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Laura Chapman Explains TFA’s Political Action Group

By dianeravitch
November 15, 2016 //
9

When most people hear about Teach for America, they think of an organization that recruits bright young college students, gives them five weeks of training, then collects big bucks from school districts that hire the kids for a two-year gig.

What is not well known is that TFA has a political operation that trains its loyal recruits to get involved in elections, to run for local and state school boards or legislative seats or even higher office.

With its free-market orientation, TFA has become a major political player on the right, especially on education issues, where they advance school choice and undermine teacher professionalism and unions. Their goal is to capture political power for the privatization agenda.

Laura Chapman here presents her review of TFA’s political action arm, Leadership for Educational Excellence:

“Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) was founded in 2007 as a 501(c)4 spin-off of Teach for America. It offers coaching for Teach for America alumni or staff, and networking for TFA alumni who are interested in elected office and other leadership positions. Candidates for elected office receive support up to the legal limits for in-kind contributions, at no charge to the candidate. LEE offers political and policy fellowships for current and former TFA alums.

“LEE Foundation provides grants to conduct LEE educational events, sponsor internships and fellowships. It also commissions white papers and toolkits to guide dialogue with the general public and others in the education and policy arenas.

“On January 12, 2016, Marketwired reported that Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), has a new program and “the first cohort of nine “Venture Fellows” who will push for expanded school choice, described as an effort by entrepreneurs to “end educational inequity.” Here are some briefs on the winners.

“Milagros Barsallo, and Veronica Palmer, RISE Colorado. The RISE website is a case study in non-disclosure of any activities other than fundraising and organizing “families” to lobby for choice in schools.

“Nicole Baker Fulgham, The Expectations Project, Nicole is also an Aspen Institute Education Fellow and Mind Trust Education Entrepreneur Fellow who regularly speaks at faith-based and education conferences. Christianity Today Magazine named her one of the 50 Women Leaders Influencing the Church and Culture (2012. The New Schools Venture Fund named her the Entrepreneur to Watch (2014).

“The Expectations Project website is under construction but it says: “There are more than 300,000 places of worship across America compared with roughly 50,000 high-poverty public schools, struggling to meet student needs — a ratio of 6 to 1. “Imagine what might be possible if just a handful of people in each of these congregations took it on themselves to ensure the students in these schools had faithful advocates looking out for their best interests. We believe that the academic achievement gap in U.S. public education can be closed in our lifetimes, but only if people of faith open their hearts, roll up their sleeves, and get to work on behalf of students.”

“The Expectations Project website has a whisper link to WeWork Wonder Bread Factory, a co-working space in Washington DC. That link took me directly to a report titled: ”DR. JEFFRY WOODS ON THE RECENT INDY TEP CLERGY ROUNDTABLE” (June 2016). Dr. Jeffry Woods is described as “the Indianapolis Regional Director for The Expectations Project” a faith based organization that addresses inequities in public schools. Participants in the roundtable included: Mr. Jay Geshay – The Vice President of the United Way, Dr. David Hampton – Senior Pastor of Light of the World Christian Church (who also serves as the Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis), Pastor Richard A. Reynolds – Senior Pastor of New Revelation, and Mr. Earl Martin Phalen – Founder of Summer Advantage and Phalen Leadership Academies in Indianapolis. Mind Trust is major promoter of Teach for America and charter schools. http://www.expectations.org/interviews/dr-jeffry-woods-on-the-recent-indy-tep-clergy-roundtable/

“Claire Blumenson, School Justice Project. Based in Washington DC provides legal counsel to and serves as an advocate for students ages 17-22 with special education needs who are involved in the DC justice system.

“Eric Leslie, Union Capital Boston. 
A mobile-based loyalty program for low-income families that provides social and financial service rewards (money, access to services) in exchange for their community involvement in schools, health centers, and civic programs.

“Frank McMillan, Lead organizer of New Jersey Together, a multi-faith coalition in northern New Jersey and an affiliate of The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). IAF is the nation’s oldest and largest multi-faith organizing network dealing with issues in urban centers, including education, http://metro-iaf.org/issuesvictories/74

“Richard Pelayo, and Jessica Stewart GO Public Schools. Based in Oakland but recruiting other districts in California to support private governance of schools—policy, practice, and culture—claiming to “promote excellence and equity for our students and families.”

