The FBI is looking into the security of the private email server that Hillary Rodham Clinton used when she was secretary of state. The Washington Post also reported Tuesday that the FBI has asked Clinton lawyer David Kendall about the security of a thumb drive, containing copies of Clinton's emails, that Kendall possesses. The Post report cited two anonymous government officials, but said Kendall confirmed that the government was investigating the security of the devices. NBC News confirmed that the FBI is looking into the procedures used in the private Clinton server. The investigation involves a system, as opposed to a person. Clinton's emails have been under scrutiny since it was revealed she used a private server in her Chappaqua, New York, home while she was the top U.S. diplomat. Government and congressional investigators have been trying to determine whether she sent or received classified information on unsecured email.
An Amtrak train that crashed outside of Philadelphia this week may have been the target of an attack. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Friday that the FBI had been called in to investigate the possibility that the train was hit by a bullet or some other object. According to the NTSB, an assistant conductor in the train’s café car claimed to have overheard a regional train engineer saying he had been “hit by a rock or shot at.” Inspectors reviewing the scene of the crash have “seen damage to the left hand lower portion of the Amtrak windshield,” an NTSB member said on Friday, prompting the FBI’s involvement.
Today, the FBI released its annual Hate Crime Statistics report, which revealed that 5,928 hate crime incidents involving 6,933 offenses were reported by our law enforcement partners to the Bureau’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program in 2013. These hate crime incidents impacted a total of 7,242 victims—which are defined as individuals, businesses, institutions, or society as a whole. Hate Crime Statistics, 2013—the first UCR publication to contain data collected under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2009—has a few changes from previous reports. First, biases against gender (male or female) and gender identity (transgender and gender nonconformity) have been added to the list of bias categories. And in response to the Shepard/Byrd Act, we modified our data collection so that reporting agencies can indicate whether crimes were committed by, or directed against, juveniles.
From the report: "60.6 percent of the reported 1,402 hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation were classified as anti-gay (male) bias." Next year's report will compile crimes based on anti-Arab bias for the first time.
The Smoking Gun: Al Sharpton Was A 1980s Mob Informant For The FBI
The Smoking Gun yesterday claimed it has conclusively proven that decades-old rumors about Al Sharpton having been a mob informant for the FBI are true.
TSG’s account of Sharpton’s secret life as “CI-7” is based on hundreds of pages of confidential FBI affidavits, documents released by the bureau in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, court records, and extensive interviews with six members of the Genovese squad, as well as other law enforcement officials to whom the activist provided assistance. Like almost every other FBI informant, Sharpton was solely an information source. The parameters of his cooperation did not include Sharpton ever surfacing publicly or testifying on a witness stand. Genovese squad investigators--representing both the FBI and NYPD--recalled how Sharpton, now 59, deftly extracted information from wiseguys. In fact, one Gambino crime family figure became so comfortable with the protest leader that he spoke openly--during ten wired face-to-face meetings--about a wide range of mob business, from shylocking and extortions to death threats and the sanity of Vincent “Chin” Gigante, the Genovese boss who long feigned mental illness in a bid to deflect law enforcement scrutiny. As the mafioso expounded on these topics, Sharpton’s briefcase--a specially customized Hartmann model--recorded his every word.
Sharpton has confirmed some of the allegations to the New York Daily News, but takes issue with the term "informant."
“If you’re a victim of a threat, you’re not an informant — you’re a victim trying to protect yourself,” he said. He said his conversations with mob figures were recorded, though he denied he used a bugged briefcase. He said he was never paid, but was occasionally reimbursed for car travel. “I encourage kids all the time to work with law enforcement,” he said. “You’re acting like it’s a scandal for me to do that?” He said the role of his information in bringing down mob figures was vastly exaggerated. “I was never told I was an informant or I had a number or none of that,” he said. “Whether or not they used some of the other information they got during that period for other purposes, I don’t know.”
The Smoking Gun story opens with several paragraphs which detail Sharpton's relationship with President Obama and recent visits to the White House.
