Dick Armey

History Lessons With Dick Armey: Tea Parties Predate Obama, Clarence Thomas Was 'Lynched'

Megan Carpentier | October 2, 2010, 3:00PM

Dick Armey, FreedomWorks chairman

Speaking to a largely unfriendly -- and often openly hostile -- audience at The New Yorker Festival's Tea Party panel on Saturday morning, former House Majority Leader and current FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey attempted to explain to those in attendance the true origins of the tea party and why so many people seem to be so angry right now. And, despite sharing the stage with Harvard history professor and author Jill Lepore, CNBC's Rick Santelli and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), he openly attempted to rewrite more than a little history to fit his preferred narrative.

Read more »

Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart: O'Keefe Sex Stunt 'Patently Gross And Offensive'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 2, 2010, 10:18AM

James O'Keefe and Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart stood behind James O'Keefe when he was accused of entering Sen. Mary Landrieu's office under false pretenses. He backed O'Keefe's ACORN investigation. But O'Keefe's latest botched plan to lure a CNN reporter onto a boat to seduce her? Breitbart wants no part in that.

Though he didn't respond to TPM's request for comment this week, Breitbart put out a statement distancing himself from O'Keefe's latest stunt late Friday, stating that O'Keefe owed his supporters an explanation.

Read more »

Andrew Shirvell

Michigan Assistant AG Taking Leave Of Absence After Attacking Gay Student On His Blog

Jillian Rayfield | October 1, 2010, 6:06PM

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell will take a personal leave of absence amid much controversy over a series of blog posts attacking a gay University of Michigan student.

Shirvell has been blogging about University of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong since April, accusing Armstrong, who is gay, of having "a radical homosexual activist" aiming "to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan."

Read more »

CA-GOV

Immigration Lawyer: Whitman Failed To Sign Off On Housekeeper's Immigration Form

Ryan J. Reilly | October 1, 2010, 5:29PM

Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R-CA), left, and her former housekeeper Nicky Diaz

California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman could potentially be held responsible for errors on her former housekeeper's I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form, an immigration lawyer who has examined the documents tells TPMMuckraker.

"There are definitely violations on the I-9," Greg Siskind told TPMMuckraker. "It's not unusual where we see an I-9 form like this where there's no signature, no dating, that it's an [human resources] person who is afraid of being on the hook for documents that they suspect are bogus."

Read more »

Bob McCarthy

Sidney Dem: Things Might Be Different If It Wasn't A Muslim Cemetery

Ryan J. Reilly | October 1, 2010, 3:21PM

The former Democratic opponent of the town supervisor who wants a Muslim group to dig up two bodies they buried on private property says she thinks the reaction might have been different if the group wasn't Islamic.

"I do wonder what the reaction would have been if a different group of people had owned the property," Dawn Rivers Baker, Chair of the Town of Sidney Democratic Committee, told TPMMuckraker.

Read more »

Tom Ganley

Woman Accusing GOPer Of Sex Assault: You're 'No Different' Than The Dems

Eric Lach | October 1, 2010, 1:47PM

OH-13 House candidate Tom Ganley (R)

Auto magnate and Ohio Republican congressional candidate Tom Ganley is facing a civil suit from a woman accusing him of attempted rape and sexual assault, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"I came to you as a customer and you treated me like a hooker," she wrote to Ganley in a letter on October 9, 2009. "You are no different than the Democrats."

Read more »

Meg Whitman

Whitman's Housekeeper Placement Service: Don't Blame Us!

Ryan J. Reilly | October 1, 2010, 1:08PM

California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R) and her former maid, Nicky Diaz.

The placement agency that California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman used to hire Nicky Diaz as a housekeeper back in 2000 has issued a statement to Talking Points Memo, stating that they "did everything that was legally required and followed standard procedures at the time."

Diaz according to records provided by the Whitman campaign, falsely stated that she was able to work in the United States. Town & Country Resources concurred with the Whitman camp that Diaz had been untruthful.