“Amber Welsh, for Austin Kids First Action, a PAC that receives funds to position preferred charter-friendly candidates on the local school board.

“The challenges we face in education are as complex and diverse as our communities,” said LEE Executive Director Michael Buman. “The idea isn’t to find a single solution, but rather to assist LEE members in forging alliances and identifying community-driven solutions.”

“LEE fellows participate in an eleven-month boot camp suitable for executive directors, with intensive coaching, site visits, peer-to-peer networking, and other supports. The boot camp ends with an event where fellows seek capital by presenting their ventures to potential investors and partners.

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/education-entrepreneurs-selected-for-inaugural-venture-fund-fellowship-2087500.htm

“Here are excerpts about the board members of LEE from the website https://educationalequity.org

“Mike Buman is the executive director of Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE). He was a partner in the New York office of the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

“Elisa Villanueva Beard became the sole chief executive officer of Teach For America in 2015, after serving as the co-CEO alongside Matthew Kramer for two years. Prior to her role as CEO, she led Teach For America’s field operations as the chief operating officer.

“Steuart Walton is one of the heirs to the Walton family fortune from Walmart. He is CEO of Game Composites, Ltd. He has worked for Walmart’s international division in the mergers and acquisitions group and serves on the board of the Walton Family Foundation.

“The following serve on both the Board of Directors of LEE and the LEE Foundation.

“Emma Bloomberg. The oldest daughter of New York City’s billionaire ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg. Emma was most recently chief of staff at the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit that funds programs in the five boroughs of New York City.

“Arthur Rock. Principal of Arthur Rock & Co. a venture capital firm. He is also on the board of Teach For America and Children’s Scholarship Fund and an active funder of KIPP.

“Michael Park. A partner in McKinsey & Company’s New York office and leads the firm’s Strategy and Corporate Finance Practice for the U.S. Northeast. He helps lead McKinsey’s pro-bono work with Teach For America.

“LEE is the source of well-funded and sophisticated faux “grassroots” movements led by carefully trained entrepeneurs who intend to make public education into a private enterprise.”

Categories Politics, Privatization, Teach for America TFA, Unions

Could Bernie Have Beaten Trump? Was He Cheated by the DNC? Kurt Eichenwald Says No

By dianeravitch
November 14, 2016 //
179

Kurt Eichenwald of Newsweek covered the Presidential campaign for Newsweek. He wrote some powerful stories about Donald Trump’s international empire and how difficult it would be for Trump to separate his business from decisions he might make as President. Now that the election is over, Eichenwald explores two views that he finds to be common among Sanders supporters: First, that Sanders was cheated by the Democratic National Committee, which “rigged” the process for Hillary. Second, that Sanders would have beaten Trump. Eichenwald says he actually read the Republican opposition research on Sanders, and he cites some of it.

I post this with some trepidation because I don’t want to see readers get entangled in angry arguments about Bernie and Hillary. The election is over.

But I decided to take my chances because I like to share with you what I find interesting.

So, please, comment if you wish, but be civil, don’t insult anyone else. And let’s think together.

Categories Politics

Good News from New Mexico!

By dianeravitch
November 14, 2016 //
9

A reader sent the following good news:

I would like to share some public education wins in New Mexico. There were twenty-two educators running for the NM State Legislature, fourteen were educators from AFT NM and eight from NEA NM. Unfortunately, not all of the twenty-two educators won their races. The good news is that nine of the AFT NM educators did win their seats and three of the NEA NM educators won their seats. We now have twelve educators in the NM State Legislature fighting for public education and labor along with other non-educators who are champions of both public education and labor.

Twelve of the 22 educators who ran for the state legislature won! Now, that is great news! The legislature will hear their voices when they make decisions about the schools.

Categories New Mexico, Politics, Teachers

Jeff Bryant: Education Victories We Can Celebrate

By dianeravitch
November 14, 2016 //
10

Jeff Bryant, a wise observer of politics and education, offers solace at a time when supporters of public education fear the ascendancy of a Republican President and Congress devoted to privatization of schools.

He reviews the electoral victories for public schools.

Chief among them, of course, were the overwhelming defeat of charter school measures in Massachusetts and Georgia.

