Robocalls

'Relax' Robocaller's Lawyer Argues 'Dirty Tricks' Are Free Speech

Ryan J. Reilly | December 31, 2010, 1:27PM

Julius Henson and Fmr. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-MD)

A Maryland political operative behind misleading election day robocalls has a long and colorful history of political tricks so dirty that even in Baltimore political consultants "don't want to even breathe the same air as him." But a lawyer representing Julius Henson (who has admitted he was responsible for robocalls telling mostly Democratic voters not to bother going to the polls on Election Day) is arguing that his client's right to free speech protects such tactics.

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Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller Celebrates The Year Of The 'Ground Zero Mosque'

Ryan J. Reilly | December 31, 2010, 10:55AM

Pamela Geller, blogger for Atlas Shrugs

Pam Geller, everyone's favorite bikini-clad Islamophobe, is celebrating the power her demagoguery has to grab headlines upon the news that the debate over the "Ground Zero Mosque" was the most followed issue this year.

The debate, Geller says, "changed the course of human events."

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Gov't Files To Suspend 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Appeal

Ryan J. Reilly | December 31, 2010, 10:03AM

A crowd protests "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" outside the White House

The Justice Department asked a federal judge this week to suspend an appeal of the Log Cabin Republicans' federal lawsuit against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which was recently repealed by Congress.

Justice Department attorneys argued that the court should "suspend the briefing schedule and hold the case in abeyance to allow that process to continue to completion."

A federal judge had ruled in September that DADT was unconstitutional and issued an injunction banning enforcement of the law, a ruling DOJ appealed.

President Obama signed the repeal into law earlier this month, and has said he expects repeal to be implemented in a matter of months, not years.

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James Cole

GOPers Attack DOJ Appointee Over Terror Trial Views; Holder Preps For Headaches

Ryan J. Reilly | December 30, 2010, 4:53PM

James Cole, the man whom President Barack Obama announced yesterday will be given a recess appoint to the Justice Department's No. 2 position, is quickly emerging as a top target of Republican members of Congress due to his support for the use of civilian courts in terrorism trials.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder and DOJ staffers are gearing up for onslaught of criticism from the GOP on political hot topics like terrorism, immigration and what Holder called a "made-up controversy" over the department's handling of a two-year-old voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.

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Fox News

Police: Fox News Flubbed 'Granny Terrorist' Story

Ryan J. Reilly | December 30, 2010, 3:48PM

FoxNews.com reporter Jana Winter published a story last week claiming that Fox News had "learned" of a federal investigation into the alleged terrorist ties of Kathie Smith, a "46-year-old, blue-eyed grandmother and U.S. citizen from Indiana." The story was quickly pulled down and scrubbed from the website, but not before TPM grabbed a copy.

FoxNews.com posted a revised version of the story on Tuesday. Fox's story glosses over the role that its own reporter had in alerting Indiana authorities to Smith and what can only be called her unique brand of "jihadism."

As for the investigation, it's unclear if the feds are probing Smith, and the Indiana State Police -- the recipient of Fox's tip -- tells TPM they have no active investigation.

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Chris Dodd

Senate Ethics Committee Dismisses Complaint Against Dodd

David Taintor | December 30, 2010, 2:42PM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Outgoing Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is catching a break just in time for the new year, after the Senate Ethics Panel dismissed a complaint against him.

Judicial Watch -- a conservative public interest group -- filed the complaint against Dodd, saying he "assisted a longtime friend and associate to obtain a reduced sentence and ultimately a full presidential pardon from President Clinton for tax and securities crimes, in exchange for gifts."

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New York City

Judge Rules Against Graphic NYC Anti-Smoking Ads

David Taintor | December 30, 2010, 12:03PM

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled against New York City's use of graphic anti-smoking ads, saying that only the federal government can regulate smoking warnings.

"Even merchants of morbidity are entitled to the full protection of the law, for our sake as well as theirs," said U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who issued the written decision.

