MAINE: Ethics Committee Finds NOM Guilty, Eastman Says "We Won't Pay Fine"

UPDATE: The Portland Press Herald reports.

NOM executives, two of whom were present for the hearing, vowed to fight the ruling and protect the anonymity of the organization’s donors. John Eastman, the attorney and board chairman for NOM, said revealing the donors would put them at risk of threats and harassment while hindering the organization’s ability to raise money. Eastman said NOM would appeal Wednesday’s ruling. NOM’s resistance means that more time is likely to pass before the donors to the 2009 campaign are publicly identified. Chris Plante, NOM’s regional director, told the Portland Press Herald last week that the group will “do whatever it takes to defend this and protect our donors’ anonymity.”

Eastman says that NOM will file an ethics complaint against the HRC.

During occasionally heated exchanges, Eastman and Brown said NOM had been singled out by the commission. They argued that the Human Rights Campaign, a gay activist group, operated in the same manner during the 2009 referendum and the 2012 ballot initiative that legalized same-sex marriage in Maine. Eastman said NOM would file an ethics complaint against the Human Rights Campaign for its activities in the referendum battles. Fred Karger, a gay-rights activist from California, filed the complaint against NOM with the Maine ethics commission in 2009. Karger said NOM effectively laundered its donations to conceal the identity of its donors. “NOM definitely picked the wrong state to break the law,” Karger said. Karger said the ruling could assist an investigation that he filed in Iowa in 2013. He is also considering filing another complaint in New Hampshire, where NOM attempted to repeal that state’s same-sex marriage law.

HomoQuotable - Fred Karger

"After nearly five years of Brian Brown and his NOM fighting in court against the investigation that I got launched against them in Maine, the verdict is in and NOM is guilty of numerous counts of election fraud. Ten days after I filed my complaint against NOM in Maine back in 2009, I was subpoenaed by NOM's high-priced attorneys in a federal lawsuit they had filed against California election officials. It was NOM's retribution against me for taking them on in Maine ten days earlier. After over a year of having to personally fight back against NOM's subpoena and paying a lot of attorney fees, it's so great to see justice and fairness win out against the bullies and liars at NOM. It was all worth it! Hopefully we'll see more actions like this against NOM in Hawaii and Iowa where Brian Brown and his NOM are also being investigated by those state ethics' offices on sworn complaints that I personally filed." - 2012 GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, via press release.

TRAILER: Fred

A documentary about the 2012 campaign of Fred Karger.

NOM Goes After Fred Karger

NOM's attorneys have sent archenemy Fred Karger the above letter (dated November 1st, but only just received) in which they demand that he not destroy any information he may have regarding the leaking of their tax return to the Human Rights Campaign, where Karger does not work. Via press release from Karger:

Exactly four years ago Karger filed charges against NOM with the Maine Ethics’ Office for alleged money laundering in that state’s 2009 marriage election, Two weeks later NOM, with the backing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), subpoenaed Karger in another federal lawsuit and requested virtually all the same information that they are attempting to gather now. We fought back against NOM and its millionaire backers then and we will do it again,” said Karger who heads up Rights Equal Rights. “NOM doesn't like to obey state and federal election laws and when I call them out, they go after me.” “I am a one person organization and they are attempting to destroy me with these frivolous legal actions. I will once again seek support and fight back against NOM head mega-bully Brian Brown and his army of lawyers.”

Embiggen the letter to read NOM's demands. Act Right, by the way, is another one of Brian Brown's organizations.

Fred Karger: Where Are NOM's 990s?

"We sent a representative to the Washington, DC office of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) first thing Friday morning to pick up both copies of NOM's federal tax returns for 2012. NOM's tax returns were originally due on May 15, 2013, but they took TWO extensions so their final deadline was Friday. Guess what? NO tax returns were available for public inspection at their main office on Friday. We have an audio clip of a NOM representative saying to 'come back Monday or Tuesday.'  NOM President Brian $ Brown claims they are 'law abiding, file all their tax returns on time and obey all state and federal election laws.' They do not." - Fred Karger, perpetual thorn in NOM's backside, via email.

