Chicago Tribune tells another blatant lie for U.S. Attorney
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
The Chicago Tribune is at it again - reporting what it knows to be a blatant lie for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago.
The lie this time involves the Tribune's reporting on habitual criminal and former Rezko mole John Thomas' most recent arrest for fraud. And the underreported story of the premature termination of his probation for a previous fraud conviction.
The Tribune was fully aware that in 2010, John Thomas was sentenced to three years probation for crimes he committed in New York. And the Trib also knew that in 2011, Thomas petitioned the court to terminate his probation after only one year.
Here's the catch: Thomas' probation was officially "terminated without objection".
In other words, the U.S. Attorney's Office was perfectly fine with Thomas being released from probation after serving only one year of his three-year sentence.
However, now the Tribune and the U.S. Attorney's Office want you to believe his probation "expired":
"Federal prosecutors alleged that Thomas began scheming in the Riverdale deal just months after his probation for the New York conviction expired." read more...
Really?
So after virtually ignoring the fact that Thomas was given a gift of three years probation instead of five years in prison for his crimes...
And then completely ignoring the fact that the feds gave Thomas another gift by allowing his probation to be "terminated without objection" after only one year...
Enabling the Village of Riverdale to gift Thomas hundreds of thousands of taxpayer's dollars...
The Tribune now wants to sell us the blatant lie that Thomas' probation "expired".
Wow! That's brass.
And let's not forget that the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Tribune have a well documented history of telling lies when it comes to John Thomas.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: <redacted>
To: "jskass" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 6:42:03 PM
Subject: Chicago Tribune - John Thomas
To whom it may concern
John Thomas was a mole for the FBI in the case in Illinois against Tony Rezko and others. The Chicago Tribune was aware of the fact and chose not to write a story about him at the behest of Patrick Fitzgerald (U.S Attorney Northern Dist IL). The Tribune eventually wrote a story about John Thomas, however the story they wrote was not accurate. My source at the Chicago Tribune claims that when Patrick Fiztgerald asked the Chicago Tribune to sit on the Thomas story, claiming it could put his life in danger, the Chicago Tribune refused. The Chicago Tribune told Mr Fitzgerald that they were going to run the story anyway. It was only when Patrick Fitzgerald told the Chicago Tribune that if they ran the story that it would affect the Presidential election did the Chicago Tribune agree not to run the story. My source at the Chicago Tribune confirmed this meant Obama. My source also informed me of other information that would be of interest to the people of Illinois that was not being reported in the Chicago Tribune.
The source at the Tribune referred to in the email has since been revealed to have been John Chase.
Truth is - the Tribune and the U.S. Attorney's Office are working their own con.
What is the American Thinker website trying to hide about Patrick Fitzgerald?
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
Question: What is the American Thinker trying to hide by taking down articles it published years ago?
Answer: The truth about former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
Recently, former FBI mole and convicted felon John Thomas was arrested for stealing money from Illinois taxpayers.
The only reason that Thomas was able to abscond with taxpayer money this time was because he was no longer on probation.
And the reason he was no longer on probation was because the U.S. Attorneys Office allowed his three-year probation for previous financial crimes to be abruptly terminated after just one year.
As luck would have it for Thomas, the premature termination of his probation came just in time for him to be awarded a multi-million dollar taxpayer funded development contract from the Village of Riverdale, Illinois.
And as anyone with a brain could have predicted, Thomas stole that money too.
Let's hear it for Fitzgerald and his crack team of crime fighters at the U.S. Attorney's Office Northern Dist. Illinois for that brilliant bit of law enforcement.
So now ask yourself this:
Question: Why would the American Thinker remove the following article from its website after two years just right after it became known why Thomas' probation was terminated two years early?
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/../2012/01/patrick_fitzgeralds_rezko_mole_probation
January 12, 2012
Patrick Fitzgerald's Rezko Mole Probation Sentence Terminated Early
By Lee Cary & Marty Watters
The New York felon who U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald wired against Chicago's Tony Rezko got three years probation that ended two years early.
