Tag Archive: Judicial Watch


Pentagon Benghazi Documents Expose Administration Lies

 

 

 

 

 

” Scandal: Heavily redacted documents show a military response had been drafted in answer to the Benghazi terrorist attack by a group supporting “an Islamic state” in Libya. It also showed the attack wasn’t inflamed by a video.

  It’s taken Judicial Watch two years to obtain from the most transparent administration in history the 486 pages of documents pertaining to the military response to the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on our Benghazi diplomatic mission. They confirm what we have said repeatedly, that the Benghazi tale spun by President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was indeed a lie agreed upon.

  Despite heavy redaction, they show that the real “JV team” — a term applied by Obama to the deadly Islamic State — resides in the White House. The papers reveal, for instance, that at one point the military relied on a photo from a Twitter post to determine the status of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who was killed with Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith in the first of two attacks.

  Several hours later — hours during which a rescue or support attempt arguably could have been made — terrorists killed CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Ty Woods and Glen Doherty.”

 

Lest we forget …

 

 

 

 

 

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Lerner Met With DOJ Month Before 2010 Elections

 

 

 

 

” Judicial Watch, a constitutionally conservative, non-profit educational foundation, has new evidence against Lois Lerner in the IRS Tea Party targeting case.   
    
  Documents they’ve just obtained from the Department of Justice show that the former IRS official met with Department of Justice’s Election Crimes Division one month before the 2010 elections.
      
  The Justice Department has withheld more than 800 pages of documents in the Lerner investigation, citing “taxpayer privacy” and “deliberative privilege.”
   
These new documents dramatically show how the Justice Department is up to its neck in the IRS scandal and can’t be trusted to investigate crimes associated with the IRS abuses that targeted Obama’s critics. And it is of particular concern that the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, which would ordinarily investigate the IRS abuses, is now implicated in the IRS crimes,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.

  Chris Farrell, director of research and investigations for Judicial Watch, talked more about the significance of these newly discovered DOJ meetings, on CBN News Today, Dec. 9. “

Thanks to CBN News

Bombshell: Email Proves That White House, DOJ Targeted Reporter Sharyl Attkisson

 

 

 

” Judicial Watch reports that the Obama administration has turned over about 42,000 pages of documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal. The administration was forced to turn the documents over to Judicial Watch in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Judicial Watch is posting them on its web site. The administration turned them over on November 18, 2014.

  One of the documents provides smoking gun proof that the Obama White House and the Eric Holder Justice Department colluded to get CBS News to block reporter Sharyl Attkisson. Attkisson was one of the few mainstream media reporters who paid any attention to the deadly gun-running scandal.

  In an email dated October 4, 2011, Attorney General Holder’s top press aide, Tracy Schmaler, called Attkisson “out of control.” Schmaler told White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz that he intended to call CBS news anchor Bob Schieffer to get the network to stop Attkisson.

  Schultz replied, “Good. Her piece was really bad for the AG.”

  Schultz also told Schmaler that he was working with reporter Susan Davis, then at the National Journal, to target Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA). Issa led the House investigation into Fast and Furious. Davis now works at USA Today. In the email chain, Schultz tells Schmaler that he would provide Davis with “leaks.”

  Davis wrote a critical piece on Issa a few weeks later.

  Attkisson was later subjected to hacking of her computer by people who remain unknown, but who likely belong to a government agency. She and CBS parted ways earlier in 2014, and Attkisson has since said that the network blocked her reports from airing.

  Update: More about Schmaler here, here, here and here. “

 

Thanks to Bryan Preston at PJMedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Was Found At A Phoenix Crime Scene Could Land Holder And Obama In Boiling Hot Water

 

 

 

” The federal gun-walking operation provided weapons to criminals in Mexico – often without any subsequent tracking of their use. The death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has been attributed to a killer using one of these guns.

  The latest claims came from Judicial Watch, which offered a brief summary of its allegations in an exclusive interview with Phoenix news radio station KFYI Monday. Mark Spencer confirmed only that his organization is confident that, following an investigation, a firearm recovered at a crime scene last year will be definitively linked to the botched operation.

  Spencer noted that Judicial Watch first petitioned the Phoenix Police Department in an effort to obtain the relevant information earlier this year. As authorities have yet to comply, he explained that the organization is now pursuing action through the court system by filing a complaint with a local judge.”

