FBI

In $1.2 Million Fraud Plot, Four Women Invented A Man Then Killed Him Off

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 6:17PM

Just how low did four California women go to make a quick buck ripping off insurance companies? Six feet under.

Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters today highlighted a recent conviction in a scheme by four individuals in the Los Angeles area to invent a man out of whole cloth, hold his funeral, and then reap in the insurance benefits from his death.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Feds Declare TN Mosque Site Fire An Arson

Rachel Slajda | September 3, 2010, 5:50PM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

Federal authorities have officially declared the fire at the site of a community center and mosque near Murfreesboro, Tenn., an arson.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said today that an accelerant was definitely used in the torching of construction equipment at the site last Saturday morning. The agency is offering a $20,000 reward leading to an arrest.

Authorities told the Tennessean that they cannot rule the arson a hate crime until they have a suspect.

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Joe Arpaio

Sheriff Joe: Feds Should Be Thanking Me, But They Declared War (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 3:18PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- sued by the Justice Department on Thursday for not cooperating with an investigation into civil rights violations -- said Friday that federal officials should be thanking him for enforcing immigration laws instead of declaring "war against Arizona."

Arpaio, who has been a magnet for controversy with stunts such as his parading of prisoners donning pink underwear outside of the country jail, said on MSNBC that his office was "trying to negotiate" with DOJ, but wanted to be given a clear reason why DOJ wanted certain documents before turning anything over.

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Terrence Lakin

Judge: 'Birther' Docs Are Irrelevant To Army Doctor's Refusal To Deploy

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 1:45PM

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin

The Army Lieutenant Colonel who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because he does not believe President Barack Obama was born in the United States faced a legal setback, after a judge ruled yesterday that evidence and witnesses related to the President's citizenship were irrelevant to the soldier's case, CNN reports.

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David Mejias

'Women For Mejias' Event Cancelled After Mejias Arrested For Stalking Ex-Girlfriend

Jillian Rayfield | September 3, 2010, 1:10PM

David Mejias

Democratic candidate for New York State Senate David Mejias was supposed to attend a "Women For Mejias" press conference today, but then he got arrested for stalking, menacing, and reckless endangerment, following an incident with his ex-girlfriend.

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Office of Congressional Ethics

Half A Dozen Reps Being Investigated For Use Of Travel Funds

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 11:11AM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Six members of the House of Representatives are being questioned by congressional investigators over the possibility they kept the remainder of the per diem payments they receive when traveling overseas on official trips.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Birthermercial Producer Wants A '9/11 Christian Center' At Ground Zero

Rachel Slajda | September 3, 2010, 11:00AM

Bill Keller

Remember the birther infomercial, produced by LivePrayer.com, that asked viewers for $30 for a "got a birth certificate?" bumper sticker?

The man behind it, Bill Keller, is now railing against the Islamic center planned for lower Manhattan. He says he'll be holding Sunday services from a room at the Marriott across from Ground Zero every weekend until he can find a permanent spot for his "9/11 Christian Center."

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Tom DeLay

Timing Is Key In Investigations Of Donations From Financial Interests

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 9:40AM

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

When news came out this week that three members of Congress had been referred to the House ethics committee for further investigation into possible ethics violations because of fundraisers they held ahead of a vote on financial reform, observers were surprised that the Office of Congressional Ethics based the decision on the appearance of impropriety rather than solid evidence that anything was done wrong.

But according to House ethics guidelines, looks do matter.

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BP

BP: If You Limit Our Production, We'll Limit Our Generosity

Rachel Slajda | September 3, 2010, 9:16AM

The Deepwater Horizon rig burning before it sank

Via the New York Times this morning, BP is using its voluntary funding of several programs -- $100 million for unemployed rig workers, $500 million for research, $90 million for Gulf Coast tourism -- as a bargaining chip to try to get lawmakers to back down from punitive legislation.