To refresh your memory concerning the mole named John Thomas: in the late 1990s, Bernard T. Barton, Jr. had a billboard business in New York where he rented space on billboards he didn't own or operate. That's illegal.
He defrauded customers out of $350,000, and he used his father's Social Security number to get an American Express business account, where he charged $140,000. Facing a significant jail sentence, he offered to work for the feds. They agreed. His sentence was delayed for about a decade while he cooperated with the FBI.
In 2000, he moved to Chicago, where he became "John Thomas," working undercover for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office.
He eventually became a close business associate of Tony Rezko.
On May 4, 2007, Thomas' undercover identity was revealed by Thomas A. Corfman, a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune, in an article in Crain's ChicagoBusiness.com.Corfman, who had recently rejoined Crain's, wrote:
"A former New Yorker has been conducting an undercover sting investigation for federal prosecutors while working in the Chicago commercial real estate industry, according to sources familiar with the investigation and documents in the man's own federal criminal fraud case."
The next day, May 5, 2007, Tribune staff reporter David Jackson followed up with an article that reported further on Thomas' undercover activities. Wonder how the Trib could be so quick to follow up on Corfman's outing of Thomas? Here's how:
The Trib had known of Thomas' mole role for a year. In his May 5 piece, Jackson reported:
"When a Tribune reporter discovered that Thomas was acting as a federal operative in May 2006, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald took the unusual step of asking senior editors at the paper to refrain from publishing a report that would expose the ongoing probe. Fitzgerald offered no specifics but said an article would derail an important investigation and put people in serious danger of harm."
By the way, there's no indication that Fitzgerald, who knew the identity of the leaker of Valerie Plame's alleged identity as a CIA operative before he began his investigation, ever went after the leaker who outed Thomas to the Trib in 2006. If breaking Thomas' cover in 2006 could have put people in "serious danger," why wouldn't it have done so in 2007?
Back to the narrative:
On February 8, 2008, the Chicago Sun Times reported (emphasis in original):
"For the first time, the FBI "mole" who's expected to be a key prosecution witness against indicted developer and political fund-raiser Tony Rezko is talking. ...
Sources said Thomas also logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Blagojevich and Obama were among the many politicians for whom Rezko raised campaign cash. Neither has been charged with any wrongdoing. ...
Sources said Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru's Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005. ...
Sources said the government had him wear a hidden wire to record conversations with a Chicago alderman -- but that he did not record Blagojevich or Obama."
Despite the Sun-Times' prediction, Thomas was not called to testify at Tony Rezko's trial. He was the Silent Mole.
On June 23, 2010, writing for ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com, Corfman, still keeping tabs on Thomas-Barton, reported:
"U.S. District Court Judge Elaine Bucklo on Monday gave three years probation to Mr. Thomas, who was indicted under the name Bernard T. Barton Jr., court records show.
Mr. Thomas pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, which carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison."
In a January 3, 2012 email, Randall Samborn, spokesperson for Fitzgerald's office, stated that Thomas' three-year probation was terminated in June 2011, after one year. The silent Mole is now completely free.
Today, John Thomas is a commercial real estate broker in Chicago.
Meanwhile, a government motion that describes Thomas' undercover activities is sealed. According to Samborn, that's not unusual when records contain "information about non-public law enforcement matters."
There's no indication that the Trib, which went to great lengths to get the sealed divorce records of Jack and Jeri Ryan opened in 2004, against both Ryans' wishes, shows any interest in getting Thomas' sealed file opened.
Ryan was the initial GOP candidate in the race against Barack Obama for a U.S. Senate seat representing Illinois -- that is, until his divorce file was pried opened by efforts led by the Trib, where David Axelrod was once the youngest political editor ever.