Another victory occurred in Washington State, where Bill Gates spent $500,000 into an effort to unseat Supreme Court justices who ruled that charter schools are not public schools. The Justice who wrote that decision, Barbara Madsen, was re-elected with 64% of the vote. Two other incumbents were re-elected.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock, a strong supporter of public schools, was re-elected, running against an advocate of school choice.

California voters passed measures to assure school funding.

One other piece of good news–and these days, any piece of good news is welcome–is that Maine voters narrowly agreed to raise taxes by 3% on upper-income taxpayers, to increase education funding.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reform, Democracy, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Politics, Supporting public schools

Garrison Keillor Reflects on the Presidential Election–And His Teachers

By dianeravitch
November 10, 2016 //
39

Garrison Keillor wrote about his reactions to the election. As always, what he has to say is insightful, poignant, and funny.

Here is a soupçon:

“So he won. The nation takes a deep breath. Raw ego and proud illiteracy have won out and a severely learning-disabled man with a real character problem will be president. We are so exhausted from thinking about this election, millions of people will take up leaf-raking and garage cleaning with intense pleasure. We liberal elitists are wrecks. The Trumpers had a whale of a good time, waving their signs, jeering at the media, beating up protesters, chanting “Lock her up” — we elitists just stood and clapped. Nobody chanted “Stronger Together.” It just doesn’t chant.

“The Trumpers never expected their guy to actually win the thing, and that’s their problem now. They only wanted to whoop and yell, boo at the H-word, wear profane T-shirts, maybe grab a crotch or two, jump in the RV with a couple six-packs and go out and shoot some spotted owls. It was pleasure enough for them just to know that they were driving us wild with dismay — by “us,” I mean librarians, children’s authors, yoga practitioners, Unitarians, birdwatchers, people who make their own pasta, opera goers, the grammar police, people who keep books on their shelves, that bunch. The Trumpers exulted in knowing we were tearing our hair out. They had our number, like a bratty kid who knows exactly how to make you grit your teeth and froth at the mouth.

“Alas for the Trump voters, the disasters he will bring on this country will fall more heavily on them than anyone else. The uneducated white males who elected him are the vulnerable ones and they will not like what happens next….

“We liberal elitists are now completely in the clear. The government is in Republican hands. Let them deal with him. Democrats can spend four years raising heirloom tomatoes, meditating, reading Jane Austen, traveling around the country, tasting artisan beers, and let the Republicans build the wall and carry on the trade war with China and deport the undocumented and deal with opioids and we Democrats can go for a long brisk walk and smell the roses….

“Back to real life. I went up to my hometown the other day and ran into my gym teacher, Stan Nelson, looking good at 96. He commanded a landing craft at Normandy on June 6, 1944, and never said a word about it back then, just made us do chin-ups whether we wanted to or not. I saw my biology teacher Lyle Bradley, a Marine pilot in the Korean War, still going birdwatching in his 90s. I was not a good student then, but I am studying both of them now. They have seen it all and are still optimistic. The past year of politics has taught us absolutely nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nada. The future is scary. Let the uneducated have their day. I am now going to pay more attention to teachers.”

Categories Humor, Politics

Ruth Conniff of “The Progressive” on the Election

By dianeravitch
November 10, 2016 //
38

Ruth Conniff of “The Progressive” analyzes the election from the perspective of progressivism.

 

 

What Does Trump’s Victory Mean for Progressives?pro2

It was a stunning election night. After an exhausting eighteen-month campaign and a vote count that went into the wee hours, we learned that the next President of the United States will be a rightwing authoritarian populist whose explicit racism prompted KKK leader David Duke to tweet, triumphantly:

pro3

Two terms of the nation’s first African-American President, a broad expansion of health care, the rescue of the auto industry, and an infusion of federal infrastructure spending that staved off a Great Depression, end like this. Black people, Latinos, Muslims, and immigrants cannot help but feel the blow the hardest.

The explicit misogyny and gleeful boasting about abusing women by Trump, which appeared to drive a surge for Hillary Clinton’s historic candidacy as the first woman major party nominee, ended with a definitive victory for the benighted macho aggressor.

There will be plenty to chew on over the next days and months for progressives.

There is, of course, what might have been: Had Bernie Sanders been the nominee, would the outcome have been different? Had Sanders lost to Trump (which he might have done), the mainstream pundits would have been unified in smug disdain for his outsider candidacy—as they were from the beginning.