Fred Karger On Mormons & ENDA

"This would not have happened without the blessing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church). The Mormon Church got a big black eye five years ago for all it did to pass Proposition 8 in California, which wrote discrimination into the state Constitution and took away gay marriage in the nation's largest state. So in order to try to make amends, the Mormon Church led the effort to pass a workplace and housing nondiscrimination law in Salt Lake City in 2009. [snip]

"There are 10 Mormon members of the House of Representatives. If the Mormon Church would use its influence to get all 10 Mormon House members to support ENDA and have them to put some friendly pressure on Speaker Boehner, ENDA would likely become law. They need to lean on the Speaker to at least let ENDA come to the House floor for a vote, and then work diligently for its passage. Let's hope that the Mormon Church, which advocates equal protection for all Americans, will stand up once again and help ENDA become the law of the land." - 2012 GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, writing for the Huffington Post.

HAWAII: Fred Karger Vs NOM

Just in via press release:

LGBT Activist and watchdog Fred Karger sent a detailed 11 page letter to the Hawaii Ethics Commission on Friday, October 25, 2013 alleging that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) and its front group the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) have once again broken state election laws (see attached letter). “After assurances two years ago that the Mormon Church was officially out of the anti-gay marriage business that it has led since 1995, the powerful and secretive Mormon Church is now back fighting marriage equality,” said Karger. “They are once again being duplicitous and refusing to register all the paid Mormon Church employees who have been lobbying Hawaii state legislators in advance of this week’s Special Legislative Session. Governor Abercrombie has called the State Legislature back into session this week so that Hawaii can become the 15th state to allow the freedom to marry. NOM is running commercials throughout Hawaii and it did not register for its grassroots lobbying either.

Read the full letter here.

Brian Brown: Fred Karger Will Not Stop Me From Collaborating With Russia

Yesterday we learned that NOM watchdog Fred Karger has reached out to federal officials, asking that they investigate Brian Brown for possibly violating the Logan Act, which forbids citizens from collaborating with foreign governments against the interests of the United States. Five days after Brown's speech to the Duma, they passed the bill which bans anybody from a country with legalized same-sex marriage from adopting Russian children. Today an official Russian state news agency got a response from Brown.

Brown told RIA Novosti in a telephone interview Wednesday that he spoke extemporaneously at the meeting, and he called Karger’s suggestion that the speech may have violated US law “absurd.” “It is laughable how little he understands that in America we’re free to stand up and speak for things like traditional marriage around the world,” Brown said. Brown said he was invited to speak to the lawmakers by Russian activists working with the World Congress of Families, an Illinois-based conservative group set to hold a global convention in Moscow next year. He said Karger’s appeal to top US officials would not deter his work abroad. “We’ve been very open that we’re going to work with allies around the world that believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” Brown said. A State Department spokeswoman said Wednesday that she could not confirm whether Karger’s letter had been received but added that “if and when we do receive it, we will review it and respond appropriately.”

According to a transcript posted by the Duma, one of the things that Brown told Russian lawmakers was, "We will unite. We will defend our children their normal civil rights. Every child must have the right to normal parents: a mother and a father."

Fred Karger To Feds: Investigate Brian Brown For Collaborating With Russia

Fred Karger, the eternal thorn in NOM's backside, has written to Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General Eric Holder with a request that they investigate Brian Brown for collaborating with the Russian government. Such an action, Karger argues, could violate the Logan Act, which makes it a crime for independent citizens to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States.  An excerpt from Karger's letter:

Immediately after Mr. Brown’s meetings and testimony in the Russian capital, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a severe crackdown on LGBT rights, affecting all LGBT visitors to Russia to include Americans. If Mr. Brown did travel to Moscow with French religious leaders with the express intention of furthering discrimination against LGBT Russians and all LGBT travelers to Russia, this could be in direct conflict with current United States laws. It has been widely reported that Mr. Putin’s crackdown against LGBT rights in Russia was in part responsible for President Obama’s cancelation of his much-anticipated visit to Moscow in August for talks with Russian President Putin. [snip] I hope that both of you gentleman will use the authority of your offices to immediately investigate this possible very serious violation of the Logan Act by Mr. Brown and any other American citizens who may have accompanied him to Russia. Americans who correspond, testify or meet with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government certainly would appear to be in violation of this Act.