Here's a final head-scratcher:
Way back on February 22, 2002, Corfman, then a reporter for the Tribune, in an article focused on Donald Trump's efforts to retain a firm to "handle leasing for his proposed mixed-use skyscraper on the riverfront site of the Chicago Sun Times," wrote:
"John Thomas, a partner in Chicago-based Carnegie Realty Partners, and a Carnegie employee, Louis Giordano of New York, were arrested last year in connection with an alleged fraud scheme that took place over five years in New York[.] ...
Thomas and Giordano are free on bond, according to court records. The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York would not comment on the case."
What? Rezko let someone whom the Trib had reported as having been arrested in New York in the early 2000s, who then resurfaced in Chicago, get close to him? Didn't Tony read the papers? And where is there any mention of Thomas's real name -- Bernard T. Barton, Jr.? Wouldn't that name, and not "John Thomas," have been in his New York criminal records?
The more we know about the Rezko Mole, the more we realize that there's a lot we don't know.
Answer: Because influential friends of the American Thinker now fear that articles like that will lead to the public knowing what Fitzgerald was really doing in Chicago. And just how cozy his relationship with the George W. Bush administration really was.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald "Most Dangerous Man"
Richard Perle feeds American Thinker editor Thomas Lifson
Murray Waas: Plamegate cover-up is “something that is bigger than Watergate”
American Thinker’s credibility is dissipating quickly
Plamegate Update: American Thinker fails to disclose conflicts of interest!
Plamegate update: Clarice Feldman says Sibel Edmonds misunderstood
American Thinker’s dishonest attempt to discredit a hero
Clarice Feldman believes Dick Armitage is a liar, except….
Much more to come...
Jesse Jackson, Jr. teams up with former DNC super-delegate and con man
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
Thanks to Barbara Hollingsworth at CNS News, the disinfectant of sunlight is being shined on Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s latest scam involving the ridiculous notion that felons are ‘entitled’ to Presidential Pardons.
Jackson has enlisted former Pennsylvania DNC super-delegate and fellow con man John P. Karoly to set the stage for him.
(CNSNews.com) – A former cellmate of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. says that the disgraced former congressman “is committed to convincing this President, and all future candidates for the highest office in the land, to take on the ‘Audacity of Forgiveness’” by pardoning all felons who have served their time.
Doing so will “make us all feel better about ourselves as a nation,” fellow inmate John Karoly wrote from “inside the joint” in an eight-page letter to “select media outlets”.
Jackson did a “fastidious job” scrubbing toilets and unclogging drains with a toothbrush at the Federal Correctional Institution at Butner, North Carolina as part of his “personal penance,” Karoly claimed. But “no matter how hard he scrubs, he later tells me that it doesn’t wipe his slate clean.”
“Like the rest of us, he yearns for the forgiveness that has eluded him” which, Karoly added, “Jesse rightly insists is a matter of human entitlement.”
“When you pay off your credit card debt in full, you no longer owe anything. The full utilization of the President’s power to forgive, may be the greatest legacy any President can leave behind,” Karoly wrote in his jailhouse missive.
WMAQ, NBC’s Chicago affiliate, first reported that the station received Karoly’s letter on April 11, accompanied by an affidavit from Jackson authorizing its release. The story was later picked up by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Jackson is seeking presidential pardons “identical to the one President Gerald Ford issued to former President Richard Milhaus Nixon in 1974,” Karoly said in the letter.
But “I suddenly realized that if Jesse’s dream takes shape, as I earnestly believe it will, there will be no contemporary chronicler to tell the world how his ‘forgiveness mission’ was birthed,” wrote the former Democratic National Committee superdelegate who is serving six and a half years at the minimum security prison after being convicted of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
However, a federal prison official at Butner denied that the former congressman was required to scrub prison toilets, sinks and floors with a toothbrush.
So Jackson has chosen Karoly, a man whose extensive criminal resume includes cheating a charity out of $500K and trying to capitalize on his brother's death by creating a phony will, as the person to chronicle the birth of his latest scandalous endeavor.
