Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Movement Stirs Across The Country

Eric Lach | May 1, 2012, 9:48PM

The Occupy Wall Street movement marked May 1, International Workers Day, with demonstrations and gatherings across the country. It was the movement's most visible day since last year, when encampments in major cities were forcibly dismantled.

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Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg Defends Legality Of NYPD Spying On Muslims

David Taintor | February 24, 2012, 2:09PM

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday defended the legality of the NYPD's covert monitoring of Muslims in New York and New Jersey.

"Everything the NYPD has done is legal, it is appropriate, it is constitutional," Bloomberg said on WOR radio.

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New York City

Lieberman Wants Google To Let Users Flag 'Terrorist Content' On Blogging Platform

Ryan J. Reilly | November 22, 2011, 3:08PM

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

When he wasn't smoking pot with the New York Police Department's confidential informant or trying to manually cut off the tip of his penis, "lone wolf" terror suspect Jose Pimentel was running a jihadist website on Google's Blogger platform.

Now Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) wants Google to implement a policy explicitly banning terrorist material on their Blogger servers and set up a YouTube-style "flag" system to bring such material to Google's attention.

TPM obtained a letter sent by Lieberman, chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, to Google CEO Larry Page on Tuesday calling for him to make some changes to their policy.

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Jose Pimentel

Feds Passed On NYC 'Lone-Wolf' Terror Case

Ryan J. Reilly | November 21, 2011, 9:37AM

Updated: 11:43AM

Federal authorities take terrorism cases pretty seriously, even when those plots are pretty far fetched. So when the FBI declines to take a case handed to them on a platter by local authorities -- on multiple occasions -- it suggests something isn't quite right.

Sources familiar with the case against Jose Pimentel -- accused of planning an attack with pipe bombs -- told TPM Sunday night that federal law enforcement declined several times to take the case out of local authorities' hands. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal also report that the FBI passed because of issues with the case, setting up the rare occurrence of a local district attorney handling a terrorism prosecution case.

At a press conference at City Hall on Sunday night -- featuring a video of police blowing up a car to show television viewers what could have happened -- NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly suggested that the Justice Department was aware of the case. Despite the fact that his investigators had been on Pimentel for two years, he said they had to act without the feds because the case, involving a bomb constructed out of a clock, elbow piping and Christmas lights game provided by the NYPD's source, came together quickly at the end.

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Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller Planning Lawsuit Over Rejected Subway Ad Calling Israel's Enemies 'Savages'

Jillian Rayfield | September 27, 2011, 10:44AM

Conservative activist Pamela Geller

Atlas Shrugs blogger and noted Islamophobe Pamela Geller says she will file a lawsuit against New York City's MTA, after they rejected her subway ad calling Israel's enemies "savages."

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NYPD

NYC Police Chief: NYPD Could Take Down An Airplane If Necessary

Jillian Rayfield | September 26, 2011, 9:33AM

The NYPD's counterterrorism unit has the means to take down an aircraft "in a very extreme situation," according to New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

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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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New York City

NYC Police Commissioner: Would-Be Synagogue Bombers Said 'I Hate Jews, I Want To Kill Them'

Jillian Rayfield | May 12, 2011, 4:58PM

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly described Thursday how the NYPD investigated and arrested two men week who allegedly plotted to blow up a Manhattan Synagogue.

Kelly said in his Thursday press conference that Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, both residents of Queens, were arrested on Wednesday evening on conspiracy, weapons, and hate crimes charges, following a seven-month long undercover operation. Just before his arrest, Kelly said, Fehrani explained that he was "fed up with the way Muslims were being treated around the world. They are treating us like dogs."

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Mob Bust

TPM's Guide To Mobster Country

Eric Lach and Ryan J. Reilly | January 21, 2011, 2:58PM

More than 120 suspected mobsters were arrested in yesterday's massive mafia bust. And along with the arrests came hundreds of pages of court documents detailing alleged illegal activity taking place across three states: New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. From allegations of extortion in Midtown Manhattan and murder in Queens, to strip clubs in Providence and gambling on Long Island, allow TPM to take you on a little tour of the underworld:

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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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Muslims

Two Men Charged With Hate Crimes For Allegedly Assaulting Imam

Rachel Slajda | December 10, 2010, 8:37AM

Two men have been charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime after attacking a Muslim religious leader on a New York City subway platform.

According to prosecutors, the two men, Albert Melendez, 30, and Eddie Crespo, 28, spotted the unidentified imam on the A train in Manhattan at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"What are you, a camel jockey? I don't like Muslims," Melendez said, according to the criminal complaint.

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Carlo Chiaese

Feds: Investment Adviser Spent More Than $1.4M Of Clients' Money On Luxury Cars, Clothing, Hotels

Ryan J. Reilly | October 5, 2010, 1:19PM

2007 Porsche 911 Carrera

A New Jersey investment adviser who allegedly defrauded numerous clients of more than $2 million used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle while claiming to be investing the funds in conservative securities, the federal government said Tuesday.

