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Is James O’Keefe Misrepresenting His Own Lawsuit Against A Newspaper?

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Jan 30, 2012 at 7:15 pm

Conservative media provocateur James O’Keefe got himself in hot water earlier this month after a stunt in New Hampshire that sought to expose voter fraud, but potentially may have committed voter fraud in the process. Now, O’Keefe is firing back as his alleged accusers, suing the New Jersey Star-Ledger for defamation. A press release from O’Keefe’s Project Veritas :

The New Jersey Star-Ledger editorial board reported O’Keefe “committed a felony by fraudulently obtaining a ballot in the name of another person; [broke] New Hampshire law by recording another person.” Additionally the Star-Ledger Editorial board wrote January 22nd, O’Keefe is “still on probation for trying to tap the phone of Sen. Mary Landrieu. The Star-Ledger had previously printed a retraction for this claim on November 3rd, 2010. [...]

“It is my experience that demanding retractions from dishonorable people only leads to dishonorable retractions. Therefore, today I started a campaign to sue media organizations that state or repeat malicious lies about my work.”

Ironically, O’Keefe appears to misrepresent his lawsuit in the press release and misquotes the newspaper he’s accusing of defaming him.

While the press release is headlined, “James O’Keefe Sues the New Jersey Star-Ledger for Defamation after New Hampshire Voter Fraud Exposé,” and the release focuses on that stunt, the actual lawsuit makes no mention of the New Hampshire incident. The complaint instead involves the Star-Ledger’s offhand mention of an unrelated stunt in the editorial, when O’Keefe’s team sought to investigate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) over a year ago.

O’Keefe accuses the Star-Ledger of reporting that he “committed a felony” in the New Hampshire stunt. But in the editorial on the paper’s website, that charge appears as part of a list under the subheading, “Here’s what else O’Keefe is accused of:” (A version accessed on Nexis reads: “Here’s what else O’Keefe is under investigation for:”).

Moreover, O’Keefe’s press release seems to misquotes the newspaper, if just slightly, swapping “committing” in the original text (both on Nexis and online) for “committed” in the press release. The word appears in quotation marks in the release and makes no indication that the language had been changed. While minor, this casual transposition calls into question the accusation’s accuracy.

The Star-Ledger, meanwhile, is hardly innocent here. The claim about phone tapping appears incorrect; O’Keefe plead guilty to a different, lesser crime.

Security

BREAKING: West Point Announces That Islamophobic General Has Withdrawn From Prayer Breakfast

By Faiz Shakir on Jan 30, 2012 at 6:35 pm

Just four days after ThinkProgress reported that the United States military academy at West Point was planning to host an Islamophobic general as its featured speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast, that general has now pulled out of the event. West Point just issued this news release:

LTG (Ret) William Boykin has decided to withdraw speaking at West Point’s National Prayer Breakfast on 8 February 2012. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the United States Military Academy will feature another speaker for the event.

VoteVets, the coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, is to be commended for raising this issue and putting pressure on West Point to do the right thing. VoteVets Chairman Jon Soltz told ThinkProgress this evening, “This is why VoteVets exists — the calls from veterans, activists, and civil rights leaders around the country made this decision possible. I’m glad that the cadets will not be forced to hear the words of an anti-Muslim general whose rhetoric does not align with the values of our military and also endangers our troops in combat.”

Boykin has a deep record of anti-Muslim rhetoric. For instance, he said there should be “no mosques in America“; Muslims worship an “idol“; “Islam is a totalitarian way of life, it’s not just a religion”; “it should not be protected under the First Amendment”; Muslims operate “under an obligation to destroy our Constitution.”

Hopefully, Boykin will learn from this incident that his rhetoric is both wrong and hurtful.