Wow! Just when you thought Jackson had sunk as low as he could go after trying to buy a U.S. Senate seat from Rod Blagojevich and then claiming mental illness to escape justice and collect $8,700 a month disability pay while in prison.
But now with the help of fellow con man Karoly he is sinking to new depths by starting a " forgiveness movement" for what these two clowns sympathetically refer to as the "criminal underclass".
Junior really is a chip off the old block. The Jacksons can find a group to exploit in any situation.
Pop Jackson must be busting with pride!
(Editors note: no joke, it's a real book)
What is even more disturbing about this ridiculous "Jesse Jackson Jr. has a noble cause" story is this: The media hand picked by Jackson to break the story of his latest exploitation - NBC, Chicago Sun Times, and AL.com - were all fully aware of Karoly's history as a DNC insider and his extensive criminal record. Yet they all chose not to include those important facts in their "reporting".
Now why would they do that?
Perhaps they heard that Obama likes Junior's new "forgiveness movement" idea, and they just want to be helpful to the cause?
Now that's audacity!
Unfortunately for the Chicago Sun Times, NBC and AL.com, that's not journalism.
Thankfully, CNSNews.com was around for that.
Was giving “FBI informant” John Thomas TIF money legal?
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
We all know that giving convicted felon and "FBI informant" John Thomas tax increment financing (TIF) funds was a colossally stupid thing to do.
But the real question is: was it legal?
John Thomas, who is best known for wearing a wire for the feds in the cases against Tony Rezko and Ald. Ike Carothers, is in federal custody for stealing 370K of TIF money from the village of Riverdale IL.
Chicago Sun-Times
Feds arrest former mole in Rezko, Carothers cases
BY NATASHA KORECKI AND KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporters April 18, 20
Smooth-talking felon John Thomas once said the thing he loved about Chicago was, it was “the most forgiving” place for a convicted crook.
He’d better hope so.
The 51-year-old real estate developer — who got a second chance at life and dodged a prison term by wearing a wire against disgraced political fundraiser Tony Rezko as well as former Ald. Ike Carothers — has been up to his old tricks, federal prosecutors say.
Arrested at dawn on Good Friday at his downtown condo, Thomas stole $370,000 from the south suburban village of Riverdale that was meant for the development of Riverdale Marina, a federal indictment alleges.
Continue reading .... Feds arrest former mole in Rezko, Carothers cases
OK. It's no real surprise that a habitual criminal like Thomas would steal a pile of money put right in front of him.
But who in their right mind would put a pile of taxpayer money in front of a convicted felon knowing full well that he would steal it?
That kind of stupidity can't be legal!
After initially pleading not guilty to all charges against him, Thomas has abruptly changed his mind and will plead guilty on May 16.
So what's up? Did Thomas make another deal with the feds? Are there more arrests to follow in the Riverdale Marina scam?
But when feds were asked these questions, they refused to comment.
The U.S. Attorney's office also refuses to explain why it allowed John Thomas' three-year probation from his previous felony conviction to be terminated after only one year.
Is it just a coincidence that Thomas had his probation terminated two years early, which allowed him the opportunity to steal taxpayer money in the Riverdale Marina deal?
Why would the feds allow this?
One thing is for sure. If Thomas' sentence of probation was not prematurely terminated in 2011, his problems today would be exponentially greater.
To start, he would be facing much longer prison time.
Clearly there is more going on here than meets the eye....
Feds finally announce probation “deal” for Obama associate
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
We told you in September 2012 that Obama associate Daniel S. Mahru would receive a sentence of probation instead of jail time for his silence.
After delaying the inevitable for 18 months, the U.S. Department of Justice has proven IP2P right once again by sentencing Mahru to probation.
Like we said in 2012:
DoJ silences Obama associate Daniel S. Mahru with his freedom
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief, Illinois PayToPlay
Illinoispaytoplay.com (IP2P) has learned that Daniel S. Mahru, former business partner of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, made a deal with the Department of Justice (DoJ) for his silence.