But Diaz and her high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred alleged that Whitman and her husband knew about Diaz's immigration status. Whitman admitted that her husband may have signed off on a letter for the Social Security Administration which said that the Social Security number Diaz provided did not match with her name in their records.

Read more »

Susan M. Reverby

U.S. Researchers Intentionally Infected Guatemalans With STDs In The 1940s

Ryan J. Reilly | October 1, 2010, 11:03AM

Scientists work on stem cell therapies for retinal degeneration.

About 60 years ago, the United States government intentionally infected hundreds of people in Guatemala with gonorrhea and syphilis without their knowledge or permission.

The report is based on a study by Susan M. Reverby, a professor at Wellesley College.

"In 1946-48, Dr. John C. Cutler, a PHS physician who would later be part of the Syphilis Study in Alabama in the 1960s and continue to defend it two decades after it ended in the 1990s, was running a syphilis inoculation project in Guatemala, co-sponsored by the PHS, the National Institutes of Health, the Pan American Health Sanitary Bureau (now the Pan American Health Organization), and the Guatemalan government," Reverby, wrote.

Read more »

Meg Whitman

Whitman Says Husband Probably Knew About Maid's Letter From Social Security

Ryan J. Reilly | October 1, 2010, 9:46AM

California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R).

California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman told KNX radio in Los Angeles on Thursday that she suspects the handwriting on a letter regarding the Social Security number of her former housekeeper is her husband's.

Late yesterday, Whitman's husband Dr. Griff Harsh said in a statement that he did not recall receiving the letter, but said "it is possible that I would've scratched a follow up note on a letter like this."

Read more »

Meg Whitman

Conservative Immigration Group: Arrest Meg Whitman, And Her Housekeeper Too

Ryan J. Reilly | September 30, 2010, 5:32PM

Meg Whitman and Nicky Diaz Santillan

A conservative group against illegal immigration has called for the arrest of Meg Whitman, the GOP's candidate for governor of California, and her former housekeeper Nicky Diaz for breaking immigration laws. The Americans for Legal Immigration PAC said Thursday that Whitman should stand trial and Diaz should be deported.

"It's pretty clear from all parties involved that Whitman did intentionally or unintentionally hire an illegal immigrant for nine years, which is a violation of federal law," William Gheen, president and spokesman of ALIPAC told TPMMuckraker in an interview Thursday.

"To allow Whitman to avoid a trial on this matter would be the same as allowing O.J. Simpson to avoid trial because he said he didn't do it before he was arrested," Gheen said.

Read more »

Saxby Chambliss

Chambliss Fires Unnamed Staffer Who Wrote Gay Slur Online

Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 5:10PM

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said in a statement this afternoon that he has fired the staffer who wrote an offensive comment on a gay rights blog last week. His office declined to identify the staffer.

The unidentified staffer wrote, "All faggots must die," on a post at Joe.My.God, just after the Senate's failed attempt to start debate on a bill that would repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Read more »

James O'Keefe

Has Breitbart Forsaken His Protege James O'Keefe?

Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 3:25PM

James O'Keefe and Andrew Breitbart

When James O'Keefe dressed up like a telephone repairman and started poking around with Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-LA) phone system, breaking the law, Andrew Breitbart -- who backed O'Keefe's ACORN stings -- stood by him. He said Big Government had nothing to do with O'Keefe's stunt, of course, but he also defended O'Keefe, gave him a platform from which to make a public statement and continued to pay him for his contributions to the BigGovernment site.

But not this time around, as O'Keefe finds himself the subject of condemnation from the right for apparently plotting to "punk" CNN by luring a reporter onto his boat and seducing her.

Read more »

Meg Whitman

Whitman, Former Maid Trade Accusations About What Whitman Knew And When

Ryan J. Reilly | September 30, 2010, 2:57PM

The former housekeeper of California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman charged Wednesday that the former eBay CEO knew her maid was in the country illegally, but continued to employ her and treated her poorly.

