Tuesday August 8, 2000; 12:10 AM EDT
Traficant Drops Treason Bombshell on Reno
Ohio Democratic congressman James Traficant accused Attorney
General Janet Reno of treason Monday night, saying he has
evidence that she was blackmailed not to appoint an independent
counsel to investigate the Clinton-Gore administration on
Chinagate charges.
Appearing on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes," the Ohio
Democrat announced that he has five affidavits from individuals
who charge that Reno was repeatedly arrested for drunk driving
in Florida during the 1980s, had sex with a lesbian call girl
and got her job as Miami's state attorney through mob
connections.
Traficant, who predicted last month that Reno was about to
indict him on corruption charges, suggested that Reno's
encounter with the call girl had been captured on videotape.
Critics of Traficant say the Congressman's comments on Reno are
motivated by the fact he is the subject of an FBI/Justice Dept.
probe of having received possible kickbacks.
Supporters of Traficant say that the Congressman has been
targeted by the Clinton White House and the FBI because of his
criticism of federal handling of controversies such as the Vince
Foster death, TWA 800 and Waco.
The maverick congressman and frequent Clinton administration
critic said the FBI learned about some of the damaging evidence
on Reno during a 1993 background check prior to her appointment
to attorney general. But he said he did not know whether the
material was turned over to the Senate during her confirmation
hearing.
TRAFICANT: I have received several affidavits, and here's what
these affidavits allege. I have done some cursory investigation
and will follow up further myself on a limited budget. What I
received was that Janet Reno was first appointed to Dade County
state attorney, they call them state attorneys there, as a favor
and a thank-you to the mob.
Number two, she's a lesbian. And I really don't care about
anybody's sexual preference ...
COLMES: Well, what are you saying that for ...
TRAFICANT: Hear me, hear me. This is an affidavit. This is an
affidavit I'm speaking to and I want you to listen to me. 'Cause
I don't really care about anybody's sexual preference.
COLMES: Then why bring it up?
TRAFICANT: Because it's in the affidavit, and listen to the
salient points, Alan. I'm not talking about Democrat and
Republican. And I want you to set Democrat aside tonight and set
Republican aside tonight.
Janet Reno had a relationship with a call girl who was
associated with organized crime figures. And they have
videotapes of this woman. Now hear me. Also you had five police
officers stop Janet Reno for substance abuse, namely DUI - under
the influence - willing to testify, never testified.
Now, here's the point I'm making. Listen very carefully. I will
be submitting FOIA requests. Because I believe Janet Reno in her
failure to appoint an independent counsel, specifically on the
threatening issue, the national security issue, China - she did
so because of her blackmailability.
I want to know why, and how long it took for the FBI to
investigate, if they gave this information to the Senate, if the
Senate knew about compromises they had from outside the
government. They knew about her past history of alcoholism, her
association with call girls. And they did interview several of
the affiants that have in fact given me these affidavits. Now
hold on.
HANNITY: Hey, Congressman, well hold on one second. Let me ask a
couple ... Let's clarify. You have just declared war tonight on
Janet Reno.
TRAFICANT: Yes, I have.
HANNITY: You made some very severe allegations. You say you have
affidavits. Who are these affidavits from?
TRAFICANT: These affiants wish to remain anonymous, but they
will testify in an open court or a congressional hearing of
appropriate nature.
HANNITY: You are saying she is associated, and that people will
testify with evidence, that she was connected to the mob?
TRAFICANT: Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. And because of
the fact - and I'm looking into this - I'm not throwing any
darts at the president at this point or anybody. I want to know
if the president got that information. I want to know the
timespan from when the FBI went down and interviewed these
affiants on these particular allegations, and how long it took
for her to be confirmed.
Janet Reno was one of the exceptions. They waved that 72-hour
period from the hearing to the confirmation. And in a lovefest
she became the attorney general, and I'm accusing the attorney
general of treason right here.
Friday August 11, 2000, 10:20 PM EDT
Gore Threats Force Sanchez to Move Playboy Fund
Raiser
After three days of intensifying pressure from senior Gore
campaign officials, California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez has
agreed to seek a new location for a Tuesday night fund raiser
that had been planned for Hugh Hefner's Los Angeles Playboy
Mansion.