Country club fees totaling over $75,000, lease payments for a Porsche 911 Carrera, and Audi Q7 and a Land Rover, at least $23,000 in home audio equipment and over $32,000 in landscaping are just some of the personal expenses the feds allege 38-year-old Carlo Chiaese of Springfield, NJ racked up. He allegedly transferred at least $800,000 to his wife and members of her family, withdrew at least $185,000 in cash and made over $65,000 in mortgage payments with his clients' money.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Muslim Group: Cabbie Slashing A Warning On Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 6:29PM

Friends and classmates say Michael Enright, the 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker who was arraigned on a hate crimes charges this afternoon for allegedly slashing a NYC cab driver because he was a Muslim, had a serious drinking problem. But a representative of one of the country's predominant Muslim groups told TPMMuckraker that the incident should serve as a warning to those using inflammatory rhetoric about those who practice Islam.

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Bryan Fischer

Social Conservative Bryan Fischer: Paterson Wants To Impose Sharia Law On New York

Jillian Rayfield | August 13, 2010, 3:37PM

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association who said there should be "no more mosques, period," now believes that Gov. David Paterson is attempting to impose sharia law on New York.

Paterson had offered to help the Cordoba House developers get state land for their proposed Muslim community center that's become known as the "Ground Zero mosque." Fischer wrote in a blog post today that Paterson "quite deliberately offered to grant Islam a favored status under New York public policy that is denied to Christian churches."

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Charles Rangel

Rangel Says He Wants To Give His Critics The Finger

Rachel Slajda | August 12, 2010, 11:45AM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), in a campaign speech today in which he (again) defended himself against charges by the House ethics committee, said a middle finger well represents how he feels about the charges, the press and, indeed, the whole process.

Last night, at Rangel's star-studded birthday party fund-raiser, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins flipped off a protester who was calling for Rangel to resign.

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David Johnson

David Johnson Charged In Domestic Assault Case That Scuttled Paterson's Reelection Bid

Megan Carpentier | August 12, 2010, 10:52AM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

David Johnson, the aide to New York Governor David Paterson (D) who allegedly assaulted his girlfriend last Halloween and attempted to keep her from calling police, was booked this morning on misdemeanor assault charges related to the attack, and is expected to be formally charged and arraigned later today.

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Jon Stewart

Daily Show Introduces Mosque Opponents To Halal Meat Carts (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 11, 2010, 10:14AM

Jon Stewart was a little bit confused last night about the controversy over the so-called "Ground Zero mosque," and with people like Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey (R), who said that Islam may be a "cult" and not a religion.

"You know," said Stewart, "I can see being confused by Scientology, or the thing Madonna does with the red bracelets, or this whole Justin Bieber craze, certain 'World of Warcraft' guilds, Harry Potter book clubs. But I think 1400 years" pretty much qualifies Islam as a religion.

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Charles Rangel

Rangel Says He's Not Quitting

Rachel Slajda | August 10, 2010, 1:38PM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

In a long speech on the House floor today, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) vowed to continue fighting House ethics charges and promised he won't resign.

Rangel said he may have been "stupid" and "negligent," but he was never "corrupt."

To applause from some fellow Democrats, Rangel said he won't leave the House over the allegations. He also excoriated the ethics committee for not yet setting a date for his trial.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

'Museum Of Tolerance' Director Opposes Mosque But Built Museum On Muslim Cemetery

Rachel Slajda | August 6, 2010, 5:57PM

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles

The group behind the recently opened "Museum of Tolerance" museum in Manhattan has come out against a planned Islamic community center, which includes a mosque, near Ground Zero.

"Religious freedom does not mean being insensitive...or an idiot," Rabbi Meyer May, the Wiesenthal Center's executive director, told Crain's New York.

"Religion is supposed to be beautiful," he said. "Why create pain in the name of religion?"

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Religion

The New GOP Anti-Mosque Talking Point: Ground Zero Is Our Auschwitz

Megan Carpentier | August 4, 2010, 4:46PM

Protesters against the proposed Cordoba House, a community center and mosque near ground zero (Islamic Center of America inset).

It isn't enough for Republicans to call on "peaceful Muslims" to "refudiate" the mosque and community center proposed for a site near Ground Zero, or to imply that the funding for it comes from terrorist organizations, or even to tell American Muslims that their religious freedoms should be held hostage to the decisions of the Saudi government. Nope. The new Republican talking point used to try to stop the construction of the community center and mosque -- and to make political hay of that opposition -- is that Ground Zero is their Auschwitz, and the Muslims who seek to build anywhere near it should know better, just like some nice nuns did in the eighties.

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Investigator 'Misspoke' About Reprimand For Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 5:30PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The lead House ethics investigator in the case against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said this afternoon that he misspoke when he said his subcommittee had recommended a reprimand for Rangel.

