Rupert Murdoch

James Murdoch Declines His $6M Bonus But Rupert Murdoch Gets $12.5M

Jillian Rayfield | September 2, 2011, 5:29PM

James Murdoch declined his $6 million bonus from News Corporation in light of the phone hacking scandal, calling it "the right thing to do."

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Liberal Wis. Justices: Gableman Assault Never Happened

Eric Kleefeld | September 2, 2011, 5:20PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Michael Gableman and Ann Walsh Bradley

The members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's liberal minority have been firing back at conservative Justice Michael Gableman, regarding his allegation that liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley -- who recently accused conservative Justice David Prosser of grabbing her neck in an altercation -- had hit him in the head either two or three years ago.

On Thursday, news emerged that the original date Gableman had given, September 18, 2008, came at the early part of a two-week period when the court did not meet at all. Gableman then released a statement saying that he had remembered the date of September 18, -- his birthday -- but the year had been 2009, not 2008: "In any event, the incident happened exactly as I related it to the officers and as it was set forth in the report. While Justice Bradley might not be able to recall it, I certainly do."

On Friday, the two other liberal justices chimed in to further deny Gableman's newer story. Justice Patrick Crooks, along with Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, released this statement:

I am emailing the following statement on behalf of myself and the Chief Justice.

As stated previously, no incident as described by Justice Gableman, and no similar incident, ever occurred in our presence.

Thank you.

Justice Patrick Crooks
Wisconsin Supreme Court

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wis. Justice Prosser Recuses Self In Case Involving His Recount Attorney

Eric Kleefeld | September 2, 2011, 1:12PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser has recused himself from a prominent case on campaign-finance regulations that is coming before the court, in the wake of objections that he would have a potential conflict of interest -- because the lead attorney for the Tea Party groups challenging the regulations, Jim Troupis, was just recently Prosser's own attorney in the recount of his very close re-election campaign.

Prosser sent a letter to all the various parties in the case, stating simply:

Dear Counsel:

Please be advised that I will not participate in the oral argument or decision in Wisconsin Prosperity Network v. Myse.

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Voter Identification

Dick Durbin To Chair Hearing Examining Rash Of Voter ID Laws

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2011, 12:30PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) will chair a hearing next week examining the rash of voter ID laws passed by state legislatures this year amidst concerns that such laws could suppress Democratic turnout across the country.

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Arizona

Oath Keeper-Backed AZ Mayor Says His Recall Election Was Rigged Thanks To 'Nazi' Police Force

Jillian Rayfield | September 2, 2011, 11:47AM

Ed Foster, second from left, the former mayor of Quartzsite, AZ.

Oath Keeper-backed Ed Foster says his ouster as Mayor of Quartzsite, Arizona was the result of a conspiracy by the town's "corrupt" town council, which along with the "Nazi" police force is running the town under martial law.

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Matthew Vadum

Columnist: Registering Poor To Vote 'Like Handing Out Burglary Tools To Criminals'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2011, 10:40AM

Matthew Vadum of the American Spectator

Updated: September 2, 2011, 5:05 PM

Conservative columnist Matthew Vadum is just going to come right out and say it: registering the poor to vote is un-American and "like handing out burglary tools to criminals."

"It is profoundly antisocial and un-American to empower the nonproductive segments of the population to destroy the country -- which is precisely why Barack Obama zealously supports registering welfare recipients to vote," Vadum, the author of a book published by World Net Daily that attacks the now-defunct community organizing group ACORN, writes in a column for the American Thinker.

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Kevin Ring

Feds: Abramoff Associate Kevin Ring 'Not Entitled' To Leniency

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2011, 6:50PM

Kevin Ring

Federal prosecutors maintained in a filing on Thursday that Jack Abramoff crony Kevin Ring should face 17 to 22 years in jail because he is "is not entitled to the benefits, or leniency, enjoyed by his co-conspirators who stood in a very different position in 2005 to 2008 than he does in 2011."