Whitman's campaign said that the maid, Nicky Diaz, was being "manipulated" by her high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred for "political and financial purposes," and said the candidate did not know Diaz was in the country illegally.

But Allred said Thursday that she had a copy of a so-called "no-match" letter sent by the Social Security Administration to Whitman back in 2003. That letter, which indicated that Diaz's name did not match with the housekeeper's name, indicates that Whitman knew her housekeeper was not authorized to work, according to Allred.

She planned to release the letter at a press conference at noon Pacific time. The Whitman campaign announced it would preempt Allred with a press conference at 10:30 p.m. PT.

So what do we know so far?

Read more »

Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

At TN Mosque Hearing, Plaintiffs Claim Islam Isn't A Religion

Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 1:30PM

Future Site of Murfreesboro, TN Islamic Center

Opponents of a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., spent the last two days arguing in court that Islam is not a religion and that the leaders of the mosque -- which has been in the town, in a different location, for decades -- preach jihad and a Sharia law takeover.

Three opponents of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro's planned expansion have sued the county, claiming officials broke open meeting law when they approved the mosque's building plan. The officials deny violating any laws. But the case quickly became, not about open meeting laws, but about Islam itself.

Read more »

James von Brunn

Report: Holocaust Museum Shooter Wanted To Kill Axelrod

Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 10:51AM

David Axelrod and James Von Brunn (inset)

In a story published today on extreme militias, TIME's Barton Gellman reports that James von Brunn, the elderly neo-Nazi who shot a guard at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. last year, had a different target in mind: senior White House adviser David Axelrod.

From TIME, citing "authoritative sources":

Read more »

Pinal County

How Sheriff Paul Babeu Inflated The Story Of His Wounded Deputy

Eric Lach | September 30, 2010, 8:38AM

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu

Experts are now seriously questioning Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll's much-hyped tale of being shot by drug smugglers in a remote part of the Arizona desert. But even if every detail of Puroll's story is true, it still does not square with many of the claims the Sheriff's office has peddled about the case.

The department says the original criminal investigation "had concluded and the facts of the case confirmed the accounts of the event as Deputy Puroll described." And though the case has now been reopened, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told local news this week that he "absolutely" still believes his deputy. Beside Puroll and his alleged attackers, who were never found, there were no other witnesses to the event.

But in the immediate aftermath of the April incident, and to this day, Babeu and the department have made statements about the event that clash with the recorded account that Puroll gave to detectives on May 6, and which was released to the public in early July (audio here). These statements have included exaggerations and unverified information, and have been repeated often by Babeu as his national profile has grown as a voice on border security. Some of the claims have been walked back. Others have not.

Read more »

voter fraud

Despite Dearth Of Evidence, Right Wing Voter Fraud Fear Machine Carries On

Ryan J. Reilly and Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 8:30AM

Remember the dire warnings and shrill allegations of voter fraud surrounding the 2008 election? That ACORN would steal it, that the New Black Panthers were intimidating voters, that fraud across the county would be "rampant?"

They never panned out. ACORN no longer exists. (Although that hasn't stopped 20 percent of the American public from believing they'll try to steal the election.) The DOJ found that the New Black Panthers incident was isolated -- although that case found new life in allegations against the Justice Department itself (more on that below). A five-year effort by the Bush DOJ to weed out fraud, an effort the Obama team said was designed to suppress minority voter turnout, turned up "virtually no evidence."

Read more »

NY-GOV

Carl Paladino: Pay No Mind To My Love Child -- Cuomo Had An Affair!

Jillian Rayfield | September 29, 2010, 6:34PM

Carl Paladino

New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino slammed the press yesterday for focusing on his love child, just moments before he accused his Democratic opponent Andrew Cuomo of having an affair.

Read more »

James O'Keefe

O'Keefe And The Gang: The Young Conservatives Who Tried To Punk CNN

Rachel Slajda | September 29, 2010, 4:58PM

James O'Keefe

When CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau flew to Maryland to meet with James O'Keefe, she thought she was meeting him in his office to talk about a documentary she was working on about young conservatives. Instead, she found herself at his house, where his organization's executive director was near tears as she warned Boudreau that O'Keefe was trying to lure her onto his boat in order to seduce her in front of hidden cameras in order to "punk" CNN.

