning stages since at least 2002. At least one Republican politician has weighed in on both, and the answer is (or, really, is not) surprising: he says one shouldn't be built, while construction of the other is Constitutionally guaranteed.

Here's a description of the project in question from the Northern Kentucky Enquirer:

The site is identified as a 5.58-acre parcel at 900 Cayton Road in Florence. It is in the section that runs between Mall Road and Hopeful Church Road, behind Kroger and the former Hollywood Video site.

Sounds tame enough -- and picturesque to boot. Who wouldn't want to worship next to an old Hollywood Video? When the proposed site was announced July 26, the mosque seemed to be unimportant to the residents of Florence, according to the Enquirer.

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Same sex marriage

DOJ Has 60 Days To Appeal Ruling That Declared DOMA Unconstitutional

Rachel Slajda | August 19, 2010, 5:55PM

Hot on the heels of the Prop 8 ruling in California that determined a ban on same sex marriage violates California's constitution, a federal judge officially entered his judgment in a case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, giving the federal government 60 days to decide whether to appeal.

Judge Joseph Tauro ruled in early July that DOMA, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional. Yesterday, he officially entered the judgment, starting a 60-day clock for the Justice Department to decide whether to appeal his ruling.

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Roger Clemens

Clemens Indicted For Obstruction Of Congress, False Statements, Perjury

Ryan J. Reilly | August 19, 2010, 2:49PM

Roger Clemens

Former baseball star Roger Clemens was indicted for allegedly lying to Congress during his 2008 testimony before a House committee regarding steroids in baseball.

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Fox News

Fox's Parent Company Not The Only News Outlet Funding Gov Races

Ryan J. Reilly | August 19, 2010, 1:35PM

CBS, GE, Walk Disney, News Corporation.

News Corp's $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association was one of the largest single donations to any American political party this campaign season.

The company, headed by chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, owns the Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Fox Business Network and more than two dozen local television stations.

In a statement, News Corp. said it "believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA's pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy."

But it's not the only news company that has delved into financing campaigns.

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Birthers

Orly Taitz Claims That Obama Is Undermining Her Birther Case

Rachel Slajda | August 19, 2010, 1:14PM

Orly Taitz

Birther extraordinaire Orly Taitz is still trying to have the Supreme Court reverse a $20,000 fine imposed on her by a lower judge, even after the court denied her appeal earlier this week.

Taitz has filed a "motion for reconsideration" with the court, according to documents posted on her web site, claiming that she has new evidence that President Obama is not an American citizen.

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Brent Furer

Vitter's Office Paid For Aide's Trips Home For Court Appearances: Report

Rachel Slajda | August 19, 2010, 10:51AM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

Sen. David Vitter's (R-LA) office apparently paid for a staffer's trips from Washington, D.C., to Louisiana when the staffer was due to appear in court on drunken driving charges.

The Advocate reports that Vitter paid for Brent Furer -- the aide who resigned earlier this year over reports of his domestic violence and DWI charges -- to take two trips to Baton Rouge in 2007 and 2008. The trips coincided with court dates related to Furer's most recent DWI arrest in 2004.

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Tea Party Exchange

Anatomy Of A Fail: Rise And Fall Of The Tea Party Exchange

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 19, 2010, 8:40AM

It seemed like a brilliant idea: provide a way for tea party-conscious consumers and tea party-sympathetic businesses to join forces and, well, support their local tea party. It ended in disaster, hurt feelings and more than a few accusations of flim-flammery.

Over the past week or so, the Dayton Daily News has been cataloging the rise and fall of the Tea Party Exchange, one Ohio tea party leader's plan to use capitalism to the movement's favor. The plan was simple: tea party supporters in Ohio would obtain a "TPX-Great American card" which entitled them to discounts at participating businesses who agreed to share some of their profits with a local tea party group. The Exchange tweeted on June 20 that it was up and running. Here's how it worked, according to the paper on Aug. 13:

The TPX card is "similar to a customer-loyalty card consumers can attach to key rings -- and show it at a participating business can get a discount on the company's services. The local merchant then gives 5 percent of the sale revenue to the local Tea party chapter to help fund rallies."

The man behind the plan is Donald Hutchinson, a "human resources consultant" who said he planned to debut the Exchange system at the big September tea party rally in DC. Ohio was meant to be "the test market" for the program, according to what's left of the Tea Party Exchange website.

It appears that things didn't work out the way Hutchinson planned.

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Immigration

DHS Official: Investigation Into Leak on Obama's Aunt Will Conclude Shortly

Ryan J. Reilly | August 19, 2010, 8:00AM

Assistant Secretary John Morton

An investigation into whether any officials from the U.S. Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement improperly disclosed the legal status of the aunt of then-Sen. Barack Obama shortly before the 2008 election will come to a conclusion shortly, TPMMuckraker has learned.

The Office of Professional Responsibility at ICE is expected to make a recommendation in the coming days and weeks, a Department of Homeland Security official speaking on condition of anonymity told TPMMuckraker.