BP has agreed to voluntarily fund a slew of programs related to Gulf restoration beyond its legal obligations, and state and federal officials are pushing for more. But the company is warning that proposed legislation that would limit its Gulf oil production would also limit its generosity.

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Cordoba House

Gingrich: Make Ground Zero A National Battlefield To Stop The Supposed Mosque

Rachel Slajda | September 2, 2010, 6:26PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

The majority of New Yorkers want the developers of Park51, known to its opponents as the "Ground Zero mosque," to voluntarily move the community center further from Ground Zero -- but the majority also acknowledges the developers' right to build there if they want.

Newt Gingrich doesn't feel that way. In a radio interview today, he said he wants the national government to step in and stop the developers from building the Islamic community center by whatever means necessary.

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Democratic Governors Association

Democrats Accuse Fox News Of Illegal Support To Ohio Republican Candidate

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2010, 4:06PM

Former Rep. and current candidate for Governor John Kasich (R-OH)

Democrats allege in a legal filing that, by plugging an Ohio gubernatorial candidate's website in a chyron, Fox News illegally contributed to the Republican's campaign.

A seven-page complaint filed Thursday by the Democratic Governors Association with the Ohio Elections Commission accuses Fox News of making an illegal in-kind contributions to gubernatorial candidate John Kasich (R-OH), reports Sam Stein.

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Office of Congressional Ethics

Is Appearance Of Impropriety Now Enough To Open An Ethics Investigation?

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2010, 1:51PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

The Office of Congressional Ethics told the Ethics Committee that the conduct of three members of the House in the time leading up to the vote on the Financial Regulatory Reform warrants further investigation. But OCE also dismissed similar investigations against five other members. So what's the difference between a legal campaign contribution and a "legislation-for-contribution" scheme that violates the honest services law -- and does the OCE really believe that the three members they referred to the Committee violated it?

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David Mejias

NY State Senate Candidate Charged With Stalking, Menacing Ex-Girlfriend

Jillian Rayfield | September 2, 2010, 1:44PM

David Mejias

David Mejias, a Democratic candidate for New York State Senate and former Nassau county legislator, was charged this morning with "second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree stalking" of his ex-girlfriend.

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Civil Rights Division

DOJ Investigating Anti-Muslim Incidents

Rachel Slajda | September 2, 2010, 1:43PM

Ahmed Sharif

The Department of Justice is investigating two recent, high-profile anti-Muslim incidents, TPMmuckraker confirms.

A DOJ spokeswoman says the department has opened investigations into the attack on a Muslim cab driver in New York City and an apparent arson at the site of a future mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

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Justice Department

Justice Department Sues Sheriff Joe For Not Cooperating With Investigation

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2010, 12:33PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

The Justice Department on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona for refusing to fully cooperate with the department's investigation of alleged national origin discrimination in the course of immigration enforcement.

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Michigan Tea Party

Michigan Tea Party Still Fighting To Get On Ballot, Files Appeal With State Supreme Court

Jillian Rayfield | September 2, 2010, 11:46AM

A Tea Party rally in Michigan.

The Michigan Tea Party has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court after an appeals court denied its bid to get on the November election ballot.

The Tea Party was denied a spot on the ballot after concerns that some of the campaign filings may have been fraudulent. Tea partiers and Republicans alike believe that the Michigan Tea Party is a Democratic front working to split the conservative vote by running dozens of candidates in competitive races. State Democrats have denied any involvement with the Tea Party.

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Bret Schundler

Christie Administration Swings Back At Schundler Over Firing

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2010, 11:44AM

NJ Gov.-elect Chris Christie

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration is firing back at his former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, who said yesterday that he was defamed by the Governor.

