Tom Fitton: Difference between revisions
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Fitton has been President of Judicial Watch since August 1998. The group primarily seeks access to government records, filing [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) and other public records act lawsuits, engaging in other forms of civil litigation, and pursuing various other actions designed to generate public pressure on government agencies and public officials.<ref>[http://www.judicialwatch.org/about/ About Judicial Watch at its web site].</ref> |
Fitton has been President of Judicial Watch since August 1998. The group primarily seeks access to government records, filing [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) and other public records act lawsuits, engaging in other forms of civil litigation, and pursuing various other actions designed to generate public pressure on government agencies and public officials.<ref>[http://www.judicialwatch.org/about/ About Judicial Watch at its web site].</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Fitton |
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==Views== |
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| ⚫ | Fitton has |
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| ⚫ | In 2017, |
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==''The Corruption Chronicles''== |
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Fitton’s book, ''The Corruption Chronicles'', was published in 2012. According to the jacket cover, the book "exposes devastating secrets the Obama administration has desperately fought - even in court - to keep hidden."<ref>{{cite press release |author=Judicial Watch |title=Tom Fitton’s New Book THE CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: Obama’s Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government Debuts as No. 1 Best-Selling Nonfiction Hardcover Book in the US |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-president-tom-fittons-new-book-the-corruption-chronicles-obamas-big-secrecy-big-corruption-and-big-government-debuts-as-no-1-best-selling-nonfiction-hardcover-book/|location=Washington, DC |publisher=Judicial Watch |date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> |
Fitton’s book, ''The Corruption Chronicles'', was published in 2012. According to the jacket cover, the book "exposes devastating secrets the Obama administration has desperately fought - even in court - to keep hidden."<ref>{{cite press release |author=Judicial Watch |title=Tom Fitton’s New Book THE CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: Obama’s Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government Debuts as No. 1 Best-Selling Nonfiction Hardcover Book in the US |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-president-tom-fittons-new-book-the-corruption-chronicles-obamas-big-secrecy-big-corruption-and-big-government-debuts-as-no-1-best-selling-nonfiction-hardcover-book/|location=Washington, DC |publisher=Judicial Watch |date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> |
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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In 2006, [[Larry Klayman]], Judicial Watch's former Chairman, attempted to reclaim control of Judicial Watch by suing Fitton, the organization, and the organization's other officers and directors. Most of Klayman's claims, including all of the claims against Fitton and Judicial Watch's other officers and directors, were dismissed in 2009.<ref>''Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc.'', 628 F. Supp.2d 112, 118 (D.D.C. 2009).</ref> |
In 2006, [[Larry Klayman]], Judicial Watch's former Chairman, attempted to reclaim control of Judicial Watch by suing Fitton, the organization, and the organization's other officers and directors. Most of Klayman's claims, including all of the claims against Fitton and Judicial Watch's other officers and directors, were dismissed in 2009.<ref>''Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc.'', 628 F. Supp.2d 112, 118 (D.D.C. 2009).</ref> |
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In July 2013, Fitton was identified as a key member of [[Groundswell group|Groundswell]], a secretive coalition of right-wing activists and journalists attempting to make radical political change behind the scenes, whose members met in the offices of Judicial Watch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/07/25/breitbart-news-cited-for-colluding-with-conservative-coalition/|title=Breitbart News cited for ‘colluding’ with conservative coalition|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=2013-07-25|website=Washington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref><ref>http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas</ref> |
