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Posts Tagged ‘Matthew Boyle’

Karl Rove gave Grover Norquist $26 million in 2012

by Mojambo ( 112 Comments › )
Filed under Elections 2012, Politics, Republican Party at November 27th, 2013 - 6:45 pm

There is a reason why I refer to him as “pig vomit”. Grover Norquist is an Islamic agent and propagandist and a  wannabe “king-maker”.

by Matthew Boyle

Tax documents from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS show that Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is largely funded by Rove, ProPublica’s Kim Barker reports.

“Social welfare nonprofits, also known as dark money groups because they don’t have to report their donors, are allowed to spend money on politics as long as their primary purpose is social welfare,” Barker wrote on Monday. “The groups often count so-called issue ads that stop short of advocating for or against a candidate and grants toward that social welfare mission. Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision allowed corporations and unions to spend directly on election ads, these nonprofits have turned into the vehicle of choice for anonymous spending, dumping more than $254 million into the 2012 elections. Of the 150 or so social welfare nonprofits that reported spending to the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 election cycle, Crossroads was king, the biggest anonymous spender by far. Americans for Tax Reform came in fourth, with $15.8 million.”

On its 2012 tax return, Barker reported, the biggest grant Rove’s Crossroads GPS gave to anybody was a $26.4 million grant it gave to Norquist’s ATR for “social welfare.”

There are also questions about the legality of Rove’s and Norquist’s arrangement, Barker noted throughout her piece, questioning the use of the money for politicking.

“On its 2012 tax return, GOP strategist Karl Rove’s dark money behemoth Crossroads GPS justified its status as a tax-exempt social welfare group in part by citing its grants of $35 million to other similarly aligned nonprofits,” Barker wrote. […….]

But, Barker reports, “that is not what happened.”

Barker notes that the tax return documents, which were made public by Rove’s group last week, show that $11.2 million worth of the funding Rove’s group gave to Norquist’s ATR were spent on “political activities expressly advocating for or against candidates.” That means that $85.7 million of Rove’s group’s 2012 activities were political, instead of the $74.5 million it reported to the IRS.

Marcus Owens, the former head of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations division, told ProPublica that because of the way Norquist’s ATR operated with Rove’s Crossroads GPS’s money last year, Norquist is a “bad grantee.”

[…….]

ATR spokesman John Kartch and Rove spokesman Jonathan Collegio both declined to answer specific questions from ProPublica about the grant.

But Collegio did suggest to ProPublica, however, that perhaps the money Norquist’s group spent with Rove’s grant on politicking had been carried over from 2011. “Were resources carried over from 2011?” Collegio asked in an email to Barker.

“But after consulting with tax experts, ProPublica determined Americans for Tax Reform couldn’t have used resources from 2011 for the political spending,” Barker wrote in response to Collegio’s attempt to spin her on Rove’s behalf.

“That’s called bullshit with a serving of horseshit on the side,” Owens, the former IRS official, said in response as well.

Read the rest –  Documents: Karl Rove Gave Grover Norquist $26 Million in 2012

Egypt’s president demands the release of the “Blind Sheikh” from the first World Trade Center bombing

by Mojambo ( 125 Comments › )
Filed under Al Qaeda, Barack Obama, Egypt, Islamic Terrorism, Islamists, Jihad, Muslim Brotherhood at January 10th, 2013 - 7:00 am

The execrable president of Egypt, Mohammad Morsi will be visiting the White House soon (do not expect Obama to give  him “the Netanyahu treatment”) and he has made clear that as we approach the 20th anniversary of the first World Trade Center bombing (Feb. 28), he will demand the release of Sheik  Obmar Abdel Rahman aka “the blind Sheikh”.  I would not be surprised if Obama does so on “humanitarian grounds”.

by Matthew Boyle

The new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is urging President Barack Obama to stand strong against new demands from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Morsi is calling for the release of convicted terrorist Omar Abdul Rahman.

“I urge the Obama administration to stand firm against pleas from Egypt to free Omar Abdel Rahman,” Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the new chairman of the powerful House committee, said in a Tuesday statement. “Releasing a terrorist who plotted against the United States and has American blood on his hands would be seen as a sign of weakness throughout the Muslim extremist world and will only serve to embolden our enemies who continue to plot against us.”

[……]

Abdul Rahman, better known as the “Blind Sheikh,” is serving a life sentence in U.S. prison for his role in the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. In that attack, six people were killed and hundreds were injured after a truck bomb was set off in the building’s garage.

Throughout September, reports surfaced that the Obama administration may consider releasing the Blind Sheikh into Egyptian custody. House Republican leaders – including eight powerful committee chairs – stepped up to voice their opposition to a potential transfer.

That prompted Obama administration agencies – including the Justice Department, National Security Council and State Department – to deny reports that they were considering transferring the Blind Sheikh.

“The blind sheik is going to serve out his life sentence,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in September, for instance. “There are no discussions about transferring him.  [……]

Those public denials from the Obama administration haven’t stopped Egypt from lobbying for the Blind Sheikh’s release, and haven’t quelled worries from many in the national security community. Andrew C. McCarthy, the former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who’s perhaps best known for successfully prosecuting the Blind Sheikh, predicted in September that the plan was always to release the Blind Sheikh after the November presidential election whether Obama won or lost.

“I think the plan has been to agree to the Blind Sheikh’s release, but not to announce it or have it become public until after the election,” McCarthy said then. “That is consistent with Obama’s pattern of trying to mollify Islamists. […….].”

Now that the election is over, Morsi is publicly pushing Obama to release the Blind Sheikh. In an interview with CNN that aired Monday, the Egyptian leader said he’s planning a March 2013 trip to the United States during which he’ll pressure Obama on the issue.

“I want him to be free,” Morsi said of the Blind Sheikh, adding that he “respect[s] the law. And the rule of law in Egypt and the United States.”

Morsi said that if Obama won’t free the Blind Sheikh, he thinks the convicted terrorist should be granted visitation rights with his family.

“Is there a chance for him to be freed? I wish this,”  [……] “Egypt’s relationship with America deserves that these issues be reviewed, if that is okay according to the law.”

Read the rest – New Homeland Security Chair to Obama: Don’t Release the ‘Blind Sheikh