IP2P is the first to report that on, October 4 2012, Daniel S. Mahru will receive probation at his sentencing hearing. IP2P has also learned that this is being done to insure Mahru will not speak of crimes, of which he has knowledge, that implicate Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Allison Davis, Tony Rezko and others. (Remember Tony recently saying he committed crimes for which Fitzgerald did not charge him.)
IP2P is also investigating the circumstances surrounding meetings that took place where Daniel T Frawley and Daniel S Mahru (both convicted felons) met with author Jerome Corsi in Chicago to discuss secret meetings between Barack Obama, Nadhmi Auchi, Tony Rezko, (now Governor) Pat Quinn, and others.
Mahru is unwilling to talk about what was discussed at those meetings. Could that have anything to do with his probation deal?
The DoJ and (now former) U.S Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald protected Eric Holder, Barack Obama and a host of other criminals that occupy high offices in our state and federal government.
Brenda J Elliot at rbo2.com recently posted an article suggesting how important Mahru’s silence is to the DoJ.
Where's that special prosecutor when you need him?
Developing…
The real question is why announce Mahru's probation now?
Well, because it's time to tie up all those loose ends.
So, the only announcement left that Eric Holder's Dept. of Justice needs to make is Rod Blagojevich will be released early from prison.
In other words, it's time to complete the "deal" that will insure Blago's continued silence.
It's the Chicago way.
And remember, the Chicago way is not just "who you know". It's also "what you know about who".
Blagojevich still has copy of wiretap transcripts
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
Robert Blagojevich proclaims to have returned all copies of wiretap tapes and transcripts provided to him by the feds in his and Rod's trial.
But he still has a copy.
That's because one set of Robert's transcripts were not provided by the feds. He made his wife, Julie, transcribe all the tapes. Or so he says.
"[She] never one time wavered in her belief in me and worked real hard in doing transcriptions of the tapes, when I could not bear to listen to them. She would sit there with the headphones on so I didn’t have to listen, and she would transcribe for hours and hours" Robert said.
When asked if all copies of Julie's transcripts were also given to the federal prosecutors, Robert refused to answer.
Of course they weren't.
Credit this slick move to Blago attorney Michael Ettinger. Nice try Michael, but no cigar!
Perhaps Julie Blagojevich will tell us about the recorded conversations of Rahm Emanuel and other power brokers that her husband made her transcribe?
How about it, Julie? What do ya say?
Blagojevich agreed to let Chicago Tribune reporters lie about the tapes
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
This may come as no surprise, but Rod Blagojevich's get-out-of-jail deal not only involves the federal prosecutors and his defense team, it also included the direct involvement of the Chicago Tribune.
That's because, as part of his deal to get out of prison, Rod Blagojevich agreed to let Chicago Tribune reporters John Chase and Jeff Coen lie to the public about the wiretap tapes that put him there.
Due to some excellent investigative reporting by Barbara Hollingsworth, who now writes for CNS News, we know that the feds gave Chase and Coen copies of court-sealed tapes and transcripts from the Blagojevich case.
Gee, why would the FEDS do that?
Simple. Chase and Coen were instructed to tell the public that they listened to all the sealed tapes and found nothing interesting on them.
We know differently because Blago was caught on tape talking to some of the top power brokers in the country, including Obama and his chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel.
So the real question you must ask is:
Why would Rod Blagojevich and his lawyers, who knew very well the explosive contents of the conversations caught on those tapes, allow Chase and Coen to lie about them?
Facing 14 years in federal prison, Blagojevich should have dragged Chase and Coen in front of Judge Zagel and made them tell the court who gave them tapes and transcripts that he had placed under seal. But Blago didn't.
The $64k question is why?
Blago's attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, has confirmed that there is and never was anything stopping Blago from telling the public what is on the tapes, which he insist to this day prove his innocence.