It hasn't exactly been a banner week for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which not only lost the support of the FBI but just yesterday, lost a federal court case as well. The defeat, combined with all the negative press over the government's growing wariness of the organization, is complicating matters for the once-prominent "civil rights" group. SPLC's most recent blow came at the hands of District Judge Wiley Daniel, who found no compelling evidence that the Public Advocate had acted improperly in using a photograph of two homosexuals in a mailing about candidates for state office. So ridiculous was the suit, Daniel found, that he dismissed it, insisting that it was well within Public Advocate's First Amendment rights to speak freely about same-sex "marriage."
"Public Advocate['s] actions are evidence that same-sex marriage can -- at the very least -- be considered as relating to political concerns of the community. Therefore," the court ruled, "I find that the mailers reasonably relate to a matter of public concern." For SPLC, which has been grasping at credibility since being linked in federal court to domestic terrorism, this was just another desperate attempt to cripple conservative organizations with expensive and frivolous legal suits that distract from their core mission. Fortunately for the Public Advocate, this latest victory only compounds SPLC's PR problems. If the group thought it was difficult to maintain government partners before, that task is becoming more complicated by the day.
LIE #1: Jeremy Hooper pointed last week at Good As You that the FBI continues to list the Southern Poverty Law Center as one of its resources.
LIE #2: As I reported yesterday, the lawsuit against Eugene Delgaudio was only dismissed in part and the case will continue on its claims of copyright infringement.
Hate Groups Claim FBI Has Severed Ties With "Domestic Terrorism-Inspiring" SPLC
Multiple right wing sites are celebrating the FBI's apparent decision to remove links to the Southern Poverty Law Center from their website. Several anti-gay hate groups are claiming credit for the move after having formed a coalition to pressure the FBI to make the move. Also apparently removed from the FBI's website was the Anti-Defamation League. Via the Washington Examiner:
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has labeled several Washington, D.C.-based family organizations as "hate groups" for favoring traditional marriage, has been dumped as a "resource" on the FBI's Hate Crime Web page, a significant rejection of the influential legal group. The Web page scrubbing, which also included eliminating the Anti-Defamation League, was not announced and came in the last month after 15 family groups pressed Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director James Comey to stop endorsing a group -- SPLC -- that inspired a recent case of domestic terrorism at the Family Research Council. Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, told Secrets, “We are shocked, surprised and disappointed that this would be done without any consultation with groups such as ours who have been working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on issues of hate crime. We look forward to having further conversations with them on this issue.” The FBI had no comment and offered no explanation for its decision to end their website's relationship with the two groups, leaving just four federal links as hate crime “resources.” The SPLC had no comment.
Note that the very first sentence from the Examiner is an outright lie as the SPLC does not consider opposition to same-sex marriage as a criteria for naming hate groups. If it did, there would be hundreds of organizations on their list, not dozens.
UPDATE: Jeremy Hooper refutes the claim at Good As You.
The FBI's hate crimes division still very much lists both orgs (plus NAACP, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Disability Rights Network) as partners in the fight against hate crimes. Both organizations are listed smack dab on the overview page, under "public outreach." There is absolutely no reason to assume anything untoward or see this as any sort of repudiation of anyone.
POSTED: Initial Charges Against Seattle Gay Nightclub Arson Suspect
Below is the charging document in the case of Musab Marsmari, who is suspected in the New Year's Eve arson at the packed Seattle gay nightclub Neighbours. Details of Masmari's actions and words in the days between the crime and his Saturday arrest are within. The FBI is investigating the fire as a possible hate crime. You'll likely need to make the document full-screen to read the small text.
$1M Bail Set For Seattle Arson Suspect, FBI Investigating As Possible Hate Crime
Bail has been set at $1M for Musab Masmari, the man suspected of setting a New Year's Eve fire at a packed Seattle gay nightclub, which the FBI is investigating as a possible hate crime. Via Capitol Hill Seattle:
Citing the risk of flight and pending outcomes in recent brushes with the law, a King County judge Tuesday set bail for the suspect arrested in the Neighbours arson investigation at $1 million. Police say Musmari was arrested leaving his home with his U.S. and Libyan passports and was in possession of a one-way airline ticket to Turkey. Tuesday, Musmari waived his right to appear at the hearing as his lawyer argued against the high bail. Prosecutors have yet to charge the 30-year-old former Capitol Hill resident who, according to a lawyer representing Musmari, last called Bellevue home. Tuesday, the FBI, working on the case as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, thanked the public for tips leading to Saturday’s arrest. The FBI said it is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Meanwhile, friends and victims of Musmari have described his increasingly volatile and unstable behavior over the past year.