Christie said Schundler was fired because he misled the governor about the events leading up to the state's loss of a $400 million education grant. But a timeline released by Schundler yesterday made the case that he had been honest with Christie about the mistake, and told the Governor not to say at at news conference last week that Schundler had tried to submit additional information to correct the mistake.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

FBI Seeks To Reassure Tenn. Muslims After Mosque Site Fire

Rachel Slajda | September 2, 2010, 10:05AM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

The FBI met with Tennessee's Muslim leaders Monday to discuss the recent arson at a mosque site in Murfreesboro and reassure the leaders that federal officials are on the case.

As the Washington Post reports, the meeting took place at the U.S. attorney's office in Nashville. The U.S. attorney is the one who will determine whether the fire rises to the level of a hate crime or civil rights violation, and the FBI is the agency which conducts hate crimes investigations.

It's a signal that the feds are looking at the arson as a hate crime, even though they've officially said there's "no indication" that the fire qualifies.

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FreedomWorks

Why Is FreedomWorks Really Moving -- Nasty Threats, Or An Expiring Lease?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 2, 2010, 9:32AM

Dick Armey, FreedomWorks chairman

Last week, when tea partiers weren't chatting online about Glenn Beck's mega-rally at the Lincoln Memorial, they were cyberventilating about the threats tea party umbrella group FreedomWorks is supposedly facing from angry left-wingers. FreedomWorks told more than one reporter that a growing number of death threats received by the organization is forcing FreedomWorks to spend precious GOTV funds on an unexpected move to a "high-security" building across D.C. from their current headquarters near the FBI Building.

But the reporting on the move left out the fact that FreedomWorks' change in location also comes at the end of the group's existing lease, and -- according to one source familiar with FreedomWorks' real estate deals -- their new headquarters offers them cheaper rent than their current home. And despite reports of increased threats, the group won't be moving until months after the election is over.

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Eric W. Deaton

Tea Party Candidate Accused Of Sex With A Minor Met The Girl At Church

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 5:58PM

Ohio candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton

Eric W. Deaton -- the Ohio Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate who was indicted on Tuesday for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor -- met the victim at a church where he was an elder, a police official told TPMMuckraker.

The pastor of the church first brought concerns about the relationship between the girl, now 18, and 42-year-old Deaton to authorities and an investigation started last October, according to Bob Bowman, the sheriff of Perry Township.

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Jim Traficant

He's In! Traficant Will Be On The Ballot

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 5:12PM

James Traficant

It's official.

TPMmuckraker's favorite ex-convict ex-Congressman Jim Traficant will appear on the ballot for his old House seat in Ohio.

A county board of elections ruled today, in a meeting that lasted less than a minute, that Traficant has enough signatures to make it on the ballot.

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Chris Christie

Schundler: Christie Calling Me A Liar Is 'The Last Straw'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 2:47PM

Former New Jersey Education Secretary Bret Schundler

In an e-mail and statement provided to reporters this afternoon, former New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler (R) defended himself against charges by Gov. Chris Christie (R) that Schundler deliberately misled the governor over the events leading up to the state's loss of a $400 million grant. Although he would have been able to accept being fired over the error that cost the state money, Schundler said he was unwilling to accept any further character assassination.

"I will not accept being defamed by the Governor for something he knows I did not do," he wrote. "The Governor called me a liar this week. That was the last straw."

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BP

BP Spent $93.4 Million On Advertising Between April And July

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 1:08PM

A still from a BP ad titled "Making It Right: Cleanup"

BP spent $93.4 million on U.S. advertising efforts between April, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded, and the end of the July.

According to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who's heading one of the investigations into the oil spill, that's three times the amount BP spent on advertising in the same period last year.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Police Report In Tennessee Mosque Site Fire: Engine Was Running

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 11:57AM

The police report filed by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department, the local agency investigating a fire that destroyed construction equipment at the site of a mosque in Tennessee, shows that the engine was running on the dump truck that was torched.

The police report, obtained today by TPMmuckraker, is brief. But it does reveal two bits of information: One, that the engine was running on the destroyed machinery. Two, police observed someone in a car watching the fire from the road, who then drove away.