So why did Blago and his attorneys let Chase and Coen's public proclamation that the contents of the sealed tapes confirm his guilt go unchallenged?
And why is Blago pretending he wants the tapes to be unsealed when he is completely ignoring the fact that the Chicago Tribune claims to have copies?
More importantly, why are the feds insisting the tapes stay sealed nearly 2 years after they gave copies to the two Chicago Tribune reporters-who have refused to make them public?
What possible reason could Chase and Coen have not to release the transcripts?
The answer is that Chicago Tribune reporters John Chase and Jeff Coen are lying to the public, the feds put them up to it, and Blago agreed to go along with the deception as part of his get-out-of-jail deal.
The real reason the Blagojevich tapes won’t be unsealed
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
The real reason the Blagojevich tapes won't be unsealed is because it would expose the widespread corruption at the highest levels of our government.
Like we at IP2P have been telling you for a long time, Blago will be set free. In other words, he is successfully blackmailing his way out of prison!
Here's how it will work:
A three-judge panel hearing Blago's appeal has already taken the first step by announcing that the Blagojevich tapes would remain sealed.
Next, the same three-judge panel will find that Blago did not try to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. The court will say that Blago was just engaged in "political horse trading."
Blago's conviction for trying to sell the Senate seat will be overturned, and combined with a few other slick legal maneuvers, his sentence will be drastically reduced. Instead of spending 12 more years in federal prison, Blago will most likely be home for the holidays this year.
Time served! Which will make Dick Mell's daughter, Patti, very happy.
But more importantly for people like Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel, the court will have bought the silence of Rod and Patti Blagojevich.
As IP2P has been pointing out all along, the issue has never been whether or not the wiretap tapes would prove Blago's innocence. From the very beginning, the real issue for Blago has been leverage, and who else would go down with him if the tapes were played.
And that's why Blago never really wanted the tapes to be played. If they were, he would lose his leverage. It's that simple.
If not for the fact that Patrick Fitzgerald was protecting other guilty parties, Blago would have most certainly faced even more charges and most likely would have been found guilty of them as well.
Conclusion:
Playing the tapes would not prove Blago's innocence or get him out of prison. It would just get him company in there.
However, not playing the tapes ensures that those who would join Blago in prison if the tapes were played will do everything in their power to get him out of prison so the tapes won't be played.
And just as we expected, there was no objection to the tapes remaining under seal from Blago and his attorneys. Even though all we've heard for years from them was "Play the tapes, play all the tapes."
There's nothing complicated about it. This is BLACKMAIL 101.
And clearly Eric Holder and the DoJ is onboard.
Much more to come ..... including how John Chase and Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune are complicit in this corruption cover-up. And wait until you hear Blago attorney Sheldon Sorosky's incredible explanation of why Chase was never called to testify in the Blagojevich trial.
You won't believe what Shelly had to say!
Rod Blagojevich continues to insult the people of Illinois
Hugo Floriani, Investigative Reporter
Rod Blagojevich continues to insult the people of Illinois. He obviously thinks we are stupid.
That is the only way to explain Blago's ridiculous behavior when it comes to the subject of federal wiretap recordings in his case.
Here's the latest:
Rod Blagojevich's attorney's recently filed a motion objecting to prosecutors' request to have the tapes continue to remain under seal.
No kidding, Blago apparently thinks that the people of Illinois will believe the fairytale that he actually wants the tapes and transcript to be made public.
Rod, let me try to put this delicately for you.
In a pigs eye! We already know that there is not a snowball's chance in hell that you want those tapes in the public domain.
Because if you did, your lawyers would be filing motions to drag Chicago Tribune reporters John Chase and Jeff Coen into court to explain who gave them copies of tapes and transcripts that were under court seal.
And Rod, you and your attorneys sure as hell would not have just sat there silently as Chase and Coen told your potential jury pool that the contents of the "sealed tapes and transcripts" prove your guilt rather than your innocence.
Which is exactly what they did while touring Illinois promoting their book, Golden.