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Christine O'Donnell

O'Donnell: Fed Probe Ginned Up By Biden, Soros And Disgruntled Staffers (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 30, 2010, 10:17AM

Former Republican senate candidate Christine O'Donnell took to the airwaves of at least five morning shows today to fight back against the "thug politic tactic" being used against her by way of the federal criminal probe into allegations of improper use of her campaign funds.

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Steve King

Steve King Digs In: Congress Will Investigate 'Reparations' Settlement For Black Farmers

Eric Kleefeld | December 30, 2010, 9:56AM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is continuing to blast the government's recent discrimination settlement with African-American farmers as "reparations" -- and even predicting that the new Republican-led House will investigate it.

In an interview with local western Iowa radio station KCIM, King discussed the oversight efforts that the new GOP House would undertake. First and foremost, he said, would be his pet cause of investigating ACORN -- which no longer exists as a national organization, but whose activists at the state level could be targeted.

"And there'll be other investigations looking into the Pigford farms issue," King added, "which I think is full of fraud, that's -- what it amounts to is paying reparations to black farmers in America. We don't do reparations in America."

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Christine O'Donnell

Ethics Group: Amount Of Money Could Make Or Break O'Donnell Investigation

Ryan J. Reilly and Alex Sciuto | December 30, 2010, 8:35AM

Christine O'Donnell

As former Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell suggested yesterday the federal investigation into improper use of campaign funds was just one of Vice President Joe Biden's "thug tactics" against the Tea Party star, the president of the ethics group which made the complaint told TPM that the outcome depends on just how much campaign money she allegedly put to personal use.

"I think the major issue DOJ will have is whether it was enough money," Melanie Sloan, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) told TPM in an interview.

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Virginia

Historians Find Myriad Errors In VA History Textbooks

David Taintor | December 30, 2010, 8:30AM

Surprise, surprise, historians have found glaring errors in a textbook claiming that African Americans fought in large numbers for the South during the Civil War.

A number of additional errors have been found in other textbooks being used in some Virginia classrooms, since the state ordered a review of the books, the Washington Post reports.

Among the textbooks' errors are claims that the Confederacy included 12 states and the U.S. entered World War I in 1916. Five professional scholars reviewed the books, with three of them finding "disturbing" results. State officials are scheduled to meet January 10 to review the results.

"I absolutely could not believe the number of mistakes -- wrong dates and wrong facts everywhere. How in the world did these books get approved?" said Ronald Heinemann, a former history professor at Hampden-Sydney College who reviewed "Our Virginia: Past and Present." The other book mentioned in the report was "Our America: To 1865."

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Jo Bonner

Boehner Puts Bonner In Charge Of House Ethics Committee

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 4:42PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the House ethics committee who reportedly ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the committee's offices for a week during a dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), will serve as chairman of the House ethics committee in the 112th Congress.

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Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly: Calling Aliens 'Undocumented' Like Calling Rape 'Non-Consensual Sex' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 3:40PM

Plenty of conservatives are pretty upset over a campaign by the Society of Professional Journalists to convince reporters to stop using the terms "illegal aliens" and "illegal immigrants" in favor of "undocumented immigrant." But none are as livid as perpetually outraged Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who on Wednesday afternoon asked if journalists were going to start calling rapists "non-consensual sex partners" next.

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Christine O'Donnell

Report: Feds Open Criminal Investigation Into Christine O'Donnell's Campaign Spending

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 2:22PM

Christine O'Donnell

Federal officials have reportedly opened a criminal probe into whether former Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The feds are looking into whether O'Donnell's spent $20,000 dollars in campaign money on personal expenses and rent, MSNBC reported. The probe stems from a complaint by the group Citizens For Responsibility And Ethics In Washington (CREW) which was filed back in September.