But the establishment candidate lost instead.

Will Democrats and their friends and allies question their belief that the political professionals are best suited to decide who runs?

Voter turnout numbers suggest that the optimism and energy that drove Bernie Sanders’s primary campaign was not fully transferable to his Democratic rival. Little wonder. Sanders captured many of the same frustrations Trump voters expressed. As Trump put it in his victory speech, “The forgotten men and women of this country will be forgotten no longer.”

The difference, of course, is that while Sanders offered a vision of economic and racial justice, universal health care, free college, and taxes on the obscene wealth of the top 1 percent to pay for a more equal society, Trump offered immigrant-bashing, tax cuts for the wealthy, and a restoration of white, male supremacy. The only area of overlap was on changing U.S. trade policy—and there the details are fuzzy.

Democrats and progressives must grapple with the deep sense of alienation that drove both the Sanders and Trump campaigns. A status-quo, insider candidate who is close to both the Washington establishment and Wall Street was never going to be a credible vehicle for populist concerns.

It will be tempting for Democrats to make fun of Trump, and of the people who support him. Cultural disdain for “white trash” voters helped feed those voters’ sense of alienation. Democrats have to offer more comfort to the afflicted and affliction to the comfortable if they hope to build a real and effective opposition.

Then there are the agonizing details.

FBI Director James Comey played a unique role with his announcement to Congress that the FBI was again examining Hillary Clinton’s emails in the last few days of the campaign—only to announce, two days before the election, when the political damage was done, that there was nothing there. Never mind.

Republicans now control all branches of government. They cannot pretend to be outsiders anymore. The harm they can do is daunting. Democrats and progressives must unite in opposition, and figure out how to truly represent the better vision of America that we hold in common.

We have no choice. Let’s get going.

Sincerely,

pro4

Ruth Conniff
Editor-in-Chief
The Progressive 

P.S. – Subscribe now to get our special December/January double-issue. We really need your help to keep a progressive voice alive! Please make a donation today!

Categories Politics

Tim Kaine’s Roommate Tells All: The Truth About Tim Kaine

By dianeravitch
November 6, 2016 //
13

The following post appeared on Facebook, was reposted on The Daily Kos, and brought to my attention to our reader Ellen Lubic. The author is Charles Hirschhorn.

When Hillary Clinton picked Tim Kaine as her running mate, friends of mine speculated on her reasoning. Why didn’t she pick someone from a key state like Pennsylvania or Ohio or Florida. My uneducated guess was that she picked someone she thought was prepared, by temperament, character, and ability, to succeed her if anything happened to her while she was in office. This column confirms my hunch.

He wrote:

Full Disclosure: My Roommate is Running for VP

Thirty-five years ago I shared a 4 bedroom rental house with two law students. I was working as an Assistant Movie Theater Manager in Boston, being paid $150 a week, which I believe was the federally mandated minimum salary you could pay someone and not have to pay them overtime. Anyway, the open bedroom in the attic was being held for a student returning from a year as a missionary in Honduras. I did not know him when he moved in, but now we all know him as the Democratic Candidate for Vice President, Tim Kaine.

Tim and I lived together that year and the following summer in Washington, DC. A wise man once told me that he and his roommate had an understanding: “As soon as one of us dies, the other will go out and get hit by a bus, because some secrets have to remain buried…” I feel the opposite. Eventually the media will find me, so I figured I’ll go ahead and offer a full disclosure of what I know about Tim. Here goes:

He does not like to clean the bathroom.

The four of us shared one bathroom. As you can imagine, the shower was well used and rarely cleaned. I think the shower curtain had so much caked-on grime that it cracked. We once tried oven cleaner on the porcelain tub. I do not recommend that.

He makes a mean bowl of ramen.

With me averaging under $3 per hour and the three of them paying law school tuition, the kitchen was stocked with countless cellophane packages of ramen. I do recall Tim was creative at finding a fresh root vegetable to compliment the noodles.

Speaking of food…He knows his BBQ.

Tim famously (at least to his roommates) returned from Christmas break with four unlabeled bottles of BBQ Sauce from his Kansas City hometown. That January, during an unscheduled snow storm, he barbequed ribs on the side walk and, amidst much jealousy from our neighbors, hosted a blind taste test (Arthur Bryant’s and Gates were victorious).