 

 

Read more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Single Trip For Obama To Play Pool, Drink Beer And Raise Money Cost Taxpayers About $700,000

 

 

President Barack Obama plays pool at Wynkoop Brewing Co. with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on July 8 in Denver. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

 

 

 

” Taxpayers had to cough up $1,159,823 in just one month to fly President Obama to New York and Denver to raise money for Democrats and attend an LGBT event, according to documents obtained by a taxpayer watchdog group.

  Judicial Watch told Secrets that the Air Force just provided expense reports detailing the flight costs of Air Force One to the cities in July.

The documents show that president’s July 8-9 fundraising trip to Denver cost the taxpayers $695,894.10.

His July 17-18 fundraising trip to New York City cost taxpayers $463,929.40.

  Travel costs are typically a small portion of presidential trips. Judicial Watch said that the U.S. Secret Service has not complied with a request to detail security expenses and the costs of housing and moving the president and his staff are also unknown. “

 

Read the rest from Paul Bedard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama Family Sets All-Time Record For Travel Expenses

 

 

vacation cost

 

 

” Judicial Watch reported that the Obamas have set a new record for vacations on the backs of Americans taxpayers. Remember, this included an extended stay in Hawaii for one Michele Obama, who wished to celebrate her 50th b-day at Oprah’s home there.

  The conservative action group had to file a lawsuit to obtain the records from the US Air Force, marking a new low for US politics. The Obamas spent over $7.4 million during 2013, merely for flight expenses

Via JW:

  Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in August 2013, after being repeatedly beat back by the White House. The group reported:

* The outbound flight to Honolulu for the Obamas’ 2012-13 Christmas vacation cost taxpayers $2, 214, 393.60. The return flight to Washington cost $1,871,961.60. Flight expenditures alone came to $4,086,355.20.

* The outbound flight to California in August, 2013 for Obama to dine with Katzenberg and appear on the “The Tonight Show” cost taxpayers $1,209,926.40. The return flight to Washington cost $935,980.80. Flight expenditures alone came to $2,145,907.20.

* The outbound flight to Martha’s Vineyard for the Obama family’s August vacation cost taxpayers $890,323.20. The return flight to Washington cost $273,945.60. Flight expenditures alone came to $1,164,268.80.

* The grand total of $7,396,531.20, Judicial Watch pointed out, only accounted for flight expenses for the three trips.

“The fact is, the Obamas are abusing the public trust and the taxpayers with unnecessary luxurious vacations and travel,” Judicial Watch said. “These staggering costs show why these documents were covered-up and we had to sue in federal court to get them. Another transparency fail for the Obama gang, but thanks to our federal lawsuit it is another accountability win for the American taxpayer.”

 

Thanks to Rand Paul Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judicial Watch Plans To Sue States With Dirty Voter Rolls; Obama’s DOJ Plays Dead

 

 

jw031414a

 

 

 

” Judicial Watch put two states and the nation’s capital on notice that it will file a federal lawsuit if they don’t clean up their voter registration rolls within 90 days.

  Iowa, Colorado and the District of Columbia have one thing in common — they have more registered voters than people eligible to vote.

  In a Monday press briefing, Judicial Watch officials said they sent letters to the secretaries of state in Iowa and Colorado and the Board of Elections supervisors in the District of Columbia, saying:

  We write to bring your attention to violations of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”) … This letter serves as statutory notice that Judicial Watch will bring a lawsuit against your office if you do not take specific actions to correct these violations of Section 8 within 90 days. In addition, by this letter we are asking you to produce certain records to us which you are required to make available under Section 8(i) of the NVRA. We hope that litigation will not be necessary to enforce either of these claims.”

 

Story continues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The IRS Stonewall

 

 

 

 

” Judicial Watch recently sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to force it to hand over “any and all” records related to the agency’s now-notorious witch hunt against conservative 501c4 nonprofit organizations in the nearly two years leading up to the 2012 presidential election. While the records are likely to provide some stunning revelations, the fact is that the IRS’ refusal to willingly hand over the records as required by law is equally revealing. As the late 60 Minutes producer George Crile sagely observed, “It’s not just the crime, it’s the cover-up that gets you in trouble.”