Ring's lawyers had argued that the tough sentence the Justice Department has sought against him -- which exceeds the time served by all 20 other defendants in the conspiracy combined -- was a form of retaliation for his decision to go to trial and not plead guilty like many of his co-conspirators.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wis. Justice Gableman Issues Correction -- Says Bradley Hit Him In Sept. 2009, Not 2008

Eric Kleefeld | September 1, 2011, 5:24PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman

Updated: September 2, 2011, 2 p.m. ET

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, a conservative, is responding to criticism from the court's liberals, regarding his allegation to investigators that liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley hit him during a court meeting on September 18, 2008 -- a date when the court did not meet. Gableman's answer is that he is correcting a lapse of memory: It did happen on September 18 -- but in 2009.

Gableman made the allegation during the investigation of a physical altercation in June, about which Bradley accused Justice David Prosser, the leader of the court's conservatives, of grabbing her neck in a "chokehold." Prosser replied to investigators that Bradley charged at him, and he reflexively put up his hands to block her, accidentally making contact with her neck. Ultimately, no charges were filed.

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Michael Bloomberg

NYC Deputy Mayor Reportedly Quit After Domestic Abuse Bust

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 4:51PM

NYC Deputy Mayor for Special Operations Stephen Goldsmith

New York City's former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's resignation was reportedly the result of an arrest for domestic abuse, according to the New York Post.

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Gabby Giffords

FEC Rules Gabby Giffords Can Use Campaign Funds To Secure Home

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2011, 1:57PM

Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ)

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) can use campaign funds to make home improvements that would enhance her security, the Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday.

Her campaign had requested to use about $2,200 to improve her home's exterior lighting and locks and install a duress alarm button.

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Joe Arpaio

Man Files Claim Against Steven Seagal And Arpaio Deputies For Killing Puppy During Tank Raid On His Home

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 1:20PM

Stephen Seagal

Actor and "Lawman" Steven Seagal is facing a legal claim after a raid on an Arizona man's home alongside deputies of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, which allegedly resulted in the accidental death of the man's puppy.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

More Accusations Fly In Wisconsin Supreme Court -- And More Rebuttals

Eric Kleefeld | September 1, 2011, 12:43PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Michael Gableman and Ann Walsh Bradley

The drama continues on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, following the investigation of a physical altercation in which liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley accused conservative Justice David Prosser of grabbing her neck in a "chokehold." Now there is a whole new round of accusations of an alleged incident -- pointing to a date when the court may not have even met at all.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that during the investigation, conservative Justice Michael Gableman made a counter-allegation, saying that Bradley once hit him in the head during a court meeting way back in September 2008, over a perceived disrespect of Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

To which the liberal bloc has replied: No meeting took place at all on that date or even that week, due to a request by conservative Justice Patience Roggensack that the court take a two-week period off.

The paper also reports that former Justice Janine Geske, a Republican-appointed judge who served on the court during the 1990s and is now a law professor at Marquette University, disputes a key element of Gableman's story: "I have known Justice Bradley for 20 years. I cannot imagine her hitting another justice in anger because he (Gableman) called Justice Abrahamson 'Shirley' -- because everybody calls her Shirley."

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David Welch

Bush Official's Advice To Qaddafi Regime Could Raise Legal Issues

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2011, 12:20PM

Does former Bush administration official David Welch's alleged contact with the now deposed Qaddafi regime raise legal questions for him and his employer? It depends on who you ask.

Welch, the former State Department official who was instrumental in restoring full diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Libya and is now working for the multi-national company Bechtel, met with senior Libyan officials on Aug. 2, 2011 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo, according to documents obtained by Al Jazeera.

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Sam Sparks

Federal Judge Invites Lawyers To 'Kindergarten Party' To Teach Them Not To Waste His Time

Ryan J. Reilly | September 1, 2011, 11:22AM

Image From Poznyakov / Shutterstock

Federal Judge Sam Sparks doesn't like it when lawyers waste his time. So last week he invited -- or rather, ordered -- lawyers who he says are "unable to practice law at the level of a first year law student" to a "kindergarten party" to teach them "many exciting and informative lessons."