In addition, Blagojevich's attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, has admitted that there is nothing legally stopping the former governor from revealing to the public the full details of conversations that were captured on tape. But so far Blago has chosen not to do so.
However, we know for a fact that he has been using the tapes to blackmail his way out of prison.
We also know that Blago, the prosecutors, and an untold number of other miscreants want the tapes to remain sealed forever.
So Rod, contrary to what you think, we are not that stupid. Either drag Chase and Coen into court and start telling us what is on those tapes, or shut the hell up about them!
American Thinker’s credibility is dissipating quickly
Ernie Souchak, Editor-in-Chief
American Thinker's credibility is dissipating quickly.
You see, not disclosing conflicts of interest is turning out to be the norm at American Thinker.
For example: IP2P recently informed its readers of Clarice Feldman's close personal relationship with Richard Perle, whom she frequently goes on the attack for and staunchly defends. As in the case of her baseless attack on Sibel Edmonds.
Now IP2P has also learned that Feldman shares a close friendship with Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith. And as is the case with Perle, she has never disclosed her conflict of interest when attacking others on their behalf.
Nor has American Thinker editor Thomas Lifson required her to do so.
Keeping American Thinker's failure to disclose in mind, let me tell you some other disturbing facts that will have you asking this question: Who is really running the show over at American Thinker?
On September 20, 2012 American Thinker posted an article by Lee Cary entitled "Obama's Chicago Arab-American network comes into focus".
Cary's article states some unflattering facts about a man named Nadhmi Auchi, aka. Saddam Hussein's bag man.
Naturally Auchi did not appreciate this article and to no one's surprise he instructed his lawyers at the London law firm Carter-Ruck to send a letter threatening legal action if said article was not taken down.
Upon receiving Auchi's letter, Lifson took the article down momentarily to verify that it was completely factual. After determining that it was correct, Lifson promptly reposted Cary's article unchanged.
That's because Lee Cary's work was solid, and contributor John A. Shaw is as honest and credible a man as you will ever find.
Taking down that article would have given the public the perception that there was something wrong with the story. And that clearly would not be fair to either Cary or Shaw.
At that time IP2P, which was also named in the letter from Auchi's law firm, posted an article praising American Thinker for doing the right thing.
Due to many factors, including Auchi's inability to legally enter the United States, the letter from his lawyers was an idle threat. And that should have been the end of the story.
Unfortunately that happy ending was not to be.
What happened next was that someone on this side of the pond told Lifson to take the article down. And he did, a second time!
We can not tell you exactly who it was at the moment, we can tell that it was not Nadhmi Auchi or his people, according to Lifson.
Could it have been one of Clarice Feldman's close friends? Perhaps Wolfowitz, Perle or Feith?
In any case, if that wasn't bad enough, Lifson then had the audacity to think that IP2P would take the article down as well. And for some peculiar reason, he would not even tell us why.
Of course Lifson received a prompt, "Hell no!"
In fact, we at IP2P still feel that Thomas Lifson owes Cary and Shaw a formal apology for removing their article a second time from American Thinker without even giving them the courtesy of an explanation.
And more importantly, due to recent revelations about American Thinker's close ties to the Washington elite, Lifson needs to publicly address his publication's controversial policy of not disclosing conflicts of interest.
Read the article that Thomas Lifson took down twice here:
Obama's Chicago Arab-American network comes into focus
Related articles by John A. Shaw
REZKO, OBAMA, AND THE NADHMI AUCHI RAILROAD LINKING CHICAGO, WASHINGTON, AND BAGHDAD (Part 1 of 3)
REZKO, OBAMA, AND THE NADHMI AUCHI RAILROAD LINKING CHICAGO, WASHINGTON, AND BAGHDAD (Part 2 of 3)
REZKO, OBAMA, AND THE NADHMI AUCHI RAILROAD LINKING CHICAGO, WASHINGTON, AND BAGHDAD (Part 3 of 3)
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