He’s as confused by romance as everyone else.

That year he met a fellow student, Anne Holton, who shared his commitment to social justice. She began spending more time at the house and bringing over cookies. Tim was the last to understand where their relationship was heading. We would have told him earlier but we didn’t want Anne to stop baking.

His commitment to social justice runs deep.

To celebrate one of our close friends turning 40, the former housemates spent a week cycling 500 miles across Iowa (google RAGBRAI). With lots of time to shoot the breeze, one evening we fell into a thoughtful conversation about regrets. Tim spoke of a situation, 15 years earlier, when he failed to get an execution commuted for a death row inmate he was aiding. Tim does not take responsibility lightly.

Service is a simple way to define Tim and Anne.

Whether a civil rights attorney for 17 years or having held 5 different elected offices over 22 years, Tim and Anne have always chosen to serve others. I can think of many forks in the road during my career where I have chosen money or security or prestige, but they have not. They endured many lean years where public servant salaries left them worried if they would be able to pay for their 3 children to attend college, but they had faith in their lives of service. When my oldest son was old enough to travel alone on an airplane, I bought him a ticket to spend 2 weeks in Richmond, living with the Kaine Family. They are the role models I choose for my children.

He has no fashion sense.

The human genome project would waste its time looking for vanity genes (jeans?) in Tim’s DNA. He simply does not judge himself or anyone on their appearance. Thank goodness some campaign official had him destroy his do-rag collection.

His nature is to find common ground.

It’s true that he is happiest when sleeping outdoors on the ground, but I am making a pragmatic political observation here. Tim grew up in a Republican Home. He married the daughter of a Republican Governor. He moved to a Red State. As roommates at 23, we’d stay up late discussing difficult divisive topics like the death penalty, abortion, religion and gun control. To this day, I have never met anyone, whether I agree or disagree, with whom a challenging conversation gives me as much insight into my opinion as well as an appreciation for the opposing opinion. His bipartisan talent is unique. In 2014 when he went to register his PAC, there were already 7000 chosen names, but he found his first choice “Common Ground” was available.

When friends call, he answers.

Unfortunately, I scheduled my small 1988 wedding in Los Angeles, on the same weekend as his wife’s annual Holton Family Reunion in Virginia, but Tim made time, leaving Virginia for 24 hours, spending 2/3rds of it on airplanes so he could be there. It shouldn’t surprise me that in the winter of 2005, when I lost my job and needed career advice, Tim invited me to Richmond to spend time with him. What did surprise me is that we spent a lot of time together even though he had a lot going on. He had just been elected Governor, was overseeing his administration’s transition and preparing to give the Democratic response to the President’s State of the Union Address.

When you call, he will answer.

Thirty-five years ago a new roommate moved into the attic bedroom. We were both single and trying to figure out our future. My parents called and asked what I thought of him. Long distance calls were expensive, so my answer was short and to the point. Thirty-five years later we are both married, fathers of three adult children and experienced in our chosen fields. My parents still call to ask questions about Tim. Voice plans now allow for unlimited talk, but my brief answer has never changed: “He’s the best person I have ever met.”

Categories Politics

TFA-PAC Pushes KIPP Teacher for Local School Board in Indiana

By dianeravitch
November 5, 2016 //
22

http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/in/2016/11/01/teach-for-americas-pac-spends-big-on-a-local-indiana-election-but-no-one-quite-knows-why/#.WBtJgHT3ahC

Here we go again. Teach for America, working through its little-known but well-funded political arm, called Leadership for Educational Equity, is dumping a load of money into a school board race in a small district outside of Indianapolis. It wants to place a charter school teacher on the school board of Washington Township, a district of 11,000 students.

The TFA candidate, Deitric Hall, is a newcomer to Indiana. He moved there from California three years ago. LEE has given him $32,000 to run for school board.

LEE has been active in funding candidates for key state and local positions in other states, on school boards and in legislatures.

Their candidates will of course support TFA, charter schools, and privatization.

Chalkbeat Indiana writes:

It’s a small-scale version of a phenomenon that has played out in urban districts around the country as outside campaign contributions have increasingly influenced pivotal school board races. In Indianapolis Public Schools, outside contributions helped radically reshape the board in 2012 and 2014, when out-of-state funders backed a victory for charter-school supporters.