You can read the report here.

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2012 elections

Sarah Palin Profile Reveals Her Facebook Ghostwriter And Spendthrift Ways

Christina Bellantoni | September 1, 2010, 11:23AM

Former candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin

She's earned $13 million since the 2008 presidential race that shoved her onto the national stage, but Sarah Palin apparently is a crappy tipper. A new Vanity Fair profile of the former Alaska governor paints a picture of a woman who has skyrocketed to success -- stepping on staff, friends and family along the way -- but who is so deeply concerned about controlling her public persona that she hired a friendly blogger to write her much-ballyhooed Facebook posts.

The wide-ranging profile documents hotels where Palin stiffed bellhops; her demands during the presidential campaign and on her busy speaking circuit; tensions with residents in her home town; and Palin's fashion preferences (and includes a sidebar with more details on the RNC clothing flap) -- up to and including mentioning her use of Spanx and push-up bras. But after the more salacious details, Vanity Fair writer Michael Joseph Gross also drops strong suggestions there's something fishy with some of the political action committees paying Palin to boost candidates across the country -- but he doesn't quite nail it down.

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Birthers

Retired Three-Star Lieutenant General Backs 'Birther' Army Doctor

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 11:22AM

Ret. Air Force General Thomas McInerney

Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney has officially joined the legions of birthers, after writing an affidavit in support of Army Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because he does not believe President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Lakin faces a court martial on Oct. 13 for his refusal.

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Mosques

Teens Harass Muslims In Upstate New York

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 10:55AM

The five teenagers arrested.

Five teenagers have been arrested for disrupting religious services at a mosque in upstate New York after allegedly driving by the mosque during Ramadan services, honking their horns and firing a shotgun.

The five, who are all 17 and 18, have allegedly driven by the World Sufi Foundation mosque in Carlton, N.Y., during Ramadan services twice over the past week, yelling obscenities.

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Bret Schundler

Christie And Schundler Trade Accusations Of Dishonesty After New Jersey Loses $400 Million

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 10:39AM

The charges keep flying in New Jersey as fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler (R) and Governor Chris Christie (R) continue to spar over whether Schundler should have been fired over his explanations as to why New Jersey lost out on $400 million in federal education funding due to a mistake on a grant application.

Who's telling the truth and who is just trying to cover themselves? TPMMuckraker looks into the charges and counter charges and breaks it down.

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Wikileaks

Investigation Reopened Into Rape Allegations Against WikiLeaks Founder

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 10:07AM

Australian journalist Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks.org

A top Swedish prosecutor on Wednesday reopened an investigation into allegations that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange raped two women, the Associated Press reports.

Assange has denied the allegations against him.

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Eric W. Deaton

Tea Party Backed Senate Candidate Says Underage Sex Charge 'Politically Motivated'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 9:27AM

Ohio candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton

The Ohio Constitution Party's candidate for U.S. Senate Eric W. Deaton was indicted on Tuesday for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, The Dayton Daily News reported.

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Office of Congressional Ethics

OCE Recommends Three Congressmen For Further Ethics Probe

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 9:16AM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

The Office of Congressional Ethics, a semi-independent body that investigates House members on ethics charges and forwards its findings to the official House ethics committee, says the conduct of three members warrants further investigation.

The OCE has been investigating Reps. John Campbell (R-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Tom Price (R-GA) for fundraisers they held in the days before voting on financial reform legislation last December. The office dismissed similar investigations against five other members.

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Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Rev. Moon Regains Control As Washington Times Is Bought For $1

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2010, 8:45AM

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

A Unification Church company controlled by leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon is buying back The Washington Times -- the conservative newspaper he started in the 1980s -- for the price of $1 and the assumption of the company's debt, according to an internal memo obtained by U.S. News & World Report.