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), who lead the investigation subcommittee, told reporters earlier today that the panel had recommended a reprimand for Rangel, who is charged with 13 ethics violations.

Returning a call for clarification from TPMmuckraker, Green's spokesman now says the congressman "misspoke."

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Investigator: We Recommended Reprimand For Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 2:00PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The House ethics panel's investigatory subcommittee says that they recommended to the full committed that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) be reprimanded for his 13 alleged violations.

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), who led the investigation, told reporters today that his committee recommended Rangel be reprimanded instead of the more serious penalties of censure or expulsion.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Anti-Defamation League Comes Out Against Ground Zero Mosque

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 11:54AM

Abraham Foxman, Director, Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization whose programs "counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry," has released a statement excoriating plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero.

"Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong," the statement reads.

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Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel's Ethics Trial: How Did He Get Here?

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 9:54AM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

At the beginning of the first House ethics trial since Jim Traficant was kicked out of Congress, lawmakers yesterday rattled off a list of charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY).

Unless Rangel cuts a deal in which he admits wrongdoing -- something his lawyers are reportedly still trying to do, although Rangel has been adamant about professing his innocence -- he will face a very public trial on the 13 alleged violations, just weeks before the midterm elections. The trial could end with a recommendation to expel Rangel from the House.

So how did we get here?

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Charles Rangel

House Ethics Panel Announces 13 Charges Against Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 29, 2010, 2:21PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Despite reports of a deal, the House ethics panel just began its first public meeting on the charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). And for the first time, we're hearing the charges.

The panel is charging Rangel with 13 violations. They fall into four groups:

One, violations regarding fundraising Rangel did for a City College educational center named after him.

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Hearing Or Not, Rangel Sends Out 'Birthday Gala' Invites (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 29, 2010, 12:31PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Today may be the day a House ethics panel announced its charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel for alleged ethics violations, but that didn't stop him from sending out invitations this week to a "birthday gala" for his other special day.

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Charles Rangel

Rangel: Ethics Commitee Investigated 'More Alleged Violations'

Rachel Slajda | July 26, 2010, 12:25PM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

At a press conference this morning, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) told reporters that the House ethics committee looked into "more alleged violations" than have been reported in the press.

"They finally have investigated and guess what, they have some more alleged violations so they're going to report this to the full committee," he said, reports Politico's Maggie Haberman.

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House Ethics Committee

Rangel At Press Conference: 'My Lawyers Are Gonna Kill Me'

Rachel Slajda | July 23, 2010, 2:52PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) held a press conference today in his Harlem office to mostly brush off reporters' questions about the ethics allegations against him.

"My lawyers are gonna kill me," he began, "because they say the best thing in my best interest is not to make any comment. ... I don't know how to say no comment."

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Charles Rangel

Rangel, Asked If He's Worried About Losing His Job: 'That's A Dumb Question' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | July 23, 2010, 10:09AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The House ethics committee announced yesterday that it will charge Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) with unnamed ethics violations. The step to form an adjudicatory subcommittee to try Rangel is a rare step, one last used eight years ago in the case of former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH), who was then expelled from the House.

But Rangel isn't worried.

Asked by MSNBC's Luke Russert if he's worried about losing his job, Rangel got defensive.

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Charles Rangel

Rangel Charged With Ethics Violation

Rachel Slajda | July 22, 2010, 4:55PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been charged with ethics violations, the House ethics panel announced today.

The committee did not announce the specifics of the violations.

The panel has reportedly been investigating Rangel for the four rent-controlled apartments he rents in Harlem and his fundraising efforts for a City College of New York educational center named in his honor.

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Newt Gingrich

Gingrich On Ground Zero Mosque: We Should Be More Like Saudi Arabia

Jillian Rayfield | July 22, 2010, 9:37AM

Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the latest to weigh in on the controversial plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero, posting a statement on his website yesterday laying out this ultimatum: "There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia."

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Muslims

Mosque Ado About Fear-Mongering: Right Wing Takes On Muslim Worship Anywhere And Everywhere

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 20, 2010, 8:58AM

Protesters against the proposed Cordoba House, a community center and mosque near ground zero (Islamic Center of America inset).

Long story short: It's starting to become clear that some conservative groups think that if Muslims are able to worship on American soil, the terrorists have won.

In big cities and small rural communities, from New York to Tennessee to California, the right-wing fear machine is spinning up to take on the construction of mosques and Muslim community centers. In each case, the argument is essentially the same, when the hedging is peeled away: you don't necessarily have to exercise your freedom of religion in the privacy of your own home, but hey, you can't do it in public here either.

July is proving to be the month where the tea party movement is finally coming to grips with -- and rebuking -- some of its more racist elements, a move that many observers would say is a long time coming. But at the same time, plans to build an Islamic community center near the Ground Zero site in New York City has brought to the surface a different kind of bigotry among some conservatives -- namely, the idea that if Muslims are allowed to worship where they want, terrorist violence will spread across the country.

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