Boudreau left, and CNN ran the story today. We already know plenty about the main character: O'Keefe is the Andrew Breitbart protege who secretly filmed meetings between himself, posing as a pimp, and ACORN employees. The videos were a big part of what caused ACORN's demise as a national organization that helped low- and middle-income families find housing and register to vote. He also pleaded guilty earlier this year with three friends to charges of entering government property under false pretenses, after the four posed as telephone repairmen and videotaped themselves fiddling with the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's office.

But who were his alleged co-conspirators, who CNN says O'Keefe emailed with about the plan?

Read more »

Andrew Shirvell

Michigan Assistant AG Blogging Against Gay College Student's 'Radical Homosexual Agenda'

Jillian Rayfield | September 29, 2010, 4:25PM

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has a blog. It's called "Chris Armstrong Watch" and is uniformly dedicated to keeping an eye on Armstrong, the openly gay University of Michigan student body president, who Shirvell maintains is "a radical homosexual activist" aiming "to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan."

Read more »

Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman's Former Housekeeper Alleges Financial And Emotional Abuse

Ryan J. Reilly | September 29, 2010, 3:50PM

A former housekeeper for Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor of California, alleged in a press conference with a high-profile lawyer that she was subject to financial and emotional abuse for the nine years she was employed.

Both sides agree that Whitman fired her housekeeper last June because she was an illegal immigrant, just a few months after Whitman's campaign for governor got underway.

Read more »

'Ground Zero Mosque'

NY Town Supervisor: 'Liberal Media' Ginning Up Muslim Controversy

Ryan J. Reilly | September 29, 2010, 2:43PM

The village of Sidney, NY asked a Muslim group dig up two bodies they buried in a small cemetery on land they own because, the town contends, the burial plots are illegal.

But town supervisor Bob McCarthy doesn't know which law they broke. "I don't know what the exact law is," he said.

In a phone interview with TPMMuckraker on Wednesday, McCarthy said that he was being "harassed" by media calls, and said he's not an expert on the law.

Read more »

Kevin Ring

Witness Recants Testimony Against Abramoff Associate

Ryan J. Reilly | September 29, 2010, 10:57AM

Kevin A. Ring

A key witness in the federal government's retrial against an associate of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has decided to recant testimony he gave in the first trial.

John Albaugh, former chief of staff to Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK), told prosecutors he no longer feels he gave favors to clients of Jack Abramoff's firm because lobbyists had given him free meals and event tickets, the Associated Press reported.

Read more »

CNN

Ambush Filmmaker O'Keefe Tried To 'Punk,' 'Seduce' CNN Reporter

Rachel Slajda | September 29, 2010, 10:21AM

James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe, the young conservative activist who secretly recorded meetings with ACORN and was convicted in May of entering Sen. Mary Landrieu's office under false pretenses, allegedly tried to "punk" CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau by luring her on to a boat and seducing her.

CNN reports on the scheme today, a few days before airing a documentary on O'Keefe and other young conservatives called "Right on the Edge." The incident happened in August, when Boudreau was working on the documentary.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Ambush 'Filmmaker' James O'Keefe: From The ACORN Sting To Failed CNN Punking]

Read more »

Stephen Colbert

Colbert Warns Against 'Muslim Vampires' -- 'Sleeper-In-Coffin Cells' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 29, 2010, 10:10AM

A few weeks ago, residents of Sidney, New York, demanded that Muslims dig up and move the bodies of their dead relatives from a private Muslim cemetery. And last night, Stephen Colbert came out in support of the effort: "How dare those Muslims build a grave so close to... ground?"

He continued that "usually when you die, your threat level decreases significantly," but based on Sidney's actions, Colbert had no choice but to reach the "terrifying conclusion" that there is something new to be afraid of: "Muslim vampires."