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Charlie Wilson

Inside Charlie Wilson's FBI File: Sex, Drugs And Foreign Wars

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 11:05AM

In life, Rep. Charlie Wilson was surrounded by legends of his high living, but it was never quite clear where the reality ended and the legend began. The feds seemingly had a similar problem figuring that out, if the late congressman's recently disclosed FBI file is any indication, as it mentions a rumored photo of Wilson on a bed with a Mexican prostitute that the FBI was never able to confirm.

A rumor of a photo of Wilson with a Mexican woman of the night is just one of the tidbits revealed in the FBI file of the late Wilson, the bombastic politician who was immortalized in the 2007 film "Charlie Wilson's War." And while he was known for his wide circle of friends, his file indicates he clearly had some nasty enemies.

Wilson, the Texas Democrat known as "Good Time Charlie," served in Congress from 1973 through 1996 and died in February at the age of 76. His involvement with Operation Cyclone, a program supporting the Afghan mujahideen in their resistance of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 2007 film based on the book "Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History."

TPM just obtained a copy of Wilson's 463 page FBI from the bureau, which the Hill first reported it obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last week.

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Medical Marijuana

Feds Want Michigan's Medical Marijuana Documents

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 10:29AM

The federal government wants the department that oversees the state of Michigan's medical marijuana program to provide records for seven individuals under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Department of Community Health hasn't yet complied with the subpoena because there are potential civil and criminal penalties for violating confidentiality under the state's medical marijuana law, the Grand Rapids Press reports.

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Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel Sets Up Legal Fund

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 10:22AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is asking for donations of up to $5,000 to the Charles B. Rangel Legal Expense Trust to cover anticipated further legal costs stemming from allegations of ethics violations against him, Lynn Sweet reported.

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Sandy McGriff

Pastor Accused Of Xmas Eve Robbery: I Was Just Trying To Help! (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | December 29, 2010, 8:57AM

A Dallas pastor accused of stealing more than $10,000 worth of fur coats, designer purses and electronics from a church member's home on Christmas Eve says that she's really innocent.

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Islamophobia

This Year In Islamophobia

Rachel Slajda | December 29, 2010, 8:46AM

Protesters In New York oppose the Park51 Islamic center.

Nine years after Sept. 11, 2001, America saw perhaps its worst outbreak of Islamophobia since the attacks. Experts wagered it came from the aimless fear and the anger people feel in times of economic crisis, exploited by certain politicians looking to give their party an advantage in the midterms and turned toward American Muslims.

Such an outbreak was possible in the days and months after Sept. 11's attacks. It never really materialized, experts say, in part because President George W. Bush stood up and told the nervous country that Islam is a religion of peace, and that American was not at war with Muslims.

He made no such appeal this year, and President Obama's pleas fell on deaf ears or, more accurately, ears that believe Obama himself is secretly, and sinisterly, Muslim.

Without further ado, then, is This Year in Islamophobia:

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NASA

NASA Forced To Pour Nearly $500M Into Nixed Rocket Program

Eric Lach | December 28, 2010, 3:59PM

The Orlando Sentinel reports that, as the result of Congress extending the 2010 budget until March, NASA must continue paying millions every month for the Ares I rocket program essentially ended by President Obama when he signed a new NASA plan in October.

That's one small clause for Congress, one giant bill for taxpayer-kind.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Groups Opposed To DADT Repeal 'Latching' On To Shower Issue

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 2:02PM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) interviewed by a reporter from cnsnews.com

Groups opposed to the open service of gay and lesbian members of the military will continue to fear-monger about gay and straight service members showering together to sexualize the open service issue, Jarrod Chlapowski of Servicemembers United told TPM in an interview.

"I see that as being a talking point to just raise fears and draw attention to their general opposition to the issue and that's not something that I think will go away anytime soon," Chlapowski said.

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Barack Obama

Latest Right-Wing Freak-Out: Obama Wants To Give Manhattan Back To Native Americans

Jillian Rayfield | December 28, 2010, 1:55PM

The good news is that the right-wing isn't talking about President Obama being a secret Muslim right now. The bad news is that they're now concerned that he's going to use his honorary status as a Crow Tribe Indian to return the United States to Native Americans.