Insiders at The Washington Times told U.S. News & World Report they were happy about the deal because they expect that church industry funds -- which unexpectedly stopped in July 2009 -- will resume and will keep the paper afloat. "It will turn the spigot back on," one insider said.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Park51 Imam To Cut Middle East Visit Short To Deal With Controversy

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 6:35PM

Construction at WTC site and Jufikil Chodhury looks on while a Tea Party leader speaks against Cordoba House (inset)

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric trying to build an Islamic community center and mosque in downtown Manhattan, is cutting short his visit to the Middle East in order to deal with the controversy at home.

ABC News reports that Rauf, who has been traveling for the State Department as part of a mission to build understanding between Middle Eastern countries and the U.S., will leave from Dubai tomorrow.

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Race

Man Charged With Hate Crime For Allegedly Punching Turban-Wearing Store Clerk

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 5:18PM

A 35-year-old Seattle man has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly punching a 7-11 clerk in the head.

Police say Brock Stainbrook walked into the 7-11 just after midnight Aug. 24, approached a clerk wearing a turban, threw change on the floor and then punched the clerk in the side of the head.

"You're not even American, you're Al-Qaeda. Go back to your country," he then said, according to police.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Former Civil Rights Division Lawyer: TN Mosque Attack Looks Like A Hate Crime

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 3:34PM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

A veteran of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division says he'd be surprised if the fire at the site of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn. isn't investigated as a hate crime.

"I think it's pretty clear that there's a hate crime investigation underway," William Yeomans, who served in the division for 24 years and was briefly the acting director, told TPMmuckraker today.

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Tennessee Mosque Received Threats Before Fire

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 11:11AM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro reportedly received threats in the week before the fire on its property, according to a local TV station, including one that was recorded on voicemail.

News Channel 5 reports that someone called the Islamic center a few days before the fire and left a message saying, in part, "You need to get out of the country now."

A fire was discovered early Saturday morning at the site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn. An accelerant had been dumped over four pieces of construction equipment, and one was set on fire.

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Michigan Tea Party

Michigan Tea Party Loses Appeal -- Won't Be On Ballot In November

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2010, 10:18AM

The Michigan Court of Appeals denied a bid by the Michigan Tea Party to get on the November ballot yesterday, citing "the plaintiff's failure to strictly comply with the requirements" of state election law, according to The Detroit News.

Last week, a state elections panel split on whether the Tea Party should appear on the ballot, following concerns that the former political director of the Oakland County Democrats committed fraud when he filed papers for Tea Party candidates who weren't really tea partiers at all.

The Michigan Tea Party had sought to get dozens of names on the ballot, which many tea partiers and Republicans believed was actually an effort by Democrats to use the Tea Party to split the Republican vote in the state.

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Focus On The Family

Focus On The Family: Anti-Bullying Efforts Are A Gay Front

Eric Lach | August 31, 2010, 9:59AM

Focus on the Family has a message for gay rights activists: stay off the playground.

Candi Cushman, an education analyst for the James Dobson-founded group, told The Denver Post this weekend that gay rights advocates have inserted their agenda into anti-bullying efforts, at the expense of Christian values.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

The 'New' DADT Enforcement Rules Ensare A Sailor Who Wasn't Asked And Didn't Tell

Megan Carpentier | August 31, 2010, 9:30AM

On April 28, Jarod Mcintosh went to work on the nuclear submarine the USS Wyoming -- where he served as a cook -- with one extra disallowed piece of equipment in tow: his G-1 phone from T-Mobile. By the end of the day, the presence of his phone set into motion of a chain of events that will result in Mcintosh's general discharge from the U.S. Navy under Defense Secretary Gates' much-vaunted new rules for Don't Ask Don't Tell enforcement. Those rules, of course, were supposed to protect service members from being outed by third parties and in the course of other investigations -- but, in Mcintosh's case, they didn't work that way.

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Jim Traficant

Traficant To Get On The Ballot; Official Decision Wednesday

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 9:15AM

Jim Traficant

Jim Traficant, the former congressman and ex-con, has enough signatures to get on the ballot for his old House seat.