It's "not just sleeper cells," Colbert said. It's "sleeper-in-coffin cells."

Read more »

Frank Gaffney

Gaffney On CNN: Mosques Want 'To Destroy Western Civilization From Within' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | September 29, 2010, 9:44AM

Anderson Cooper interviewing Frank Gaffney on CNN.

After testifying at a hearing about a proposed mosque in Tennessee, Sharia law "expert" Frank Gaffney went on Anderson Cooper last night to explain why, exactly, the mosque could be another victory for radical American Muslims who want to destroy the United States from within.

Imams' agenda to impose Sharia law "ultimately winds up becoming a cancer inside a society," Gaffney claimed. "No-go zones are typically associated with it where the authorities dare not go. Sharia law is practiced in those no-go zones. They are expanded in due course. And ultimately, you have the groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, with whom many of these mosques and for that matter, Muslim-American organizations of any note, are associated, pursuing a mission that we know, from evidence introduced into another federal trial, is to destroy western civilization from within. That's really worrying."

Read more »

Paul Babeu

The Suspicious Tale Of The Arizona Deputy Shot By Drug Smugglers

Eric Lach | September 29, 2010, 9:28AM

The much-hyped account of an Arizona sheriff's deputy attacked by border-crossing drug smugglers is being questioned, months after the fact.

On April 30, one week after Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed her state's controversial new immigration bill into law, a gun battle reportedly took place in a remote western part of Pinal County, Arizona, between a lone sheriff's deputy and a well-armed group of suspected drug smugglers. The deputy, Louie Puroll, was shot just above his left kidney, but survived, and his assailants were not found, despite an extensive search. The story spread quickly, was reported by major media outlets and was held up by border hawks as proof that Mexican drug violence was spilling into the country.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Arizona Immigration Law Sparks Protests]

But an exhaustive article published in the Phoenix New Times last week challenges the official story of what happened in the desert that day, and the Sheriff's office -- led by Paul Babeu, who has ridden this story and his appearance in John McCain's "danged fence" campaign ad to national prominence -- has now reopened its investigation of the case.

Read more »

House Ethics Committee

House Ethics Republicans Demand Hearings For Rangel And Waters Before Election

Rachel Slajda | September 28, 2010, 5:03PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

In a statement that may be a violation of committee rules, the five Republican members of the House ethics committee are calling for the ethics chairwoman to schedule hearings for two Democratic members before the election.

Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) were charged in August, separately, with violating ethics rules. The next step is for the committee to hold a trial-like adjudicatory hearing for each, and then recommend punishment that can range from reprimand to expulsion.

Read more »

Nicholas A. Marsh

Ted Stevens Prosecutor Felt 'Scapegoated' During Misconduct Investigation

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2010, 4:40PM

Nicholas Marsh, left, Brenda Morris, center and Joseph Bottini, right, walk out of the Federal Court in Washington after Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted on seven corruption charges, Monday, Oct. 27, 2008, in Washington.

Nicholas A. Marsh, the federal prosecutor who had been involved in the botched prosecution of the late Sen. Ted Stevens and took his own life over the weekend, felt abandoned by some at the Justice Department because of its handling of a probe into allegations of misconduct, friends tell TPMMuckraker.

Marsh felt that he had been sidelined during the course of an investigation into allegations of prosecutorial misconduct while other colleagues also under investigation were able to continue prosecuting cases, according to friends familiar with Marsh's views. They say waiting for the investigation to play out its course was difficult for him to handle.

"Particularly when you're dealing with someone like Nick, who is someone with the utmost character and integrity... for him to sort of have to sit by and wait for this investigation to run its course while he is waiting to have is name cleared is very hard for him," Josh Waxman, a longtime friend who was a summer law associate with Marsh, told TPMMuckraker.

"I think he felt scapegoated," one friend speaking on the condition of anonymity told TPMMuckraker.

Read more »

SEIU

SEIU, Stern Deny Federal Investigation

Rachel Slajda | September 28, 2010, 3:56PM

President of the Service Employees International Union Andy Stern

The SEIU is flatly denying reports of a federal investigation against the union and its former leader, Andy Stern.