  In the case of the current IRS cover-up, the stonewalling began nearly six months ago when Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request on the heels of an explosive May 14 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report revealing that the IRS had singled out groups with such conservative-sounding terms as “patriot” and “Tea Party” in their titles for special scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status. The TIGTA probe determined: “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status to (e.g., lists of past and future donors).” According to the report, the illegal IRS reviews continued for more than 18 months and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” preparing for the 2012 presidential election.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama-Friendly Firm Received $100K Contract For Michelle’s

“Let’s Move!” Campaign

 

 

 

” Shepardson, Stern & Kaminsky (SS&K) have received several contracts from the Obama administration including a $2 million deal from the Department of Education for a teacher recruitment program in 2010. Partners Robert Shepardson, Marty Cooke and Rebecca Matovic have all fundraised for Obama or members of his administration at one time or another.

This particular no-bid agreement for “Let’s Move!” violates federal contracting rules and is acknowledged as an “unauthorized commitment.” The Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was responsible for issuing the illegal agreement, even filed a “request for ratification of an unauthorized commitment” in order to evade consequences.”

 

 

Let’s move this taxpayer money right into my friend’s bank account .

 

 

 

 

 

 

IRS SCANDAL DEEPENS AS LEAKS IDENTIFIED

 

 

 

 

” The watchdog group Judicial Watch announced Thursday that it had obtained emails showing that former IRS official Lois Lerner gave protected information to the Federal Elections Commission. 

Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee said it had identified the IRS agent who leaked National Organization for Marriage donors to gay rights activists.

Judicial Watch obtained the emails in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on Aug. 9. They purport to show Lerner, who led the IRS Exempt Organizations division, promising full cooperation with an FEC attorney who was seeking information about the tax-exempt applications of two conservative groups, the American Future Fund (AFF) and the American Issues Project (AIP), as well as AIP’s predecessor groups.

Lerner then sent “detailed, confidential information about the organizations” to the FEC, according to Judicial Watch, including tax returns and requests for exempt recognition forms. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Were DC Bound Truckers Intimidated/Threatened ?

Published on Oct 11, 2013

” Truck drivers protesting government corruption in today’s “Ride for the Constitution” may have been intimidated by government officials and law enforcement, according to Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, and former Department of Justice prosecutor. Klayman revealed to MRCTV in an exclusive interview that the truckers were allegedly threatened with arrest and advised to stay out of D.C.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeks Docs About DOJ’s Legal Fight Over Holder Contempt Of Congress Citation

 

 

 

” Judicial Watch announced today that on September 5, 2013, it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, against the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking access to all records of communications between DOJ and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform relating to settlement discussions in the Committee’s 2012 contempt of Congress lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder. The contempt citation stemmed from Holder’s refusal to turn over documents to Congress related to the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal (Judicial Watch v. DOJ (No. 1:13-cv-1344)).

  Judicial Watch filed the FOIA lawsuit as part of its continuing investigation of the Fast and Furious scandal, where the Obama administration allowed weapons to “walk” across the border into the hands of Mexican drug cartels directly resulting in the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and countless Mexican citizens. On August 13, 2012, the House Oversight Committee sued Holder to enforce subpoenas in its probe of the Fast and Furious operation. On March 18, 2013, after a breakdown of settlement talks between the Committee and DOJ, a federal judge ordered the two sides to enter into mediation.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IRS Scandal Brings Out More Charges Of Political Audits

 

 

”  If reports of political targeting of conservatives by the Internal Revenue Service shocked the nation, they didn’t seem that surprising to many other groups who experienced problems with the tax agency in the past.

Liberal groups such as Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say they were targeted, too, by past administrations. The conservative group Judicial Watch says it was singled out for tax scrutiny during the Clinton administration because it supported impeachment.

Charges of politically motivated targeting by the IRS are notoriously difficult to prove or disprove. The older cases differ from the current scandal and the evidence of political attacks is circumstantial. But in interviews with McClatchy, leaders of these well-known activist groups assert they were targeted during Bush and Clinton administrations.

“We have been targeted,” said Jeff Kerr, chief counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “

” Many audits are triggered by anonymous or direct information about a group or citizen, a so-called “information item.” The IRS also offers rewards to tipsters equal to about 10 percent of taxes owed.”

 

     The entire concept of anonymous tips that is utilized throughout the law enforcement community is merely an open invitation to corruption , retaliation , spite and greed . It needs to be ended . It harkens back to the old Soviet Union control method of pitting neighbor against neighbor and , just as in the USSR is destroying civil society .