NEWS FLASH

Gingrich Wants A Government That Respects ‘Our Religion,’ Not ‘Every Other Religion’ | As TP’s Igor Volsky pointed out today, Newt Gingrich has been accusing President Obama of perpetrating a “war on religion,” saying the president has made it more difficult for people of faith to practice their beliefs. But at a campaign stop in Florida this afternoon, Gingrich made that not all religions are created equally:

GINGRICH: Now, I think we need to have a government that respects our religions. I’m a little bit tired about respecting every religion on the planet. I’d like them to respect our religion.

Watch it:

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Jan 30, 2012 at 6:20 pm

NEWS FLASH

Recalled State Sen. Russell Pearce, SB 1070 Architect, Elected To Arizona GOP Leadership Position | Three months after Russell Pearce’s fall from grace, the Arizona Republican Party elevated the former state senator and architect of the state’s anti-immigrant law to become their new second-in-command. Last November, Pearce, who gained infamy for pushing Arizona’s SB 1070 law, was recalled from his seat and replaced by fellow Republican Jerry Lewis. Now, in addition to his role as president of a group that advocates for similar anti-immigrant legislation, Bar Amnesty Now, Pearce will also serve as first vice chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.

NEWS FLASH

Majority Of Americans Support Taxing Investment Income The Same As Wage Income | Ruy Teixeira points to a CBC News/New York Times poll showing that a majority of Americans favor taxing investment income the same as wage income. The disparity between the 15 percent top rate for investment income and the 35 percent top rate for wage income is what enables wealthy investors like Warren Buffett to drive their tax rate down to or below the rate at which many middle class families pay.

NEWS FLASH

Study: State Legislation Addressing ‘Sharia Threat’ Misrepresents Views Of Muslim Americans | A report [PDF] on North American Muslims finds that the supposed threat of Sharia law — Islamic law derived from the Koran — are largely overblown and misrepresent the role of Islam in the lives of Muslims. None of the 212 respondents interviewed for the report suggested that courts in the U.S. or Canada should apply Islamic law. The report, authored by Dr. Julie Macfarlane, a fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, concluded that, “Many Muslims see the civil courts as ‘man’s law,’ in contrast with shari’a which is ‘God’s law,’ but are equally clear that they are required to obey the law of the land.”

By Eli Clifton on Jan 30, 2012 at 5:45 pm

NEWS FLASH

A Short History Of Heterosexuality | Straight, a new book by Hanne Blank, examines the “short history of heterosexuality” — a term that was not widely used until the “growth of the metropolis.” “[I]t was coined in Germany only in the second half of the 19th century and was first used in English several decades later with the classical sense of “hetero” (“other, different”), making it initially a term of opprobrium. Only in the first decades of the 20th century did it settle into its present niche, cushioned with overtones of romance, pleasure, health and normalcy,” a New York Times review notes. “Specific sexual behaviors, to be sure, were named, categorized and judged…[but] [s]exual misbehavior was not a marker of some sort of constitutional difference but merely evidence of temptation unsuccessfully resisted.” Straight comes out tomorrow from Beacon Press.

Alyssa

Gingrich Sued for Using ‘Eye of the Tiger’—But He May Not Have to Stop

By Alyssa Rosenberg on Jan 30, 2012 at 5:43 pm

What is it with Republican presidential candidates and campaign trail songs? Newt Gingrich has just been sued by Rude Music Inc. for using Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” in political events since 2009:

The company wants him to stop immediately and is asking a court to award the band damages. But it’s not necessarily clear that they’ll rule in his favor. As Slate explained in 2008, after the band Heart asked John McCain’s presidential campaign to stop using their song “Barracuda” to introduce Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin at rallies, if campaigns get licenses to perform songs from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, they’re probably in the clear. If you’ve got an ASCAP license, you don’t have to ask artists whose music is registered through the society for specific permission to play their songs. “Eye of the Tiger” is in the ASCAP database, so it’s probably a question of whether Gingrich’s campaign or the venues where the song has been played have they appropriate licenses.