"I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American. People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality. My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system." - Edward Snowden, telling the South China Post that he intends to fight extradition to the United States.
Snowden checked out his hotel room on Monday and is now in a "secret location" according to Post. Yesterday an anonymous FBI source told the New York Times that "there will be no hesitation" to charge Snowden with leaking classified documents. Tomorrow the entire Senate will convene for a closed session with the NSA, the FBI, and Department of Justice. Federal officials and legal experts in Hong Kong say they expect China would comply with an extradition request.
Presumed FBI Nominee James Comey Signed SCOTUS Brief Backing Marriage
Word leaked out this week that President Obama is set to nominate former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, a Republican who served under Bush II, to head up the FBI. Today the Human Rights Campaign points out an interesting detail on Comey:
Six decades after J. Edgar Hoover created a “Sex Deviate” program to investigate, red-flag and target gay and lesbian federal employees, today’s nominee for FBI Director not only supports marriage equality, but he’s a Republican to boot. Comey signed onto the groundbreaking GOP amicus brief filed in the Prop 8 case earlier this year. Not only that, but the FBI he inherits will next year begin releasing hate crimes data that, for the very first time, include both sexual orientation and gender identity-based crimes (sexual orientation-only data has been kept since the 1990s). Following the rash of hate-motivated violence and even murder in New York City, this data will only improve the investigation and prosecution of these despicable crimes. Clearly this is not your grandfather’s FBI. And we can all be glad for that.
Comey's confirmation hearing should be fascinating.
PUERTO RICO: Man Arrested For Bomb Threat Against Gay Rights Rally
The FBI has arrested a man who tweeted a bomb threat against a planned LGBT rights rally in Puerto Rico. The tweet was directed at well-known activist Pedro Julio Serrano.
Joseph Morales was taken into custody at his home in San Juan on a charge of cyberbullying for allegedly posting the threatening message on May 6, according to Special Agent Moises Quinones, a spokesman for the FBI in the U.S. island territory. The suspect was expected to make an initial appearance before a federal judge Monday on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Morales has not entered a plea and did not yet have a lawyer, Quinones said. Morales has acknowledged he posted a Twitter message in Spanish that included the words "watch out during the demonstration, it can end like in Boston," the FBI said in a statement. The message was directed at Pedro Julio Serrano, a well-known activist in Puerto Rico who was planning to attend an upcoming demonstration in support of gay rights legislation in the territory.
FBI Releases Photos Of Two Suspects Wanted In Boston Bombings
The first question at this afternoon's FBI press conference was shouted by one of the looney tunes "reporters" from Alex Jones' InfoWars site. The FBI spokesman didn't flinch. "Next question."
Right Wing Sites Post Facebook Page Of Alleged Boston "Person Of Interest," Commenters Claim He Is Gay Or Bisexual
Multiple right wing sites such as Free Republic, Townhall, and Gateway Pundit are today posting information from the Facebook page of a 20 year-old Saudi national whom they claim is being "guarded by federal agents" in a Boston hospital as a "person of interest" in the Boston bombings. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies continue to say that they have no one in custody and no suspects.
Commenters on Free Republic and elsewhere are declaring that this "person of interest" is a gay or bisexual man, citing his posted interested in "men and women" and noting that he vacationed in Key West three months ago and has "liked" the Ellen Degeneres Show. Many of the photos at the Facebook page feature flowers and shots of an amusement park.
A source close to the investigation confirms to FoxNews.com the man whose apartment was searched is considered a person of interest in the case, and is the same person of interest Fox News confirmed earlier authorities are guarding at a local hospital. The source confirmed to FoxNews.com that the person of interest is Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, a 20-year-old Saudi. His Facebook page identifies him as a current or former student at the New England School of English. He is believed to have entered the country on a student visa. The source stressed that Alharbi is a person of interest, not a suspect, and said he suffered serious injuries in the explosion.