The Associated Press reported this morning that the FBI and the Department of Labor are looking into a $175,000 advance Stern got for a book deal in 2006, and the approval of a contract for a former union official who was booted after it was discovered he did no actual work.

The sources, identified as "two organized labor officials," told the AP that they had been questioned this summer. Investigators, they said, were interested in Stern's book deal because the SEIU and its locals bought thousands of copies. They also asked about Alejandro Stephens, the former president of a California local, who was paid a $75,000 consulting salary until the SEIU realized he wasn't doing any actual work. Stephens was recently sentenced to jail for stealing tens of thousands from a voter outreach program.

Read more »

Frank Gaffney

TN Mosque Opponents Bring In National Sharia 'Expert' Frank Gaffney

Rachel Slajda | September 28, 2010, 1:56PM

Frank Gaffney, CEO and founder of the Center for Security Policy.

The opponents of a proposed mosque near Murfreesboro, Tenn., have brought in prominent Sharia law fearmonger Frank Gaffney to help them stop the project in court.

Gaffney, who has been warning about the supposed threat to the Constitution from Sharia for years, was the only witness in the first day of hearings in a lawsuit filed by a handful of opponents to the mosque. They're trying to convince a judge to file an injunction against the mosque's construction, on the grounds the public officials violated open meeting law when approving the project.

Read more »

Darrell Issa

Darrell Issa's Subpoena Gameplan For 2011: Investigate ACORN, Climate-Gate And The U.S. Postal Service

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2010, 10:01AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

After ACORN's demise, you might have thought that if if the GOP takes the House and Rep. Darrell Issa becomes the new chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the California Republican would have better things to worry about. You'd be wrong.

Last week, Issa issued a blueprint for his agenda titled "A Constitutional Obligation: Congressional Oversight of the Executive Branch." Among the issues he chastised the Democratic leadership for not addressing: the fraud he says was committed by the community organizing group ACORN.

Read more »

Family Security Matters

Is Obama Trying To Indoctrinate Your Children With Muslim Comic Books?

Rachel Slajda | September 28, 2010, 9:43AM

From an issue of "The 99"

Probably not. But one conservative think tank is sounding the alarm.

Adrian Morgan, the editor of Family Security Matters, wrote a long post last week about "The 99" -- a popular comic book series featuring Muslims superheroes who embody the 99 attributes of Allah, like mercy and generosity.

The comic books have been widely praised. As their creator, Naif Al-Mutawa, describes, the books are meant to teach a moderate, peaceful, loving Islam.

Read more »

Arizona

AZ Sheriff's Dept Reopens Case Of Deputy Allegedly Shot By Drug Smugglers

Eric Lach | September 27, 2010, 3:35PM

Sheriff Paul Babeu

The Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff's Office has announced that it is reopening the case of a sheriff's deputy who was shot on April 30, after an article last week raised questions about the deputy's story that he'd been involved in a shoot-out with drug smugglers -- and just hours after telling TPM that the department stood by the original investigation.

Read more »

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad Met With New Black Panthers, Farrakhan In New York

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2010, 3:04PM

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Louis Farrakhan and members of the New Black Panther Party during his trip to the U.S., the New York Post reported.

During his trip, Ahmadinejad "wore the same tacky suit and shirt all week" and took every precaution to keep himself safe. Bulletproof glass was installed over room windows, he left through the employee entrance without stepping foot in the lobby of his hotel, and kept his head covered with a white cloth, the newspaper reported.

Read more »

Nicholas Marsh

Prosecutor Involved In Botched Ted Stevens Prosecution Commits Suicide

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2010, 2:00PM

Fmr. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R)

One of the federal prosecutors who was involved with the prosecution of the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens -- which the Justice Department dismissed due to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct -- has taken his own life.

News of Nicholas Marsh's death, first reported by NPR on Monday, came ahead of a forthcoming report by a special prosecutor appointed by a judge that looks into those misconduct allegations.