Last night, according to the Youngstown Vindicator, a county board of elections certified another 31 signatures that Traficant supporters had argued were valid.

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Minuteman PAC

Minuteman PAC -- Now With More Islamophobia?

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2010, 8:30AM

Minuteman volunteer Haskell (no last name) of Houston, looks across the Mexico border from atop his vehicle as a Border Patrol helicopter passes overhead.

The border patrolling Minuteman are primarily known for their vehement opposition to illegal immigration. But now, amidst the country's recent anti-mosque fervor, it seems one arm of the group is dabbling in a new kind of campaign -- fear-mongering about radical Islam.

In an e-mail last week, the Minuteman PAC used an attack on Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) to fundraise against his re-election campaign, referring to Carson as an "Islamist" who is "championing Islam, the Ground Zero Mosque and Sharia law in America!"

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Sheriff: Gunshots Near Mosque Site Probably Hunters

Rachel Slajda | August 31, 2010, 8:00AM

The gunshots heard near the site of a proposed mosque near Murfreesboro, Tenn., were probably the result of hunters taking advantage of the start of squirrel hunting season, a spokesman for the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office tells TPM.

Detective Sgt. Dan Goodwin said that no police report was filed after someone reported hearing nine gunshots at the site the day after construction equipment was found torched at the site.

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Pulled Strings For Man Who Funded Edwards' Mistress

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2010, 3:02PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly pulled strings to help a major Democratic donor, Fred Baron, get access to an experimental drug after the manufacturer refused to give permission to use the drug to treat his bone marrow cancer. Though it wasn't public at the time, Baron was simultaneously bankrolling the relocation of John Edwards' pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter.

Fred Baron, known as the "King of Toxic Torts," built a fortune suing on behalf of asbestos victims, and died shortly before Election Day 2008 at age 61. He served as financial chief for John Edwards and it later came out that he'd been funneling money to Hunter. At the time Pelosi intervened, his role in bankrolling Hunter and her daughter with Edwards was unknown.

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Mosques

ATF "Leaning Toward Arson" In TN Mosque Fire

Rachel Slajda | August 30, 2010, 2:59PM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

Local and federal authorities are investigating a fire at the construction site of an Islamic community center and mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., this weekend, as well as reports of gunshots as community members gathered at the site.

The fire, which damaged a large piece of construction equipment, was discovered early Saturday morning. The local sheriff's office, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau and the FBI are investigating.

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Ken Cuccinelli

Judge Rejects Cuccinelli's Subpoena Of UVA 'Climate-Gate' Docs

Jillian Rayfield | August 30, 2010, 2:58PM

VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

A judge in Virginia has set aside Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's subpoena of University of Virgina documents relating to research by Michael Mann, a former professor who was involved in the "Climate-Gate" controversy last year.

Cuccinelli, a climate change skeptic, said he was investigating whether Mann had committed fraud when obtaining government funds for research into human-caused climate change, but Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that "it is not clear what [Mann] did was misleading, false or fraudulent in obtaining funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia."

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Stephen Jin-Woo Kim

Ex-Federal Contractor Indicted For Leaks To Fox News

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2010, 2:45PM

A typical U.S. classified document. Credit: Wikimedia

A former contractor for the State Department has been indicted on charges he leaked national defense information to a national news organization, according to an indictment unsealed late Friday.

Stephen Jin-Woo Kim -- a former senior adviser for intelligence who was on a detail to the arms control compliance bureau in the State Department -- allegedly gave national defense information to a reporter. The news organization is believed to be Fox News, and the information was about North Korea, according to news reports.