Sparks, the Texas-based federal judge who ruled against a state law requiring women to undergo a sonogram before getting an abortion, was upset that lawyers for two men and Brigham Oil & Natural Gas, L.P. were asking the court to quash subpoenas issued to them on behalf of James L. Woods. The lawyers maintained that the subpoenas were not properly served, were overly broad and unduly burdensome, and sought privileged information.

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Julian Assange

Wikileaks Blames The Guardian For Leak Of Unredacted State Dept Cables

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 11:09AM

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

Wikileaks is blaming the British newspaper The Guardianfor a security breach that resulted in the release of over 251,000 unredacted diplomatic cables, calling it "the guardian's hacking scandal."

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Charles Webster

Maine GOP Chair: Students Should Pay Taxes If They Want To Vote

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 6:30AM

Maine GOP Chairman Charles Webster

The Chairman of Maine's Republican party has doubled down on his crusade against the apparently widespread problem of voter fraud-committing college students, declaring this week that if students want to vote they should be paying taxes.

"I get tired of talking about this because the law is clear," Charles Webster said. "If I want to vote, I need to establish residency. I need to register my car and pay taxes in that community. You can't just become a student and vote wherever you want."

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Miracle Hands

D.C. Nonprofit Accused Of Using HIV/AIDS Grant Money For Strip Joint

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2011, 4:24PM

A nonprofit in Washington, D.C. is being sued for allegedly using HIV/AIDS grant money to spruce up a warehouse that eventually became Stadium Club, a combination steakhouse and strip club.

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Muammar Qaddafi

Docs: Bush Official, Kucinich Offered To Help Qaddafi Regime On Ending U.S. Involvement In Libya

Ryan J. Reilly | August 31, 2011, 3:10PM

former Asst. Sec. of State David Welch and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

Former Bush administration official David Welch and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) worked with the now-deposed Libyan regime of Muammar Qaddafi as he attempted to stay in power, according to documents found in the building that used to house Libya's intelligence headquarters, Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reports.

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New York

Fifteen Arrested After Police Altercation With Muslims Over Amusement Park Head Scarf Ban

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2011, 11:28AM

Rye Playland in Westchester, NY

Fifteen people were arrested at Rye Playland in New York on Tuesday, after a scuffle broke out between police and members of a Muslim-American tour group who had been barred from the rides because of the park's "no head scarf" policy.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry Sent Letter On Immigration To Wrong Agency

Ryan J. Reilly | August 31, 2011, 11:25AM

Three days before he entered the presidential race, Rick Perry sent a letter asking for $350 million in federal money to reimburse Texas for the cost of jailing illegal immigrants. To the wrong department.

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Kevin Ring

Feds: 17-22 Year Sentence For Abramoff Aide Kevin Ring Wouldn't Be Retaliation

Ryan J. Reilly | August 31, 2011, 6:15AM

Kevin Ring

Federal prosecutors want Jack Abramoff associate Kevin Ring to serve 17 to 22 years in jail because he refuses to admit that he's guilty and unsuccessfully fought the criminal charges against him, the Associated Press reported.

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Gene Green

Windows Shattered At Rep. Gene Green's Houston Office

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2011, 4:40PM

Rep. Gene Green (R-TX)

Windows were damaged at the Houston office of Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) Tuesday afternoon in an incident originally reported as a shooting.

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ATF

Two Top Officials Resign Over ATF's Operation Fast And Furious

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2011, 3:21PM

Ken Melson and Dennis Burke

The acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms And Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Attorney for Arizona have resigned their posts in the wake of a scandal involving a program aimed at stopping gun trafficking on the Mexican border. ATF Director Ken Melson and U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke announced their resignations on Tuesday.

An Obama administration official told TPM that the White House and Justice Department were not prejudging the investigations of Operation Fast and Furious being conducted by DOJ's Inspector General and the House Oversight Committee. But the official said that both ATF and the federal prosecutor's office in Arizona had critical public safety missions they needed to carry out and that it was important for proper leadership to be in place.