RELATED: While threats of Logan Act prosecutions have occasionally been lobbed, mostly at activists who meet with unfriendly foreign governments, only one indictment has ever been made. That was a 1803 case brought against a Kentucky farmer who wrote a news article advocating that the territory west of the then-US border should become an independent nation to be allied with France. The farmer was never tried, perhaps because that year's Louisiana Purchase made his cause moot.

Fred Karger Vs Brian Brown

Brown elaborates on NOM's blog:

The story to which Karger is referring is indeed a testament to how religious liberty works - and Fred's being miffed about it is an ominous indication of what would happen to religious congregations such as this one, which have the right to hire and fire their own clergy personnel, if Karger and other same-sex 'marriage' activists had their way. No doubt he would rather see the government step in and deny this congregation its first amendment rights with respect to religion, and force them to keep employing a pastor who is at odds with the congregation's beliefs. But that kind of anti-religious tyranny, which is a part of the ideal same-sex marriage regime, is precisely what we here at NOM are working against - so this story (or rather, the backlash to it) serves as a useful cautionary tale. Thanks for the news tip, Fred!

Brown opened his response by calling Karger a "NOM obsessive, serial, frivolous case-filer."

HomoQuotable - Fred Karger

"In a August 22 blog post the National Organization of Marriage wrote, 'What's the best way to weaken and silence those you disagree with? Intimidation and threats, of course.' That statement also went into a NOM email blast to its claimed list of 500,000. NOM and its president, Brian Brown, have been attacking me ever since my sworn complaint against them in Iowa resulted in another ethics’ investigation of NOM. This was just one of Brian’s latest personal attacks against me. He is very upset because Iowa is the third state to conduct an ethics investigation into NOM’s illegal campaign activities. Ongoing investigations are under way in Maine and California as well, because of sworn complaints that I filed in those states. Just go to Google and search 'NOM threats.' There are 1,710,000 results. Trying 'NOM intimidation' will yield about 1,320,000 results. That’s a lot of NOM threats and intimidation." - 2012 GOP presidential candidate and NOM watchdog Fred Karger, writing for the Advocate. Hit the link and read Karger's 20 examples of NOM's threats, all of which have been reported here.

What Will The Mormons Do About Hawaii?

"I believe that the Mormon Church sat out most all of the gay marriage elections over the last four years because it had a far more important political cause to embrace, the election of the first Mormon president of the United States, Mitt Romney. The Church definitely did not want to become an issue in the Romney campaign. They did not want to do anything that would harm his chances to capture the White House. Now that Mitt Romney is no longer a consideration, and a gay marriage vote is coming back to the state where it all began, Hawaii. What will the Mormon Church do now? Can its leaders resist temptation and sit out next month's special legislative session? Only time will tell." - Marriage equality watchdog and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, writing for the Huffington Post.

IOWA: Brian Brown Loses Again, State Won't Remove Campaign Investigator

Last week NOM's Brian Brown launched a screaming complaint campaign against the Iowa official assigned to investigate Fred Karger's complaint that they violated campaign finance rules. This just in from Karger:

The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board will not remove its executive director from an investigation into whether the National Organization for Marriage violated state law by not disclosing campaign donors. A complaint filed in June alleges NOM did not disclose donors or all of its contributions when it funded campaigns against Iowa Supreme Court justices up for retention in 2010 and 2012.  The complaint claims NOM spent $635,000 in 2010 and about $100,000 in 2012 to defeat Iowa justices who decided in 2009 that Iowa's law prohibiting gay marriage was unconstitutional. Three were forced from the court in the 2010 election. NOM wants Ethics Board Executive Director Megan Tooker removed from the investigation claiming she's biased. The board unanimously voted Wednesday to allow her to investigate the matter.

Muttley laugh.....

NOM Calls For Removal Of Iowa Official

"The people of Iowa are entitled to the highest standards of ethical conduct and independence from the state's top ethics officer, but Megan Tooker has shown herself to be biased and incredibly unprofessional in her handling of the complaint against NOM. Ms. Tooker worked for one of the justices we helped remove from office in 2010 and which is the subject of the complaint she is evaluating. At a minimum this presents the appearance of a conflict of interest. Furthermore, her comments to the media reveal deep-seated animosity toward our position and are grossly inaccurate, prejudicial and inappropriate. We demand that she be removed from having any role in evaluating the complaint filed against us." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, adding that Tooker has already "convicted us in absentia."