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Michael Steele

Steele Asks DOJ To Investigate Sestak

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 10:30PM

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA)

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Wednesday urged the Department of Justice to investigate last year's efforts by the White House to convince Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) to abandon his Senate campaign against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA).

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Steele wrote that the public had "heard several different versions of whether or not Congressman Joe Sestak was offered a job or appointment if he were to forgo his campaign for the United States Senate," CNN reported.

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Cordoba House

New Anti-Mosque Video By Liz Cheney's Group Features 9/11 Survivors, Families (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 4:42PM

KeepAmericaSafe ad

Keep America Safe, the group run by Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol which brought the world the "Al-Qaeda Seven" campaign in the spring, is out with a new video today featuring the family members of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks who oppose the construction of a Muslim center in lower Manhattan.

The two-minute YouTube video is titled "We Remember," and features first responders and family members of Sept. 11 victims who are opposed to the construction of the Islamic cultural center two blocks away from the site of the attacks, the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque."

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Thanks for The Help

Obama's Aunt Given Asylum Due To Pre-Election Leaks

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 1:37PM

Zeituni Onyango, President Obama's aunt.

Three months ago, an immigration judge granted President Obama's aunt asylum in the United States. While the decision was made public, the written document detailing the reasoning was kept secret because of federal privacy laws.

But the Boston Globe reported yesterday that the judge based his decision in Zeituni Onyango's case on the fact that an anonymous federal official disclosed information about her immigration status shortly before the 2008 presidential campaign.

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Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod Encourages Supporters To Keep Backing NAACP

Jillian Rayfield | August 18, 2010, 12:05PM

Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod

Former USDA employee Shirley Sherrod wrote an email yesterday on behalf of the NAACP, urging supporters to "move forward." Sherrod wrote: "The last thing I want to see happen is for my situation to weaken support for the NAACP."

Sherrod was forced to resign from the USDA after Andrew Breitbart released an edited video that showed her describing a time when she considered denying aid to a poor farmer because he was white. As Sherrod put it in her letter, Breitbart released the "intentionally deceptive, heavily edited clip from that speech to make it look as if I was delivering exactly the opposite message."

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Gary Brooks Faulkner

DIY Bin Laden Hunter Now Wants To Bring Death From Above

Eric Lach | August 18, 2010, 11:46AM

Gary Brooks Faulkner

If at first you don't succeed at killing Osama bin Laden (armed with a pistol, sword, Christian literature and night-vision goggles), try, try again.

Gary Brooks Faulkner, who was captured in Pakistan in June while on a solo mission to whack bin Laden, says he's not giving up. He plans to go back to Pakistan, to finish what he started.

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Stubhub Would Have Been Cheaper

NY Ethics Commission: Paterson Should Pay $96K For Yankees Tickets

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 11:28AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

New York's Public Integrity Commission is calling on Gov. David Paterson to pay the maximum $96,375 fine for soliciting free tickets from the Yankees to Game 1 of last year's World Series.

The five tickets, which were not available to the general public, cost $425 each. Paterson paid for them once the flap became public, reports the New York Daily News.

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Justice Department

Sheriff Joe's Lawyer: DOJ 'Fishing Around' for Evidence to 'Gin Up' Civil Rights Violation

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 10:09AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Robert Driscoll

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio did not meet a Tuesday deadline to turn over documents to the Justice Department in their investigation into allegations that his immigration enforcement policies in Arizona are discriminatory.

Earlier this month, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas E. Perez sent a letter to Arpaio's attorneys telling them that Arpaio had until Tuesday to voluntarily turn over documents. Perez wrote that if Arpaio did not cooperate, DOJ would file a civil action under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to compel access to the requested documents, facilities and personnel.

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Robert Blagojevich

Fellow Juror Says Blago Holdout Would Have Wanted Video in Murder Trial

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 9:28AM

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D)

Forget 12 angry men; fellow jurors say it was one stubborn woman who forced a deadlock in the case against former Gov. Rob Blagojevich on the most serious charge against him: that he tried to sell the former Senate seat of President Barack Obama.

"She wanted concrete evidence," 21-year-old criminal justice student Erik Sarnello told reporters. "If it were a murder trial, she would have wanted to see the video of the shooting."

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ATF

Top DOJ Official Tells ATF, FBI to End Turf Wars at Explosives Sites

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 8:20AM

An FBI bomb technician vehicle.

A top Justice Department official scolded the ATF and the FBI for allowing the turf war between the two federal agency to continue, saying that squabbles in the wake of explosives incidents leave local responders confused about who's in charge as they work to defuse live bombs.

But Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler told ATF Deputy Director Ken Melson and FBI Director Robert in a memo obtained by TPMMuckraker that he thinks he's worked out a solution on which both sides can agree.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blagojevich Found Guilty On 1 Count Of Lying To FBI

Eric Lach | August 17, 2010, 5:36PM

Former Governor Rod Blagojevich

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been found guilty of only one of the 24 counts in his corruption trial. After deliberating for 14 days, the jury found him guilty only of making false statements to the FBI. The jury is deadlocked on the other 23 counts.