Following the twin blasts at the Boston Marathon that has claimed two lives and dozens injured, a Saudi national is being held in custody in relation to the incident who was near the scene of the blast, CBS News correspondent John Miller reported. Law enforcement sources told Miller a witness saw a person acting suspiciously when the explosions happened along the marathon route. "They see him running away from the device," said Miller. "Now, a reasonable person would be running away. But this person had noticed him before. This is a civilian -- chases him down, tackles him, turns him over to the Boston police. The individual is being looked at [and] was suffering from burn injury. That means this person was pretty close to wherever this blast went off, but not so close as to suffer the serious injuries that other people did."
Authorities told Miller that the person in custody is not charged and not under arrest. He is being cooperative, answering their questions, and denying involvement. They'll likely be going over this person's communications and examine every aspect of his life, as well as talk to the witness who tackled him to find out what the person of interest did that seemed suspicious.
It is indeed possible that this person is a gay or bisexual man, but there is no indication at this point that he was anything more than just another unfortunate spectator. But try telling that to the citizens of Teabagistan.
MISSISSIPPI: Feds To Investigate Murder Of Mayoral Candidate Marco McMillian
The FBI announcedyesterday that it will investigate the murder of openly gay small town mayoral candidate Marco McMillian, whose burned and beaten body was found in Mississippi last week. Local police have declined to characterize the murder as a hate crime and lawyers for the man charged in the case are reportedly considering a "gay panic" defense.
The agency "will assess evidence to determine whether federal prosecution is appropriate," Deborah Madden, an FBI public affairs specialist, said Wednesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the National Black Justice Coalition, both separately urged the federal government Tuesday to seek potential hate crime charges in a case that has grabbed national attention. Mississippi has a hate-crime law that covers race, religion and gender but doesn't extend to sexual orientation. However, local and state agencies can seek assistance to pursue a federal hate crime under the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which does cover homosexuality. Or the FBI can come in to investigate at the request of an outside source, as in the McMillian case.
McMillian was thought to be the first openly gay political candidate in the history of Mississippi. (Via Towleroad)
"Dear Joe, The Homosexual Lobby would like nothing more than for you to stop reading this email. You see, this November election there are four crucial referendums related to their agenda in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. And if you stop reading, they are all the more likely to pass their agenda in all four states. Public Advocate has a Battleground Action Initiative in place designed to ensure pro-Family values are upheld in each of these four states. The Homosexual Lobby is so afraid of our Battleground Action Initiative they have threatened to destroy Public Advocate in court unless I cease and desist all pro-Family operations.
"And to see that we do not unhinge their 2012 election schemes, they have set their attack dog, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), after me. My staff and I have calculated that Public Advocate will need to raise $136,295 by midnight, October 12th in order to properly launch the Initiative. If every Public Advocate supporter chipped in $25 right now, I would have enough to run the entire program and fend off the SPLC for months. But not everyone will be able to give. And for many who do, $25 is more than they can spare. That’s why I need you, Joe, to seriously consider giving the most generous gift you can to help make up the difference." - Hate group con man Eugene Delgaudio, scamming more old ladies out of their Social Security checks.
VIRGINIA: Eugene Delgaudio Denounces God-Hating Liberals At County Meeting
Wednesday night the Board of Supervisors for Loudoun County, Virginia voted to spend $15,000 for an internal investigation of the charges that Eugene Delgaudio used county employees to perform fundraising work for his anti-gay hate group, Public Advocate. Delgaudio, who voted in favor of the investigation, spoke to the board. Here's a snippet of his tirade:
What an honor to be a substitute for Sarah Palin and Chick-fil-A in the media. The suicide bombers of the political left pull their own rings on their detonation devices as they advance on me, and Sterling, and all honest-to-God conservatives. Liberals blow themselves up as they approach me with their fantastic lies about what I do, and what all normal God-fearing Americans do, and I’ll explain that. The liberals destroy themselves with misrepresentations, mistruth, libel, slander, exaggeration and outright falsehoods, and victimize many innocent victims. This form of propaganda madness does no one any good. And they have failed and they will fail – four times with me. In my style, I often give you a hyperbole alert. OK, here it is, hyperbole alert: Around here in Washington, all you have to say is quote, ‘The Washington Post reports.’ Quote, unquote. The Washington Post has printed attacks on me for years; when I first came here in 1982, and probably a dozen times since I’ve been elected as supervisor. They oppose me and all Christians for taking a stand in support of the Boy Scouts traditional marriage and, yes, even eating chicken at the restaurant of your choice.