RELATED: Last week Iowa state officials announced that they would investigate NOM on the basis of a complaint filed by activist and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, who charges that NOM violated state election finance rules in their successful campaign to unseat three state Supreme Court justices who voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

Brian Brown Vs Fred Karger

"The National Organization for Marriage has violated no campaign finance rules in Iowa, and we decry the decision by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to open an investigation. This inquiry is a witch hunt spawned by a delusional homosexual activist who fancies himself becoming the president of the United States and who is a serial filer of frivolous allegations against us whenever we stand up for traditional marriage. The complaint is another attempt to shut down criticism of activist judges and politicians who wish to redefine marriage. We are concerned about the continual use of the legal system by Karger and other homosexual marriage advocates who are intent on denying us and the people of Iowa their civil rights to defend marriage as God created it." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, quivering with rage against Fred Karger. 

RELATED: Read yesterday's story about Karger's action in Iowa.

Iowa To Investigate NOM's Finances

NOM will be investigated for cloaking its donors during the successful campaign to unseat three Iowa state Supreme Court justices who backed same-sex marriage.

The Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board voted unanimously to investigate the National Organization for Marriage, saying that if the allegations against it are proven true, the marriage group’s actions would violate state law. The decision to investigate is a triumph for Republican former presidential candidate Fred Karger, who filed the complaint against the National Organization for Marriage on June 13. Karger said the D.C.-based group spent $635,000 in 2010 and about $100,000 in 2012 to try to oust four of the justices who were part of a unanimous 2009 decision that allowed same-sex marriage in Iowa. “We caught them,” Karger told reporters after today’s meeting. “I’m so grateful to the ethics commission.”

Go Fred!

Complaint By Fred Karger Triggers FEC Investigation Of Rick Santorum

Former GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, the eternal thorn in the backside of NOM, has struck again.

The Federal Election Commission is asking former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and an anti-gay marriage organization to tell the agency why it should not investigate an allegation that they violated campaign finance limits during the last election. The complaint, brought by Fred Karger, a gay rights activist who ran a quixotic campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, accuses Santorum of coordinating with the National Organization for Marriage to pay $1 million to Vander Plaats to endorse him, with the money eventually going for ads backing Santorum. That would be a violation of campaign finance law. The move by the FEC is routine when a complaint meets basic requirements. In June, the FEC sent letters to Karger and the accused: Santorum, Vander Plaats and NOM. The three now can respond to the FEC with reasons why it should not investigate the matter. "This letter signals the beginning of the beginning," said Craig Engle a campaign finance attorney at Arent Fox who is not connected to the case.

Back in December 2011, I noted that Progress Iowa had made a similar demand that the FEC look into reports that Vander Plaats had demanded a $1M payoff to endorse Santorum. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

Fred Karger Launches WaPo Ads

NOM's arch-enemy and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger is running the above ad on the Washington Post's site for the next five days.  I ran into Fred in the lobby of Broadway Backwards on Monday night and he mentioned that he's just moved to Manhattan.  Hit the link if you'd like to kick in for his web campaign.

Fred Karger Reports: NOM's Brian Brown Was Paid $500K+ In 2011

NOM's arch-nemesis Fred Karger, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination last year, appeared at NOM's DC headquarters this week to demand their 2011 tax filings, which by law must be produced to any member of the public. Via press release:

“They tried their best to avoid me, were rude and evasive, but what else is new?” said Karger on his latest attempt to gather NOM’s tax returns. One thing is crystal clear; NOM president Brian Brown and former president Maggie Gallagher are definitely getting rich off the NOM donors – very rich. Maybe they don’t want us to know that NOM President Brian Brown made over $500,000 dollars in 2011. He was paid $230,000 by NOM’s political operation where he claimed to work a minimum of 40 hours per week, and another whopping $230,000 from NOM’s Educational Fund where he claimed to work another 40 hours per week. Add $47,000 in benefits and you have the “Half Million Dollar Man.”

Karger notes that NOM staffers literally fled when he appeared, running into elevators and behind locked doors.  View their full 2011 tax filing here.

NOM Threatens To Sue Fred Karger

Fred Karger's years-long investigation into NOM's financing is really getting under their skin, hence the above threat to sue him if he doesn't stop. GO FRED!  The letter came from Brian Brown's ACT RIGHT group.