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Office of Professional Responsibility

Report: Misconduct By Feds Led To Lighter Sentences For Defendants

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 1:12PM

Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C.

USA Today is out with another report critical of the actions of federal prosecutors. The newspaper found that, in at least 48 of the 201 cases since 1997 in which federal courts found that prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules, defendants were convicted but were given shorter sentences because of that misconduct.

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Alabama

Amid Bingo Bribery Scandal, Alabama Institutes Lobbying Reform

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 11:20AM

Gov. Bob Riley (R-AL)

The Alabama state legislature last week approved a package of ethics bills that supporters say will change state politics for the better amid the unfolding bingo legislation bribery scandal. But as the Birmingham News reports there's "disagreement on whether those changes are giant leaps or small steps."

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Mark Souder

Quayle Picks Up Whistleblowing Former Souder Staffer

Jillian Rayfield | December 28, 2010, 10:09AM

Rep.-Elect Ben Quayle (R-AZ)

Rep.-Elect Ben Quayle (R-AZ) has brought on Renee Hudson, the former chief of staff of adulterous former Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), to be his new chief of staff. Hudson reportedly brought news of Souder's dalliance to GOP leadership after confronting her boss.

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Bush

Bush Audiobook Chapters Now Include "Bush It" For Windows Users

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 9:55AM

George W. Bush signs copies of his book, 'Decision Points'

If you plug your brand-new "Decision Points" audiobook into your Windows computer, you'll get some pretty unexpected track titles. Why? Because in 2007, various artists made a protest album called "George W. Bush," and the online database that Windows Media uses to fill in the track titles thinks your audiobook is their album.

There have been complaints of late -- we're guessing from someone who got a copy for Christmas -- that chapter titles like "Innocent Children Die" and "Bush It" were popping up when they loaded the album on Windows Media Player.

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U.S. Marshals Service

Suit Says U.S. Marshals Mishandled Forfeiture Of Madoff Assets

Ryan J. Reilly | December 28, 2010, 9:52AM

A government whistleblower charges that the 73-year-old man the U.S. Marshals Service put in charge of auctioning off the property forfeited by white-collar criminals, including Bernie Madoff, undervalued what could be millions of dollars in assets.

Leonard Briskman, the man in charge of the Marshals unit and the Asset Forfeiture Program, is accused of selling the assets without public notice or competitive bidding, finding buyers through business contacts and maintaining a secret bank account not accessible to government auditors, the New York Times reported.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Group Opposed To DADT Repeal To Fight On Against Shower Policy

Ryan J. Reilly | December 27, 2010, 2:20PM

Since 1993, the Center for Military Readiness has been fighting to keep gay men and lesbians from infiltrating the United States military. So now that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been repealed, what's next for the group that fought so hard to prevent the open service of gay and lesbian members of the armed forces?

They have no big plans yet, Elaine Donnelly, founder and President of the Center for Military Readiness, told TPM in an interview Monday.

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Barack Obama

Report: Obama Thanks Eagles Owner For Giving Ex-Con Vick A 2nd Chance

Eric Lach | December 27, 2010, 10:52AM

President Obama has reached out to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, and thanked him for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance in the NFL this year, according to Sports Illustrated's Peter King.

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Julian Assange

Assange To Use Autobiography Cash To Cover Legal Bills

Ryan J. Reilly | December 27, 2010, 10:06AM

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is writing an autobiography that he expects to fetch $1.3 million -- funds he will use to fuel his legal defense.

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Haley Barbour

Barbour Mixes Business With Pleasure When Using State Plane

Ryan J. Reilly | December 27, 2010, 9:12AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Gov. Haley Barbour has traveled extensively on a Mississippi state plane and has mixed state business with both pleasure and national politics, a Politico review of the flight manifest since 2007 shows.

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