In July 2013, Fitton was identified as a key member of [[Groundswell group|Groundswell]], a secretive coalition of right-wing activists and journalists attempting to make radical political change behind the scenes, whose members met in the offices of Judicial Watch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/07/25/breitbart-news-cited-for-colluding-with-conservative-coalition/|title=Breitbart News cited for ‘colluding’ with conservative coalition|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=2013-07-25|website=Washington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref><ref>http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Fitton rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/22/climate-change-science-attacks-threats-trump|title=Climate scientists face harassment, threats and fears of 'McCarthyist attacks'|last=Milman|first=Oliver|date=2017-02-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-12-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He has said "There has been scandal after scandal involving climate data and we are skeptical of government agencies that won’t tell people what they are up to... I’m sure scientists are concerned that funding for dubious research will be cut, but the truth will win out in the end."<ref name=":0" /> Judicial Watch, which has claimed that climate science is "fraud science", has filed lawsuits seeking to force the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to release the correspondence of climate scientists who published a 2015 study in the journal ''Science''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16012017/climate-change-noaa-donald-trump-lamar-smith-global-warming-hiatus|title=Climate scientists battle attacks on their research from conservatives, brace for more under Trump|date=2017-02-06|work=InsideClimate News|access-date=2017-12-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/jul/07/climate-scientists-are-under-attack-from-frivolous-lawsuits|title=Climate scientists are under attack from frivolous lawsuits {{!}} Lauren Kurtz|last=Kurtz|first=Lauren|date=2016-07-07|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-12-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The study had debunked one of the common claims made by those who reject the [[Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus on climate change]], namely that there existed global warming "hiatus" between 1998-2012.<ref name=":5" /> The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF), American Meteorological Society and Union of Concerned Scientists condemned Judicial Watch, saying that the disclosure of private communications between scientists "would harm (or halt altogether) government scientists' ability to collaborate with colleagues, damage the government's ability to recruit or retain top scientists, and deter critically important research into politically charged fields like climate change".<ref name=":5" /> The Judicial Watch lawsuit was inspired by Rep. [[Lamar Smith]], who had accused the authors of the study of "alter[ing] data" to "get the politically correct results they want."<ref name=":5" /> |
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=== Support for Breitbart News === |
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Judicial Watch has for a number of years advertised on [[Breitbart News]], the alt-right website formerly run by Steve Bannon.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/06/08/breitbart-lost-90-percent-of-its-advertisers-in-two-months-whos-still-there/|title=Breitbart lost 90 percent of its advertisers in two months: Who’s still there?|last=Bhattarai|first=Abha|date=2017-06-08|work=Washington Post|access-date=2017-12-25|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Fitton said "Liberal activists want to destroy Breitbart, but we won’t be cowed".<ref name=":2" /> |
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=== Voter fraud === |
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| ⚫ | Fitton has made alarmist claims about [[Voter impersonation (United States)|voter fraud]], saying "We have all heard about voter fraud and the attempts by liberal media organs like the ''New York Times'' and Ivory Tower academics to dismiss it as a nonexistent problem. But is it real, widespread, and substantial to the point that it can decide elections."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/soon-released-book-judicial-watch-193056837.html|title=Soon-To-Be-Released Book by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton Warns of Massive Voter Fraud Danger in Current Presidential Election|access-date=2017-12-25|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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==== Russian interference in the 2016 election ==== |
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| ⚫ | In 2017, Judicial Watch helped to stoke Republican attacks against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-longer-a-lonely-battle-how-the-campaign-against-the-mueller-probe-has-taken-hold/2017/12/24/441fc726-e5cb-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html|title=No longer a ‘lonely battle’: How the campaign against the Mueller probe has taken hold|last=Kranish|first=Michael|date=2017-12-24|work=Washington Post|access-date=2018-03-19|last2=Barrett|first2=Devlin|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|last3=Demirjian|first3=Karoun}}</ref> Tom Fitton has called for the Special Counsel investigation to be shut down, arguing that prosecutors in the probe were too biased against President Trump to conduct a credible investigation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/republicans-hammer-mueller-fbi-as-russia-investigation-intensifies/2017/12/06/4a6097ca-dabb-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html|title=Republicans hammer Mueller, FBI as Russia investigation intensifies|last=Barrett|first=Devlin|date=2017-12-06|work=Washington Post|access-date=2018-03-19|last2=Sullivan|first2=Sean|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Fitton furthermore called for shutting down the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]] "because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/364868-conservative-watchdog-head-we-need-to-consider-shutting-down-the-fbi|title=Conservative watchdog head: Do we need to shut down the FBI?