 

“The process of obtaining an exemption is a privilege. Not everyone in the United States is exempt from taxation . . . you have to meet highly specific criteria, that Congress decided, not the IRS . . . and jump through hoops and answer questions,” he said, adding that he never witnessed political motivation but worked in Washington during the Nixon revelations and was shocked. “I knew a lot of people and nobody I know has ever had that experience.”

 

    The concept of exemptions is another idea that does nothing but foster the culture of abuse of power . Who is to decide who gets “special” treatment ? What ever happened to the founding notion of “equal protection before the law” ? 

 

 

Further reading on the history of IRS abuse .

 

RealClearPolitics – History of IRS Abuse

Cato Institute Highlights History of IRS Abuse

Factbox: IRS’s rich history of scandals, political abuse

IRS Has a Long History of Political Abuse – Hit & Run : Reason.com

History of IRS Abuse:A real eyeopener

IRS Scandal Echoes a Long History of Political Harassment

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle Obama Vacation Maven

 

 

 

” Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia are looking at an extended vacation on Martha’s Vineyard this summer, according to a report in The Boston Globe. The Globe might have something here – it’s almost a local Vineyard paper, after all.

According to The Globe the First Couple is looking at a house near Farm Neck, in Oak Bluffs, which they’ve visited in the past.  The particular house they’ve stayed in previously, Blue Heron Farm, “Up Island” in Chilmark, has since been sold. So that piece of real estate is probably out.

If Michelle and the kids do opt for a lengthy Vineyard stay it could become fodder for critics. First Family vacations are a fraught issue, as it’s easy to portray them as insensitive in some manner. The Vineyard is an expensive and exclusive area (as well as kind of Democratic – didn’t the Clintons go there?) so it’s likely that at some point some talk radio host will go after this plan as demeaning to US workers still suffering in a slowly recovering economy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOLDER BEGS COURT TO STOP DOCUMENT RELEASE ON FAST AND FURIOUS

 

 

” Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice have asked a federal court to indefinitely delay a lawsuit brought by watchdog group Judicial Watch. The lawsuit seeks the enforcement of open records requests relating to Operation Fast and Furious, as required by law.

Judicial Watch had filed, on June 22, 2012, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking all documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious and “specifically [a]ll records subject to the claim of executive privilege invoked by President Barack Obama on or about June 20, 2012.” 

The only justification Holder uses to ask the court to indefinitely delay Judicial Watch’s suit is that there’s another lawsuit ongoing for the same documents – one filed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Judicial Watch has filed a brief opposing the DOJ’s motion to stay.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston Bomber Could Have Been Deported After 2009 Arrest

 

 

 

” One of the Chechen terrorists who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings could have been deported years ago after a criminal arrest and/or conviction and the other was granted American citizenship on the 11th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old killed in a wild shootout with police, was a legal U.S. resident who nevertheless could have been removed from the country after a 2009 domestic violence arrest and conviction, according to a Judicial Watch source. That means the Obama administration missed an opportunity to deport Tsarnaev but evidently didn’t feel he represented a big enough threat.

Other reporting confirms Tsarnaev’s arrest for domestic violence but we’re seeking confirmation of a conviction. Nevertheless he would have been subject to removal for the arrest itself.  

Years before these Chechen terrorists carried out the Boston Marathon bombings Judicial Watch uncovered critical intelligence documents detailing al Qaeda’s activities in Chechnya, including the creation of a 1995 camp—ordered by Osama bin Laden—to train “international terrorists” to carry out plots against Americans and westerners.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDICIAL WATCH WANTS TRUTH ON BENGHAZI

 

 

” The leading legal and investigatory government watchdog announced Feb. 20 that it filed suit in federal court demanding the President Barack Obama and the director of national intelligence release documents relating to the Sept. 11-12 attacks on our diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

“With all of the Benghazi lies coming out of the Obama administration, the only way to get at the truth is to release these records immediately,” said Thomas J. Fitton, the president of the Washington-based Judicial Watch, a conservative, non-partisan education foundation.”

Confidential, Expensive USDA Sensitivity Training: ‘The Pilgrims Were Illegal Aliens’ [VIDEOS]

 

 

” Footage of the United States Department of Agriculture’s compulsory “Cultural Sensitivity Training” program reveals USDA employees being instructed to refer to the Pilgrims as “illegal aliens” and minorities as “emerging majorities” — at “a huge expense” to taxpayers.

The video clips were made public Thursday evening by the conservative government accountability group Judicial Watch, which obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made on May 18, 2012.