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Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor's New Judgment: Judicial Campaign Reform Is Necessary

Ryan J. Reilly | August 17, 2010, 2:43PM

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the keynote speaker at the National District Attorneys Association summer conference at Silverado Resort on July 12, 2010.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has taken up the cause of reforming state judicial campaign and election systems, writing that the "crisis of confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary is real and growing." If left unaddressed, said O'Connor, "the perception that justice is for sale will undermine the rule of law that courts are supposed to uphold."

O'Connor's comments came in her introduction of a new report which concludes that partisan and special interest groups have grown far more organized in their efforts to use judicial elections to tilt the scales of justice. Campaign fundraising for judicial elections more than doubled from $83.3 million in 1990-1999 to $206.9 million in 2000-2009, according to the report.

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CIA Tapes

Tapes Of Secret CIA Interrogations Of 9/11 Plotter Ramzi Binalshibh Discovered

Ryan J. Reilly | August 17, 2010, 10:10AM

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay

Not all of the CIA torture tapes were destroyed as the CIA has claimed, according to a new Associated Press report. In fact, the agency is in possession of two videotapes and one audio tape that it discovered under a desk back in 2007.

Several current and former U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told the AP that the tapes depict Binalshibh's interrogation sessions at the hand of the CIA at a Moroccan-run facility the agency used near Rabat in 2002.

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Jack Abramoff

DeLay: 'I'm Mad They Thought I Was Stupid' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 17, 2010, 8:25AM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay took his victory lap in the media on Monday after his lawyer announced that the Justice Department had decided not to file charges against him after a years-long investigation into his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In a conference call with reporters, DeLay called the Justice Department's investigation "weak" and said he was not interviewed by investigators nor ever required to appear before a grand jury. He also faulted the press being so quick to assume he was guilty, reported The Hill.

Later in an interview on CNN, DeLay said, "I am not mad that they thought I was corrupt. I'm mad that they thought i was stupid."

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U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Conservative Civil Rights Commission Asks Congress For Permission to Sue DOJ

Ryan J. Reilly | August 16, 2010, 6:15PM

Todd Gaziano

During a heated hearing on Friday, the conservative majority of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights approved a motion asking Congress to give it permission to sue the Justice Department if the department does not cooperate with USCCR subpoenas, including those in its probe of the handling of a civil case against members of the New Black Panther Party.

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Charlie Crist

Indicted Ex-Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer Asks Crist For His Money Back

Eric Lach | August 16, 2010, 1:16PM

Former FL GOP Chair Jim Greer

Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, who's now facing felony charges for grand theft, fraud and money laundering, has a small favor to ask of Charlie Crist.

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Orly Taitz

'Birther Queen' Taitz Vows to Keep Fighting After Supreme Court Denies Appeal

Ryan J. Reilly | August 16, 2010, 12:47PM

Orly Taitz

So-called "Birther Queen" Orly Taitz hadn't yet heard about the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a $20,000 fine against her when TPMMuckraker reached her on Monday.

But Taitz told TPMMuckraker she is convinced that none of the members of the court read her request, and that clerks made the decision for the justices. She cited a passage from a book co-authored by Justice Antonin Scalia in which, she claimed, Scalia said that less than one percent of cases are actually read by a judge.

"It was never seen by Justice [Clarence] Thomas, there's not evidence it was seen by Justice Thomas," Taitz said. "I don't believe the Justices read a word of the pleadings." She said she wanted to see the original court document with the signature of a member of the court.

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Tom DeLay

DeLay Will Not Face Federal Charges

Ryan J. Reilly | August 16, 2010, 10:11AM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will not face federal charges related to his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Politico reported.

The Justice Department notified DeLay's lead attorney, McGuireWoods Chairman Richard Cullen, about the decision last week, the lawyer said.

"The federal investigation of Tom DeLay is over and there will be no charges," Cullen told Politico. "This is the so-called Abramoff investigation run by the Public Integrity section of DOJ. There have been a series of convictions and guilty pleas since 2005."

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Bryan Fischer

Searching For Bryan Fischer: One Top Social Conservative's Record Of Xenophobia

Jillian Rayfield | August 16, 2010, 8:40AM

Bryan Fischer

Top social conservative Bryan Fischer has attracted a lot of notice over the last week for his polarizing comments about Muslims. And while Fischer may be the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the conservative Christian group the American Family Association, AFA spokesman Cindy Roberts remains emphatic that his "analysis" of the "issues" is his and his alone. Roberts told TPM that Fischer's writings, many of which are featured on Fischer's AFA website blog "Focal Point," are "his personal opinion" and "not AFA's position."

But Fischer and the AFA alike, both with ties to mainstream conservative politicians, have a long and colorful history of championing social conservative causes that are often discriminatory, and in some cases, just plain bizarre.

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