Birthermercial

New Birther Infomercial Running In Seven Southern States (Bonus TPMtv Highlight Reel Included)

Justin Elliott | September 25, 2009, 5:11PM

Gary Kreep

That birthermercial we told you about earlier is running in seven states, one of the men behind the program tells us.

Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation says his group will decide soon on a second buy for the 28-minute program that asks late-night viewers to give $30 to have a faxes sent to government officials demanding Obama produce his birth certificate. As a thank you, contributors also get a special Birther bumper sticker.

The first buy covered Sept. 10 through Sept. 27.

For your viewing pleasure, here's the grand list:

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John Lewis

Rep. Lewis' Office On US Attorney Story: Is It Wrong 'For Politicians To Be Involved In Politics?'

Justin Elliott | September 25, 2009, 4:14PM

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

The office of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) says the Wall Street Journal story suggesting the congressman improperly blocked a pick for US Attorney is no story at all.

In a statement given to TPMmuckraker, Lewis' office says all he did was offer his opinions in the case of Sally Yates, a Georgia prosecutor whose name was cut from a list of candidates sent to the White House by the state's Democratic congressmen.

Yates previously prosecuted a longtime friend of Lewis, Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell -- a fact Lewis' office says had nothing to do with "any reservations" he raised.

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Birthers

As Seen On TV! Birthermercial Asks, Where Was Obama Really Born?

Justin Elliott | September 25, 2009, 2:31PM

Gary Kreep

A new birther infomercial running on a CBS affiliate in Texas and elsewhere around the country tells viewers a "got a birth certificate?" bumper sticker can be theirs for the low price of $30.

The 28-minute program -- quite possibly the first ever birthermercial -- features community access production values, heavy use of foreboding strings soundtrack, and standard-issue Birther ideology.

For a $30 contribution, viewers also get a fax sent in their name to the 50 state attorneys general and Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that President Obama produce his real birth certificate.

Here's the TPMtv highlight reel of the infomercial:

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Mike Ross

Rep. Ross Blames 'Left-Wing, Special Interest Conspiracy' For Pharmacy Sale Story

Justin Elliott | September 25, 2009, 12:26PM

Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)

The AP has now taken a crack at the story of the sale of Rep. Mike Ross's family pharmacy, for a possibly inflated price of $420,000, to a big drug store chain.

And it elicited yet another response from Ross, Democrat of Arkansas, on the 2007 sale of the pharmacy. He can't remember how he and USA Drug settled on the price for the land and the building. From an interview with AP:

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Mike Ross

Rep. Ross Responds Further To Pharmacy Sale Story, Again Attacks News Org

Justin Elliott | September 24, 2009, 5:54PM

Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)

After spending much of yesterday attacking as "leftist" the news organization that published the story about the 2007 sale of his family pharmacy, Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) today released a fuller response and a letter from the buyer.

The new responses don't address the key question of whether the pharmacy chain USA Drug paid an inflated price of $420,000 for the land and pharmacy building owned by Ross and his pharmacist wife, which was significantly more than the county's $263,000 assessment and a price tag of $198,000 from an appraiser hired by ProPublica this year.

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John Guandolo

Report: Therapist Of Philandering FBI Agent Advised Him To Draw Up List Of Sexual Conquests

Justin Elliott | September 24, 2009, 10:27AM

John Guandolo

We told you yesterday about the FBI agent who resigned after superiors found his list of sexual conquests, including a key witness in the corruption probe of Congressman William Jefferson, and who now appears to be hyping the threat of Islamic terrorism professionally.

But what left us scratching our heads, and what a court filing didn't address, is why the exactly the agent, John Guandolo, would write and then keep a document listing affairs with female FBI agents and a witness in a high-profile corruption case.

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Mike Ross

Rep. Ross Lashes Out At News Org As 'Leftist Group' After Pharmacy Sale Story Runs In Politico

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 7:01PM

Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)

Yesterday, Politico and ProPublica published a story suggesting Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) sold his family pharmacy in Prescott, Arkansas, to a big drug store chain for above market value.

In response, Ross, who is the lead Blue Dog Dem working on the health care bill, has responded only partially to the story's substance, without denying the key issue, and has repeatedly attacked ProPublica as illegitimate and "leftist."

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Hassan Nemazee

Nemazee's Attorney: This Case Is Not About Political Donations

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 3:51PM

Hassan Nemazee

Hassan Nemazee's lawyer wants to make something very clear: The alleged $292M fraud case has nothing to do with Dem super-fundraiser Nemazee's political activities.

That's what Paul Shechtman of Stillman, Friedman & Shechtman emphasized to TPMmuckraker in an interview and to other news organizations in court this morning.

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John Guandolo

The Strange Case Of The Philandering, Muslim-Threat-Hyping FBI Agent

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 2:01PM

John Guandolo

An FBI agent who worked on the corruption case of former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson resigned after superiors found a list he wrote of his sexual conquests with agents and a confidential source, according to court documents.