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Rupert Murdoch

News International Reviewing Standards At All Its Papers In Wake Of Phone Hacking

Jillian Rayfield | August 30, 2011, 2:05PM

News Corporation subsidiary News International says its conducting reviews of journalistic standards at all of its U.K. publications, in the wake of revelations about widespread phone hacking at its now-defunct News Of The World tabloid.

The news was first reported by Mark Hosenball and Georgina Prodhan of Reuters.

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Fast And Furious

Report: ATF Director Melson To Step Down Over Fast And Furious Program

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2011, 11:40AM

Acting ATF Head, Ken Melson

Ken Melson, the acting deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, will announce later today that he's stepping down as the head of ATF amidst probes of a controversial anti-gun trafficking program, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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Guatemala

Panel: Researchers Knew 1940s Experiments To Infect Guatemalans With STDs Were Unethical

Ryan J. Reilly | August 30, 2011, 6:15AM

Scientists work on stem cell therapies for retinal degeneration.

A presidential panel is nearing the conclusion of a study on research conducted by the United States in the 1940s in which prisoners, prostitutes and mental patients in Guatemala were infected with sexually transmitted diseases. The panel says it's clear that the scientists who conducted the experiments knew their work was unethical.

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues isn't set to issue its final report on the Guatemalan medical experiments until next month. But as the Associated Press reports, members of the commission discussed some of their findings at a meeting on Monday, disclosing that the experiments funded by the U.S. government infected 1,300 soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis.

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Nikki Haley

DOJ Has More Questions About South Carolina's Voter ID Law

Ryan J. Reilly | August 29, 2011, 6:40PM

Nikki Haley

The Justice Department wants more information about South Carolina's new voter ID law, which was signed by Gov. Nikki Haley (R) in May.

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, South Carolina is required to have changes to the state's voting laws precleared by federal authorities or by a federal court to insure they're not discriminatory.

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Alabama

Federal Judge Blocks Alabama's Immigration Law

Jillian Rayfield | August 29, 2011, 3:51PM

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R)

A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against Alabama's controversial immigration crackdown, ruling that she needed more time to determine whether the law is constitutional. The law had been scheduled to go into effect on September 1st.

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Rupert Murdoch

NYC Kills $27M Education Deal With News Corp Over Phone Hacking

Jillian Rayfield | August 29, 2011, 2:45PM

New York City ditched a $27 million education contract with News Corp subsidiary Wireless Generation, citing the ongoing investigations into the phone hacking allegations related to News Corp's now-defunct News Of The World tabloid.

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Hurricane Irene

Army Captain Found Dead After Allegedly Killing Four During Hurricane Irene

Jillian Rayfield | August 29, 2011, 11:05AM

Police in Pennsylvania say an active duty U.S. Army Captain committed suicide after allegedly shooting and killing four people across two states, leading to a manhunt as Hurricane Irene bore down on the east coast.

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Rick Scott

Florida Gov. Rick Scott's Transition Team Knew About Missing Emails In March

David Taintor | August 29, 2011, 11:00AM

As TPM reported recently, emails sent and received by Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) transition team were accidentally deleted, apparently in violation of state standards. But it wasn't clear when they were deleted, or how.

Now the Miami Herald reports some new details: Scott's transition team knew the emails were missing as early as March. Rackspace, a private company handling the emails, notified the transition team that no records existed from almost all the accounts that had been closed, including Scott's, the Herald reports. Scott has said he only learned within the past couple weeks that the emails couldn't be recovered.

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MEK

Politicians Rally To Get MEK Off State Department Terror List (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | August 29, 2011, 10:25AM

MEK supporters rally outside the State Department as former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) speaks.

Women in large hats released white doves and yellow confetti filled the air outside the State Department on Friday, as supporters of an Iranian opposition group that the U.S. officially considers a terrorist organization rallied to get the group off the list designating them as such.

"Ode to Joy" played from massive speakers as former Rep. Patrick Kennedy introduced the leader of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, a group that the State Department puts on a list that includes Al-Qaeda and Hamas. He didn't hold back on the rhetorical flourishes.

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