|last=Anapol|first=Avery|date=December 14, 2017|newspaper=The Hill|}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/us/politics/trump-blames-justice-department-and-fbi-for-conduct-he-says-was-a-disgrace.html|title=Trump Calls Justice Department and F.B.I. Conduct ‘a Disgrace’|last=Davis|first=Julie Hirschfeld|date=2018-02-02|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-03-19|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''Newsweek'' rated the claim "false", noting that "there is no comparison between the FBI and KGB."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-fbi-become-kgb-type-operation-under-obama-748144|title=We fact-checked a Fox News guest's claim that Obama turned the FBI into the KGB|date=2017-12-14|work=Newsweek|access-date=2017-12-17|language=en}}</ref> In an editorial for the ''Washington Post'', Paul Waldman described Fitton's comments as "the lunatic ravings of one extremist."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/12/14/lets-be-clear-on-what-republicans-are-really-saying-about-the-mueller-probe/|title=Opinion {{!}} Let's be clear on what Republicans are really saying about the Mueller probe|last=Waldman|first=Paul|date=2017-12-14|website=Washington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-19}}</ref> |
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==Works== |
==Works== |
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Revision as of 19:27, 26 March 2018
Tom Fitton | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Tom Fitton at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference. | |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | George Washington University |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Organization | Judicial Watch |
Thomas J. Fitton is an American conservative activist. He is the President of Judicial Watch, a conservative educational foundation.[1] He has worked for America's Voice and National Empowerment Television, the International Policy Forum, the Leadership Institute, and Accuracy in Media. He has been a talk radio and television host.[2]
Fitton was born in Nyack, New York. He has a bachelors degree in English from George Washington University.[3] Fitton's father was a manager at a supermarket and his mother was a nurse.[4]
Judicial Watch
Fitton has been President of Judicial Watch since August 1998. The group primarily seeks access to government records, filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other public records act lawsuits, engaging in other forms of civil litigation, and pursuing various other actions designed to generate public pressure on government agencies and public officials.[5]
Fitton’s book, The Corruption Chronicles, was published in 2012. According to the jacket cover, the book "exposes devastating secrets the Obama administration has desperately fought - even in court - to keep hidden."[6]
Awards
Fitton received the American Conservative Union's Defender of the Constitution Award' during its annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2015.[7]
Controversy
In 2006, Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch's former Chairman, attempted to reclaim control of Judicial Watch by suing Fitton, the organization, and the organization's other officers and directors. Most of Klayman's claims, including all of the claims against Fitton and Judicial Watch's other officers and directors, were dismissed in 2009.[8]
In July 2013, Fitton gained widespread attention for Judicial Watch in conservative media after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, when Fitton appeared in numerous interviews to claim that the Obama administration's Department of Justice had sent representatives to Sanford in the wake of Martin’s death "to help organize and manage rallies and protests against George Zimmerman." PolitiFact rated Fitton's claim "mostly false."[9]
In July 2013, Fitton was identified as a key member of Groundswell, a secretive coalition of right-wing activists and journalists attempting to make radical political change behind the scenes, whose members met in the offices of Judicial Watch.[10][11]
Climate change
Fitton rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.[12] He has said "There has been scandal after scandal involving climate data and we are skeptical of government agencies that won’t tell people what they are up to... I’m sure scientists are concerned that funding for dubious research will be cut, but the truth will win out in the end."[12] Judicial Watch, which has claimed that climate science is "fraud science", has filed lawsuits seeking to force the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to release the correspondence of climate scientists who published a 2015 study in the journal Science.[13][14] The study had debunked one of the common claims made by those who reject the scientific consensus on climate change, namely that there existed global warming "hiatus" between 1998-2012.[13] The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF), American Meteorological Society and Union of Concerned Scientists condemned Judicial Watch, saying that the disclosure of private communications between scientists "would harm (or halt altogether) government scientists' ability to collaborate with colleagues, damage the government's ability to recruit or retain top scientists, and deter critically important research into politically charged fields like climate change".[13] The Judicial Watch lawsuit was inspired by Rep. Lamar Smith, who had accused the authors of the study of "alter[ing] data" to "get the politically correct results they want."[13]