The same agent, John Guandolo, who is married and who unsuccessfully solicited a $75,000 donation for an anti-terrorism group from a wealthy witness in the Jefferson case with whom he was having an affair, resigned from the FBI and appears to have landed on his feet on the speaking circuit playing up the threat of Islamic terrorism.

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Hassan Nemazee

Nemazee Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Charges

Justin Elliott | September 23, 2009, 10:50AM

Hassan Nemazee

Democratic fundraiser Hassan Nemazee plead not guilty this morning to charges that defrauded banks in a $292M Ponzi scheme, the AP reports.

The AP adds this from Attorney Paul Schechtman, identified as one of Nemazee's lawyers:

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Hassan Nemazee

Nemazee Spent Millions On Luxury Car, Plane, Lots Of Real Estate

Justin Elliott | September 22, 2009, 4:08PM

Hassan Nemazee with Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Terry McAuliffe at book party for McAuliffe's "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats." January 22, 2007.

Besides showering Democratic politicians with hundreds of thousands dollars -- probably several million in all -- what was Hassan Nemazee spending all that money on?

Unlike Bernie Madoff or 'Sir' Allen Stanford, Nemazee's alleged Ponzi scheme did not involve bilking individual investors. The Feds put the fraud at $292 million since 1998. Even taking into account that some of the money was allegedly borrowed to pay off other loans, a person would have to spend hard and often, on more than just political donations, to burn through that kind of cash.

And, the indictment suggests, Nemazee did just that.

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Hassan Nemazee

Flashback: Alleged Fraudster Was Wheeled Out To Defend Hillary Camp After Discovery Of Different Fraudster

Justin Elliott | September 22, 2009, 12:36PM

Hassan Nemazee and Norman Hsu

Remember the strange case of Norman Hsu that roiled the Hillary Clinton campaign during the Democratic primary back in 2007?

Hsu was a top bundler for the campaign who was found to have hidden his past as a crook and Hillary was forced to return over $800,000 in donations. He later plead guilty to a Ponzi scheme and was convicted on campaign finance charges.

Hsu, who currently resides in federal prison, reimbursed so-called "straw donors" drawn from his fraudulent business to get around contribution limits.

At the time of the crisis, Hassan Nemazee, indicted yesterday in his own alleged Ponzi scheme -- considerably larger than Hsu's $20 million operation -- was a national finance chair for the Hillary campaign.

And guess who the campaign dispatched to talk to reporters to tamp down the Hsu story? One Hassan Nemazee.

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U.S. Attorneys

Did Rep. Lewis Cross A Line In Objecting To U.S. Attorney Candidate?

Justin Elliott | September 21, 2009, 7:18PM

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

The Wall Street Journal is out with a story suggesting Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) exerted untoward influence over a US Attorney pick for Georgia by blocking an experienced candidate who had prosecuted a longtime friend.

Is there anything to the story?

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Hassan Nemazee

Alleged Fraudster Nemazee Poured Dollars Into Dems' Coffers For Years

Justin Elliott | September 21, 2009, 6:36PM

Hassan Nemazee

Just how big a Democratic donor was Hassan Nemazee?

He and his wife (mostly he) gave the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees $191,700 over the past three election cycles, 2006, 2008, and 2010.

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William Jefferson

Judge Denies Ex-Rep. Jefferson Request For New Trial

Justin Elliott | September 21, 2009, 3:15PM

Fmr. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)

Ex-Rep. William Jefferson of Lousiana, convicted in August of 11 counts of corruption after cash was found in bricks in his freezer, has lost his bid for a new trial, the AP reports.

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Orly Taitz

Taitz: Ex-Client's Letter Renouncing Me In Birther Case May Be A Forgery

Justin Elliott | September 21, 2009, 1:59PM

Orly Taitz and Capt. Connie Rhodes

Oh sweet irony.

Birther attorney Orly Taitz tells TPMmuckraker she believes a letter sent by her now ex-client renouncing Taitz -- in a case alleging that Barack Obama's birth certificate is a forgery -- may itself be a forgery. It's worth noting that Taitz submitted as evidence in the original filing in the "birther soldier" case of Army Capt. Connie Rhodes a "Kenyan birth certificate" that is itself an obvious forgery.

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Orly Taitz

Army Captain Client Threatens Taitz With Bar Complaint: She Doesn't Speak For Me

Justin Elliott | September 21, 2009, 11:01AM

Orly Taitz

The Orly Taitz "birther soldier" case playing out in U.S. District Court in Georgia finally jumped the shark Friday.

The moment came when Army Capt. Connie Rhodes, the client of Birther agitator Taitz, sent a letter to the judge renouncing her ex-counsel and saying she intends to file a complaint against Taitz with the California bar.

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