But unlike in IPS, Washington Township isn’t facing a pivotal election — and Hall’s opponent had raised barely any money until this month. That has raised eyebrows in the area, where locals wonder why LEE, even given Hall’s connection to TFA, would spend so heavily on the race.

A native of California, Hall moved to Indianapolis three years ago for a teaching position through TFA, a national nonprofit that recruits new teachers for school districts with high-needs students.

He landed a position at KIPP Indy Unite Elementary, where he now works with students with special needs. Hall, who doesn’t have children, says his background as an educator will offer valuable insight to the board, and despite being new to the community, he is dedicated to improving the schools.

LEE’s spokesman is Erik Guckian, who previously served as top education advisor the Tea Party Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina. Under McGrory’s leadership, and presumably with Guckian’s advice, the state shut down its successful career teacher preparation program (North Carolina Teaching Fellows) and shifted its $6 million to TFA.

Three of the five school board seats are up for election in Washington Township. Hall is facing off against one opponent, John Fencl, for an at-large seat representing the entire district.

Fencl has deep roots in the community: He is a parent of two middle schoolers in Washington Township where he also grew up and went to school. Fencl, an accountant, has volunteered as a math tutor and coach in the district. He said his work mentoring middle school boys has given him particular insight into the schools.

“I’m focused on the district, involved in the district,” he said. “I understand what Washington Township schools are about.”

When Fencl filed a fundraising report with the county earlier this month, he had raised just $750, which he said was because he wasn’t sure how competitive the race would be. But when he saw how much money Hall had raised, he shifted into high gear. In just a couple of weeks, Fencl boosted his fundraising to close to $7,500, he said. About $5,000 of that came from a single donor, Washington Township attorney Charles Rubright.

Since it became clear how much money Hall raised, other community members, including parents and even high school students, have become active in the race. They say they are motivated by concern over the role out-of-state funding is playing in Hall’s campaign.

Kristina Frey is a Washington Township parent who leads the Parent Council Network, a longstanding political group that endorsed Fencl. When she learned that Hall had joined the race, she set up a meeting to hear about his plan for the district and she came away uncertain why he was even running, she said.

“My suspicion is that folks in the education reform movement are looking at how they can potentially expand outside of IPS boundaries,” Frey said. “I would not be surprised to see them come back again with more money and try to gain a majority as they did in IPS.”

Will Washington Township vote in a TFA representative with big money behind him or will they elect a parent who is active in the community? We will see in a few days.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Indiana, Politics, Teach for America

Kurt Eichenwald on the Relationship Between Trump and Putin

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2016 //
10

Kurt Eichenwald, a senior editor at Newsweek, writes here about what is known about relationships between Trump and Putin/Russian intelligence services. The central question is who is hacking the emails of the Democratic party and why. Eichenwald has learned that Russian agencies hacked into the State Department server, raising the likelihood that Hillary Clinton’s emails were more secure on her private server than on the State Department’s. Two other interesting observations, among many: Trump was briefed on Russian hacking yet continued to deny it in debates, saying even his 10-year-old son could have hacked into the DNC; also, Russians briefly stopped the hacking after Trump attacked the Gold Star family, as they thought he might be forced to step down.

Whenever anyone brings up the Trump-Putin bromance, a reader is sure to respond that this is Red Scare talk, that it would be refreshing to have a president who gets along with Putin, that we must be careful not to ignite a new cold war. Eichenwald is sure to get thousands of angry tweets from Trump supporters, and he is sure to get thousands of anti-Semitic tweets, as he has in the past, even though he is not Jewish.

If Trump has backdoor dealings with Russia or any other foreign power, the public is entitled to know about it. To my knowledge, no previous presidential election was shadowed by the possibility that a foreign nation was hacking emails of one political party and interfering with the election process. We have a right to know.

Categories Politics

Wayne Barrett: Giuliani, the FBI, Trump, Clinton, and Dirty Tricks

By dianeravitch
November 3, 2016 //
132

This shocking story appeared this morning. It was written by Wayne Barrett, who is known to New Yorkers as a tenacious investigative reporter with a long memory.