Support for Breitbart News
Judicial Watch has for a number of years advertised on Breitbart News, the alt-right website formerly run by Steve Bannon.[15] Fitton said "Liberal activists want to destroy Breitbart, but we won’t be cowed".[15]
Voter fraud
Fitton has made alarmist claims about voter fraud, saying "We have all heard about voter fraud and the attempts by liberal media organs like the New York Times and Ivory Tower academics to dismiss it as a nonexistent problem. But is it real, widespread, and substantial to the point that it can decide elections."[16]
Russian interference in the 2016 election
In 2017, Judicial Watch helped to stoke Republican attacks against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.[17] Tom Fitton has called for the Special Counsel investigation to be shut down, arguing that prosecutors in the probe were too biased against President Trump to conduct a credible investigation.[18] Fitton furthermore called for shutting down the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration."[19][20] Newsweek rated the claim "false", noting that "there is no comparison between the FBI and KGB."[21] In an editorial for the Washington Post, Paul Waldman described Fitton's comments as "the lunatic ravings of one extremist."[22]
Works
- Fitton, Tom (2014). The Corruption Chronicles: Obama's Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government. New York: Threshold Editions. ISBN 978-1-4767-6705-5.
- Fitton, Tom Clean House: Exposing Our Government's Secrets and Lies (New York: Threshold Editions, 2016). ISBN 978-1-5011-3704-4
References
- ^ Lepro, Sara (15 May 2009). "First nine banks were forced to take bailouts". Boston.com. Associated Press; The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
...Judicial Watch, a nonpartisan educational foundation...
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Tom Fitton biography at Judicial Watch web site.
- ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/3729634-thomas-fitton
- ^ Neil NcCabe Washington Examiner
- ^ About Judicial Watch at its web site.
- ^ Judicial Watch (August 2, 2012). "Tom Fitton's New Book THE CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: Obama's Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government Debuts as No. 1 Best-Selling Nonfiction Hardcover Book in the US" (Press release). Washington, DC: Judicial Watch.
- ^ Ross Hemminger (February 28, 2015). "Tom Fitton Presented with the Defender of the Constitution Award" (Press release). National Harbor, MD: American Conservative Union.
- ^ Klayman v. Judicial Watch, Inc., 628 F. Supp.2d 112, 118 (D.D.C. 2009).
- ^ http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/jul/12/judicial-watch/judicial-watch-says-department-justice-unit-organi/
- ^ Wemple, Erik (2013-07-25). "Breitbart News cited for 'colluding' with conservative coalition". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
- ^ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas
- ^ a b Milman, Oliver (2017-02-22). "Climate scientists face harassment, threats and fears of 'McCarthyist attacks'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- ^ a b c d "Climate scientists battle attacks on their research from conservatives, brace for more under Trump". InsideClimate News. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- ^ Kurtz, Lauren (2016-07-07). "Climate scientists are under attack from frivolous lawsuits | Lauren Kurtz". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- ^ a b Bhattarai, Abha (2017-06-08). "Breitbart lost 90 percent of its advertisers in two months: Who's still there?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- ^ "Soon-To-Be-Released Book by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton Warns of Massive Voter Fraud Danger in Current Presidential Election". Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- ^ Kranish, Michael; Barrett, Devlin; Demirjian, Karoun (2017-12-24). "No longer a 'lonely battle': How the campaign against the Mueller probe has taken hold". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ Barrett, Devlin; Sullivan, Sean (2017-12-06). "Republicans hammer Mueller, FBI as Russia investigation intensifies". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ Anapol, Avery (December 14, 2017). "Conservative watchdog head: Do we need to shut down the FBI?". The Hill.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (2018-02-02). "Trump Calls Justice Department and F.B.I. Conduct 'a Disgrace'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ "We fact-checked a Fox News guest's claim that Obama turned the FBI into the KGB". Newsweek. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
- ^ Waldman, Paul (2017-12-14). "Opinion | Let's be clear on what Republicans are really saying about the Mueller probe". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-19.