Sanchez annouced the move in a statement to reporters late
Friday:
"Our decision is that we will be moving the Hispanic Unity USA
party. We will be moving it to a different location. We will be
having it on Tuesday night. This in no way reflects anything
other than appreciation to the Hefners and to Playboy
Enterprises.
"As I said, sometimes there is discord and disagreement. And I
respect that with some of my party leaders. But I do want you to
know that sponsors and donors and in particular the Hefners are
with us in this move."
Despite past donations from Playboy to Democratic Party coffers
that numbered in the tens of thousands of dollars, the Gore
campaign threatened to cancel Rep. Sanchez's speaking slot at
next week's Democratic convention and fire her as vice chairman
of the Democratic National Committee unless she changed the fund
raiser's venue.
At one point DNC officials even warned they would withhold
campaign money for her re-election effort.
After Sanchez made it clear she was ready to back down, party
officials reinstated her invitation to address the convention.
Pressure on Sanchez became particulary intense after Gore picked
senatorial moralizer Joe Lieberman as his running mate, an
apparent bid to remove the stain of the vice president's
eight-year association with the disgraced President Clinton.
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With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...
Saturday August 12, 2000; 10:35 AM EDT
'Jews for Morality' Web Site Shut Down After
Lieberman Critique
Hours after telling NewsMax.com that Gore vice presidential pick
Joe Lieberman doesn't live up to the standards set by his
Orthodox Jewish faith, Rabbi Yehuda Levin found that his "Jews
for Morality" Web site had been shut down by hackers.
"It seems like Lieberman supporters don't believe in freedom of
speech on the Internet when it comes to people in the Orthodox
Jewish community dissenting from his Orthodoxy," Levin told
NewsMax.com on Friday.
Before the hackers struck Wednesday, Levin had complained about
Lieberman's moral hypocrisy.
"It's very ironic that the liberal media is spinning Joe
Lieberman as 'Mr. Morality' because he has made a few nice sound
bites," said the Brooklyn rabbi. "But the question is, where's
the kosher beef when it comes to morality?"
Levin repeated his arguments to San Francisco talk host Michael
Savage and on Bob Grant's nationally syndicated radio program.
In his comments to NewsMax.com, he zeroed in on the vice
presidential hopeful's pro-abortion stance, which includes
support for the gruesome procedure known as partial-birth
abortion.
"There's no way in the world that any Orthodox Jew could
possibly support something so horrific," said Levin, noting that
even Orthodox children know that abortion is "akin to murder."
The Jews for Morality founder suggested that the hacker attack
may be connected to complaints earlier this week about
religion-based smears against the Connecticut senator on other
Web sites.
"I think this is especially interesting in light of the fact
that Mr. Lieberman was crying foul and had Yahoo! shut down some
anti-Semitic sites shortly after it was announced that he was
chosen as vice presidential nominee."
Levin says the attempt to drive him from the Internet is no
trifling matter and urged the candidate to address the issue
personally.
"I'm trying to get Senator Lieberman to issue an official
statement disassociating himself from any kind of censorship of
Orthodox Jews or others who are dissenting from Joe Lieberman
based on his record of Orthodoxy - or frankly for any other
reason," he told NewsMax.com.
Read the NewsMax.com interview with Rabbi Levin that preceded
the hacker attack on his "Jews for Morality" Web site: Lieberman
Void of Moral 'Kosher Beef,' Says Rabbi.
Friday August 11 12:56 AM EST
Klayman Deplores INS Elian Awards
This past Wednesday Doris Meissner, head of the Clinton-Gore
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), outrageously
announced that she would give awards to the agents who gassed
and beat innocent bystanders in Little Havana during the illegal
raid of the family home and neighborhood of Elian Gonzalez's
Miami family.
According to Judicial Watch, Meissner's announcement is
undoubtedly calculated to try to influence court proceedings
filed against her by Judicial Watch, Attorney General Janet
Reno, and Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder for over $100
million in damages for violation of the constitutional rights of
Cuban Americans and others during the Elian Gonzalez saga.
Judicial Watch chief Larry Klayman reports that Meissner worked
with the Clinton-Gore White House to illegally approve
citizenship applications to obtain Democratic votes in the 1996
elections.
Klayman says Meissner is "the most lawless head of the INS in
American history."