That said, there’s something amusing about the regular kerfuffles between Republican candidates and recording artists. Ever since George Will and Michael Deaver tried to see if Bruce Springsteen would endorse Ronald Reagan for president, Republicans have run into trouble over the songs they’ve played on the campaign trail or the artists’ whose work they’ve tried to claim have supported their messaging. McCain didn’t just run into trouble with Heart during the 2008 campaign: Jackson Browne sued him for using part of “Running on Empty” in a campaign ad (ASCAP licenses don’t cover video productions, which must get separate permission). Tom Petty went after George W. Bush for using “Don’t Back Down” in 2004, and asked Michele Bachmann to stop using “American Girl” on the trail. Maybe it’s time for Republican candidates to start reaching out to artists before picking their soundtracks.

Health

Gingrich Suggests It’s Immoral For Couples To Conceive Children Through In Vitro Fertilization

By Marie Diamond on Jan 30, 2012 at 5:35 pm

In his attempt to win the GOP nomination, Newt Gingrich has had no problem discarding old positions and embracing a more conservative stance when it comes to government intervention in women’s fertility. To placate the right-wing base of the party, he’s even parroting the rhetoric of the radical personhood movement, which is pursuing legislation that would not only criminalize all abortion but outlaw common forms of birth control as well.

Now the supposedly “pro-life” candidate is backing another goal of the personhood movement — making it more difficult for couples to conceive through in vitro fertilization:

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich called Sunday for a commission to study the ethical issues relating to in vitro fertilization clinics, where infertile women receive treatment to get pregnant and large numbers of embryos are created.

“If you have in vitro fertilization you are creating life. And therefore we should look seriously at what should the rules be for clinics that do that because they’re creating life,” said Gingrich, who opposes abortion and says life begins at conception.

Gingrich, who is campaigning for votes in Tuesday’s Florida primary, did not expand on his proposal for a commission. His remarks seemed to open the possibility of a larger federal role over IVF clinics across the country than currently exists.

As ThinkProgress previously reported, personhood legislation could ban couples from conceiving children through IVF, or at least drastically change how it’s practiced, making it less effective and more dangerous. Personhood USA — and now Gingrich too apparently — disapproves of IVF because the process involves discarding embryos.

Although IVF has long been an accepted practice for helping couples struggling with infertility to get pregnant, religious extremists have condemned it for allowing doctors to “play God.” Around 58,000 American IVF babies are born each year, comprising more than 1 percent of all births in the U.S.

Justice

Indiana Secretary Of State Goes On Trial For Voter Fraud

By Travis Waldron on Jan 30, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White (R)

In states across the country, conservative lawmakers have made attempts to restrict voting rights through voter identification laws, limits on same-day registration, and other methods. These laws are frequently justified as necessary to fight voter fraud — despite the fact that a person is more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit in-person voter fraud. With efforts to pass such laws failing in some states and getting blocked by the federal government in others, one official has apparently decided to prove that voter fraud exists by allegedly going out and committing it himself.

A trial began in Indiana today for former Secretary of State Charlie White (R), who, as secretary of state, is supposed to oversee the state’s elections and ensure their integrity. Instead, White allegedly committed several acts of voter fraud, leading the state to charge with him with seven felonies, Fox News reports:

White was indicted in March, accused of fraud, perjury, theft, voting in the wrong precinct, submitting a false voter registration change of address and casting a “false, fictitious or fraudulent ballot.”

“Charlie White registered to vote at a place he didn’t live. That was in contravention of the law,” said Karen Celestino-Horseman, a lawyer for the Indiana State Democratic Party, which brought the allegations against White at the Indiana Recount Commission. “It was not his residence.”

According to the state, White allegedly was registered and voted in the wrong district while falsely claiming his ex-wife’s residence as his own, and served on the city council while representing a district in which he did not live. White has maintained his innocence on all charges.

White’s voter fraud likely wouldn’t have been prevented by the state’s voter ID law, and his trial could soon be followed by another in New Hampshire, where activists working for conservative videographer James O’Keefe may have knowingly committed voter fraud, potentially in violation of state law, while attempting to prove how easy it was to obtain a ballot with a false name. Multiple state officials have called on authorities to “arrest and prosecute” the activists.

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