Delgaudio closed by characterizing himself as a "small David" fighting against the "foul-smelling, decaying corpse of the Washington Post." The video of his speech is not embeddable but you can watch it here. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)
VIRGINIA: Loudoun County Says No Charges (Yet) For Euguene Delgaudio
The Loudoun County, Virginia board of supervisors has issued a statement regarding the FBI investigation into anti-gay crackpot Eugene Delgaudio's illegal usage of public employees for his hate group's campaigns.
When the Board’s leadership team was made aware of these allegations against Supervisor Delgaudio, we asked that the complaint filed against Mr. Delgaudio be given to the Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney Jim Plowman for review. Mr. Plowman then referred the matter to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office in Arlington for an independent assessment. Based on the information provided at that time, Arlington’s Commonwealth Attorney did not recommend pursuing any charges against Mr. Delgaudio. It has also been alleged in recent news articles that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also looking into this matter. At this time, the Board, County Administration or the County Attorney has not been contacted by the FBI. This Board believes it is incumbent upon any Board of Supervisors to operate with the highest of ethical standards and conduct. Regardless of any ongoing investigation by an outside party, it is imperative that this Board investigate this matter to ensure the integrity of the Board of Supervisors, and take action if a member of the Board has violated those standards.
The board will meet tomorrow to vote on pursuing their own "independent investigation" of Delgaudio's crimes. (Tipped by JMG reader Laura)
VIRGINIA: FBI Investigates Eugene Delgaudio For Multiple Violations Of Campaign & Employment Laws
The Washington Post has published an expose of Eugene Delgaudio in which a former worker in his Virginia office alleges that she was ordered to work on his anti-gay campaigns during county time. Such work is against the law and the FBI is investigating.
She worked from a spreadsheet that listed more than a thousand names and the political campaigns to which they had contributed. For weeks earlier this year, she said, she sat in a county office, while on county time, and spent hours calling them, one by one. The goal was to arrange meetings with the donors and her boss, four-term Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling), one of the region’s most controversial politicians, who is known for his animated diatribes from the dais. If she was successful, Donna Mateer, a part-time aide, was to list the appointment in a Google calendar titled “Eugene 2012 Campaign Schedule,” she said. Since then, Mateer came to believe that what she was doing was unethical. She filed a complaint with the county’s Human Resources Department that also alleged a hostile work environment. Her accusations add to the controversy surrounding Delgaudio, who has publicly denounced gay people as “perverts” and “freaks” and routinely injected himself into heated political battles across the country through his conservative nonprofit group, Public Advocate of the United States.
Mateer also claims that Delgaudio demanded to know her religious beliefs before he hired her, which is also against the law.
The supervisor wanted to know her views on homosexuality, she said. Was she “pro-marriage,” “pro-life,” “right-wing”? Was she a Christian, a Catholic? How many times had she been married? Where did her children go to school? She suspected he was not supposed to be asking such questions, but she was looking for work, so she put her concerns aside. [snip] In March, less than a year after Mateer had been hired, she was fired. When Delgaudio called Mateer into his office to let her go, he told her the problem was that she was “not political,” she said. Hours before, Mateer had spoken with county human resources officials. At their request, she later filed a lengthy statement detailing her concerns, she said — including the allegation that Delgaudio frequently went on racist and homophobic rants and berated his employees in the workplace. In the days before she was fired, Mateer collected e-mails and documents, including the lists of names used to schedule fundraising appointments. She has since turned many of them over to FBI agents, who interviewed her in late July about Delgaudio’s fundraising practices and his involvement with Public Advocate. Three other former aides have told The Post that they have also been recently questioned about Delgaudio by FBI agents.