"To allow these individuals to sanction awards for agents who
have violated the constitutional rights of American citizens
constitutes an outrage," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and
General Counsel Larry Klayman.
"Ms. Meissner, Ms. Reno, and Mr. Holder will get 'awards' and so
will their agents, but they will be large damage awards to set
an example that this type of totalitarian conduct will never
again be permitted in our democratic nation," stated Judicial
Watch President Tom Fitton.
Judicial Watch will be filing complaints against Ms. Meissner,
Ms. Reno, Mr. Holder, and the INS agents with appropriate
authorities for the misuse of taxpayer resources to reward INS
agents who should, frankly, be incarcerated, not congratulated
with government trophies.
Friday August 11, 2000; 9:35 AM EDT
Conservative Truth Squad to Bankroll Hillary
Scandal Ads
Concerned that the mainstream press has kept New York voters in
the dark about Senate candidate Hillary Clinton's central role
in eight years of White House scandals, a group of prominent
conservatives plans to launch a get-the-truth-out ad blitz in
the final months of the campaign.
The "Emergency Committee to Stop Hillary Rodham Clinton" seeks
to raise $9 million to bankroll a series of 15 TV ads that will
"show voters in New York State the real Hillary Clinton,"
according to the group's first fund-raising letter, obtained by
Newsday on Friday.
Mrs. Clinton is "a key figure in: the Chinagate scandal, the FBI
'filegate' scandal, the 'cattlegate' bribery scandal, the
'travelgate' scandal (and) the Whitewater fraud that cost
taxpayers $69 million," the "Stop Hillary" the letter goes on to
explain.
Committee founders include former Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger,
former attorney general Ed Meese, presidential candidate Alan
Keyes and former congressman "B-1" Bob Dornan, according to the
group's letterhead.
To date, Mrs. Clinton's Senate opponent, congressman Rick Lazio,
has avoided raising her role in the first couple's scandals,
despite polls showing that the issue resonates with New York
voters.
In June a Marist College survey revealed that those who dislike
Mrs. Clinton cite her lack of honesty and integrity as their No.
1 concern. Close behind were complaints about how she's handled
her marriage, a thinly veiled reference to the first lady's
apparent tolerance of her husband's predatory behavior, which
includes everything from oral sex with underlings in the Oval
Office to allegations of rape.
When contacted about the "Stop Hillary" ad campaign Thursday,
Lazio spokesman Dan McLagan told Newsday, "I've never heard of
the group, and they've done nothing in the race."
In its fund-raising letter, the group said it was not connected
to the Suffolk County Republican in any way, a posture that
would allow the committee to be "much tougher with our ads and
'voter communications' programs than the Lazio campaign."
The "Emergency Committee to Stop Hillary" also plans to launch a
newspaper ad blitz and mount a phone bank operation to inform
voters one-on-one.
Friday Aug. 11, 2000 4:12PM EST
Sears Dumps Dr. Laura
With less than a month until the debut of her new Paramount
television series, Dr. Laura Schlessinger is defending herself
against a backlash of criticism and activism stemming from
remarks made on her controversial radio talk show.
Schlessinger, who has become a favorite target of advocacy
groups including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
organization, has watched as a steady stream of advertisers have
methodically pulled backing for her nationally syndicated show.
Sears is just the latest to pull advertising from the show,
joining a list of other companies including Xerox, Toys ‘R’ Us,
Skytel, Kraft and AT&T. This has prompted Schlessinger to reach
out to her radio audience by posting a statement on her Web site
insisting that her listeners support the many sponsors who have
remained supportive and loyal to the show.
Many of the activists have refocused their attention on the
upcoming television series scheduled to debut next month. But so
far the reaction has been minimal. Procter & Gamble is one of
the few to pull its advertising for the series. Paramount, the
show’s producer, is boasting excellent upfront sales, according
to the industry magazine, Broadcasting & Cable. "Dr. Laura" is
set to air in 97 percent of the U.S. beginning Sept. 11.
Industry insiders are hesitant to say whether or not they think
the recent departure of advertisers from her radio show will
ultimately hurt her upcoming series. One syndication insider
talking to Broadcasting & Cable said, "The studio is nervous;
they have to be. ... They knew she’d be controversial." But
Paramount seems to be taking this all in stride. It may just be
the controversy swirling around her that will have millions
tuning in to watch.