Read more »

Wisconsin

Lawyer: 'Sexting' Wisconsin DA To Resign

Jillian Rayfield | September 27, 2010, 1:47PM

Calumet County DA Kenneth Kratz

In a hearing today, the lawyer for Wisconsin District Attorney Kenneth Kratz said that the DA will step down from his post before October 8, when there is another hearing scheduled to begin removal proceedings.

Kratz's announcement follows allegations by at least five women who say he behaved inappropriately as a county DA, and Kratz's own admission that he sent one domestic abuse victim sexually suggestive texts while he was handling her case.

Read more »

Randall Terry

Randall Terry Planning Koran Tearing For Tea Partiers (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2010, 1:04PM

Randall Terry

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is upping the ante on his as-yet widely unknown campaign against Islam by creating a video instructing Tea Party leaders how to pull their own Koran-tearing stunts and garner media attention.

"To my fellow Tea Party activists, listen to me: you're about to see instructions on how to get into real battles, not just in front of our computers, not just blogging, but to go to the public square like Samuel Adams and like other great patriots did," Terry says in the video.

The video is part of Terry's campaign for anti-Islam activists to rip passages of the Koran printed on posters at the potential location of the Cordoba House Islamic Center in New York, in Washington D.C. and in other cities on Oct. 6 and 7.

Read more »

Carl Paladino

For Paladino, Love Child Is Seemingly Not A Political Liability

Rachel Slajda | September 27, 2010, 11:10AM

Carl Paladino

Carl Paladino, the ultra-conservative New York businessman who rode the Tea Party to victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary this month, has a daughter with a woman who is not his wife. But even though such indiscretions have cost other New York Republicans their seats (see Vito Fossella), Paladino has remained unscathed. He has even, according to some polls, come within striking distance of Democratic candidate and attorney general Andrew Cuomo.

That may be because Paladino has been open about his daughter, who is now 10, throughout his candidacy. She joined his other children and his wife at his campaign kick-off in April, for example, and has attended other events. She is, as the New York Times put it in today's profile of Paladino, "fully incorporated into his family." Paladino supports her financially and, according to the New York Post, he accompanied the girl, Sarah, and her mother -- with his wife's permission -- on a trip to Italy last year that included a visit to the Vatican.

Read more »

Kenneth Kratz

Fifth Woman Comes Forward In 'Sexting' DA Case -- Alleges He Offered Her Help In Exchange For Sex

Jillian Rayfield | September 27, 2010, 10:58AM

Calumet County DA Kenneth Kratz

A fifth woman has come forward with allegations against Wisconsin District Attorney Kenneth Kratz, who has previously admitted to sending inappropriate text messages to a woman whose domestic abuse case he was handling. In the latest allegations, an unidentified woman claims that Kratz offered to help her prepare her victim statement for her domestic abuse case if she agreed to have sex with him.

"We'll get that written and we'll go to bed," she alleges he said, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Read more »

FBI

DOJ Report: FBI Employees Cheated On Skills Assessment Test

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2010, 10:24AM

A significant number of FBI employees cheated on an exam intended to assess their skills on criminal investigations, national security investigations and foreign intelligence collection, according to a Justice Department Inspector General report released Monday.

When taking the computerized 51-question Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG), some consulted with others while taking the exam, others used or distributed answers sheets or study guides that provided answers to the test and some employees "exploited a programming flaw to reveal the answers to the exam on their computers."

Read more »

Confederate History Month

McDonnell Cancels Confederate History Month

Rachel Slajda | September 27, 2010, 9:01AM

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

Bob McDonnell, the Republican governor of Virginia, announced Friday morning that he will not declare next April "Confederate History Month."

McDonnell caused a stir this April when he proclaimed Confederate History Month, something that had been a tradition in the past but that his predecessors had skipped. Most critics made hay of the fact that he made no mention of slavery in the proclamation. He eventually apologized and added a clause about the "evil and inhumane practice."

Read more »