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Eddie Bernice Johnson

Dem Rep Admits Breaking Rules By Giving Scholarships To Her Grandkids

Rachel Slajda | August 30, 2010, 12:49PM

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) has admitted to breaking anti-nepotism rules by awarding Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarships to her grandchildren and to the children of her aides.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Johnson improperly awarded the scholarships (which are funded by donations, not taxpayer money) to two grandchildren, two grand-nephews and to her district director's two children. Between 2005 and 2008, she awarded a total of 15 scholarships to the six students. She told the News that no single award was more than $1,200 and that if there were more "very worthy applicants in my district," she might not have given the scholarships to her relatives. She also apparently broke the rules by awarding scholarships to students outside of her district.

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New Jersey

Christie And Schundler Fall Out Over Race To The Top Blunder

Eric Kleefeld | August 30, 2010, 12:40PM

So what should we make of the public spat now occurring between Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and his former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, who was fired this past Friday as a result of the errors that resulted int he state losing $400 million in Race to the Top money? Christie's side say that he was misled by Schundler's description of the events -- and Schundler says he never told them what they say he did. Let's review the known events that have occurred up to now.

There is no dispute that New Jersey committed an error in its application for the multi-billion dollar program, which awards grant money to states that compete on the basis of their actions on education reform. The question, then, is who made the error, and what did Christie really know about the process?

In early June, Christie overruled an application that Schundler had formulated from a deal with the state teachers union, on the grounds that the deal had been too favorable to the union and went against his own education agenda. "I made the choice to be bold," Christie said, "not only because I want it to be successful but it's because that's what I agree with."

Then last week, it was revealed that because of an error in the new application, which included budget numbers for the wrong years, New Jersey was docked just enough points to lose out on $400 million in federal funds. (Even worse, the Star Ledger reported that the original draft that Schundler and the union agreed to contained the correct information.)

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George Bush

Watchdog Report: Bush Aides Didn't Care About Threat To Emails

Rachel Slajda | August 30, 2010, 9:59AM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Former President George W. Bush.

Aides to President George W. Bush weren't troubled by the threat, due to a tech glitch, of losing millions of emails -- the preservation of which is required by federal law.

According to a new report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Vice President Cheney and others ignored warnings that, with no viable archive system in place, emails could be lost as the White House switched to the Microsoft Exchange email system in 2002. White House Counsel Harriet Miers even rejected a 2005 plan to restore the emails, according to the report.

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Pamela Geller

Anti-Mosque Agitator Pam Geller: Mosque Supporters Ginned Up The Cabble Slashing

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2010, 9:16AM

Conservative activist Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller, the blogger behind the movement to stop an Islamic center from being built a couple of blocks from Ground Zero, told TPMMuckraker that she doesn't know who is behind the attack on the taxi cab driver -- but noted the attacker worked with a company that was pro-Park51.

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Citizens United

DCCC Accuses Americans For Prosperity of Violating Tax Law (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2010, 8:37AM

Democrats are charging that Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(3) group with ties to the Tea Party, is violating its tax-exempt status by running ads that are "political in nature" and cross the line into political campaigning.

AFP is the subject of a complaint about ads in Kansas, Missouri and Michigan filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee with the IRS, the New York Times reported Friday. A copy of the complaint was provided to the Times.

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Staten Island

Is Mexico Really Sending Its Police To Patrol Staten Island?

Eric Lach | August 30, 2010, 8:36AM

Staten Island, NY (Mexican soldiers, inset)

A breathless report published recently by the American Free Press titled "MEXICAN POLICE TO PATROL NY?" told an unbelievable story. The writer, Jeff Smith, reported that the government of Mexico would soon "begin patrolling the New York City borough of Staten Island to 'safeguard' its nationals there." Smith reported that the move had caused "wide notice and a storm of protests" and had been reported in various outlets, including The New York Times.

But the Mexican consulate, New York City politicians, and various news reports, including the Times, reveal a very different picture: a neighborhood plagued by a wave of assaults against immigrants, and a coalition of politicians, community groups, and civic agencies trying to do something about it. Not a national security story, but a community safety one.

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