The clips star Samuel Betances — a diversity instructor with Souder, Betances and Associates — who says in the video that he got his diversity training start under former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. In the clips, Betances instructed USDA employees on the proper thinking about diversity and minorities — or, as he called them, “emerging majorities.”

 

Judicial Watch Report Here

 

Judicial Watch today released previously unseen USDA videos revealing a compulsory “Cultural Sensitivity Training” program requiring USDA employees to bang on tables, chanting in unison “The pilgrims were illegal aliens” while being instructed to no longer use the word “minorities,” but to replace it with “emerging majorities.” Judicial Watch received the videos pursuant to a May 18, 2012, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

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The sensitivity training sessions, described as “a huge expense” by diversity awareness trainer and self-described “citizen of the world” Samuel Betances, were held on USDA premises. The diversity event is apparently part of what USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack described in a memo sent to all agency employees as a “new era of Civil Rights” and “a broader effort towards cultural transformation at USDA.”  In 2011 and 2012, the USDA paid Betances and his firm nearly $200,000 for their part in the “cultural transformation” program.”

Be proud of how your tax dollars are spent … Despicable

Federal Appeals Court To Rule In Osama bin Laden Death Photos Case

 

 

 

” A Washington, D.C. federal appeals court has agreed to hear the case filed by Judicial Watch to release all 52 photographs of a dead Osama bin Laden and his burial at sea. However, judging from the in-court questioning by at least one of the judges, it is unlikely that the court will overturn the lower court’s decision to keep the pictures out of the public domain, safe and secure with the CIA.

Judicial Watch is a conservative watchdog group that argues that keeping the photos secret undermines the Obama administration’s transparency claims. In court filings last month, they argued that bin Laden’s dead body pictures “depict more than just a bloody mess.” The CIA has custody and control of the photos, some of which show what it deems innocuous images of bin Laden’s body being prepared for burial while others show the actual burial at sea itself.

Michael Bekesha is an attorney for Judicial Watch. He argues that there is “no apparent nexus” between secret or classified intelligence activities and photos which show bin Laden’s burial or preparation for burial. He has stated also that the Obama administration has not satisfactorily shown precisely how the images, even the non-graphic ones, would or could be reasonably expected to “cause identifiable or describable exceptionally grave damage to national security,” which is, of course, the government’s main objection to their release. ”

 

 

 

US Soldiers Ordered To Not Criticize Islam, Pedophilia Or Advocate Women’s Rights

” Well, it now seems that the new Army Manual reflects Barack Obama’s soft spot for Islam and muzzles our American soldiers fighting for freedom, including freedom of speech.  And you STILL don’t think this guy is a danger to our country?

From Judicial Watch:

Here is a strong indicator that the Obama Administration’s crusade to
appease Islam has gone too far; a  new U.S. military handbook for
troops deployed to the Middle East orders soldiers not to make
derogatory comments about the Taliban or criticize pedophilia, among
other outrageous things.

It gets better; the new manual, which is around 75 pages, suggests
that Western ignorance of Afghan culture— not Taliban infiltration—is
responsible for the increase in deadly attacks by Afghan soldiers
against the coalition forces. “

 … “Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in an email to TheDC. “The WH also ‘invited’ us over because they had concerns about ‘inaccuracies’ in a press release attacking visitor log secrecy – told us we should say nice things about them and they would say nice things about us.” “

 

Our Post-Racial president and his DOJ once again exhibit that ” fabled , most honest , ethical and open”  administration  in the  history of the Republic .

” A federal court in Washington, DC, held last week that political appointees appointed by
President Obama did interfere with the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the New Black Panther Party. ”  

Read on …

  ” Obama’s DOJ had claimed Judicial Watch was not entitled to attorney’s fees since “none of the records produced in this litigation evidenced any
political interference whatsoever in” how the DOJ handled the New Black Panther Party case.

   But United States District Court Judge Reggie Walton disagreed. Citing a “series of emails”.between Obama political appointees and career Justice lawyers, Walton writes: The documents reveal that political
appointees within DOJ were conferring about the status and resolution of the New Black Panther Party case in the
days preceding the DOJ’s dismissal of claims in that case, which would appear to contradict Assistant Attorney
General Perez’s testimony that political leadership was not involved in that decision. Surely the public has an interest in documents that cast doubt
on the accuracy of government
officials’ representations regarding the possible politicization of agency
decision-making.