To understand the Comey memo, Barrett dug back into Giuliani’s close ties to the FBI over the years. He hinted that he knew what Comey was about to do last week, when he came out with his announcement that he was re-opening the review of Clinton’s emails, even though he did not know what was on Anthony Weiner’s computer and did not have a warrant yet to search it. This was an explosive development that probably suppressed Hillary Clinton’s vote, as Trump strategists have said is their goal.

Barrett writes:

Two days before FBI director James Comey rocked the world last week, Rudy Giuliani was on Fox, where he volunteered, un-prodded by any question: “I think he’s [Donald Trump] got a surprise or two that you’re going to hear about in the next few days. I mean, I’m talking about some pretty big surprises.”
Pressed for specifics, he said: “We’ve got a couple of things up our sleeve that should turn this thing around.”

The man who now leads “lock-her-up” chants at Trump rallies spent decades of his life as a federal prosecutor and then mayor working closely with the FBI, and especially its New York office. One of Giuliani’s security firms employed a former head of the New York FBI office, and other alumni of it. It was agents of that office, probing Anthony Weiner’s alleged sexting of a minor, who pressed Comey to authorize the review of possible Hillary Clinton-related emails on a Weiner device that led to the explosive letter the director wrote Congress.

Hours after Comey’s letter about the renewed probe was leaked on Friday, Giuliani went on a radio show and attributed the director’s surprise action to “the pressure of a group of FBI agents who don’t look at it politically.”
“The other rumor that I get is that there’s a kind of revolution going on inside the FBI about the original conclusion [not to charge Clinton] being completely unjustified and almost a slap in the face to the FBI’s integrity,” said Giuliani. “I know that from former agents. I know that even from a few active agents.”

Along with Giuliani’s other connections to New York FBI agents, his former law firm, then called Bracewell Giuliani, has long been general counsel to the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), which represents 13,000 former and current agents. The group, born in the New York office in the early ’80s, was headed until Monday by Rey Tariche, an agent still working in that office. Tariche’s resignation letter from the bureau mentioned the Clinton probe, noting that “we find our work—our integrity questioned” because of it, adding “we will not be used for political gains.”

When the FBIAA threw its first G-Man Honors Gala in 2014 in Washington, Giuliani was the keynote speaker and was given a distinguished service award named after him. Giuliani left Bracewell this January and joined Greenberg Traurig, the only other law firm listed as a sponsor of the FBIAA gala. He spoke again at the 2015 gala. The Bracewell firm also acts as the association’s Washington lobbyist and the FBIAA endorsed Republican Congressman Mike Rodgers, rather than Comey, for the FBI post in 2013. Giuliani did not return a Daily Beast message left with his assistant.

Back in August, during a contentious CNN interview about Comey’s July announcement clearing Hillary Clinton of criminal charges, Giuliani advertised his illicit FBI sources, who circumvented bureau guidelines to discuss a case with a public partisan. “The decision perplexes me. It perplexes Jim Kallstrom, who worked for him. It perplexes numerous FBI agents who talk to me all the time. And it embarrasses some FBI agents.”

Kallstrom is the former head of the New York FBI office, installed in that post in the ’90s by then-FBI director Louis Freeh, one of Giuliani’s longtime friends. Kallstrom has, like Giuliani, been on an anti-Comey romp for months, most often on Fox, where he’s called the Clintons a “crime family.” He has been invoking unnamed FBI agents who contact him to complain about Comey’s exoneration of Clinton in one interview after another, positioning himself as an apolitical champion of FBI values.

Last October, after President Obama told 60 Minutes that the Clinton emails weren’t a national security issue, Megyn Kelly interviewed Kallstrom on Fox. “You know a lot of the agents involved in this investigation,” she said. “How angry must they be tonight?”

“I know some of the agents,” said Kallstrom. “I know some of the supervisors and I know the senior staff. And they’re P.O.’d, I mean no question. This is like someone driving another nail in the coffin of the criminal justice system.”

Kallstrom declared that “if it’s pushed under the rug,” the agents “won’t take that sitting down.” Kelly confirmed: “That’s going to get leaked.”
When Comey cleared Clinton this July, Kallstrom was on Fox again, declaring: “I’ve talked to about 15 different agents today—both on the job and off the job—who are basically worried about the reputation of the agency they love.” The number grew dramatically by Labor Day weekend when Comey released Clinton’s FBI interview and other documents, and Kallstrom told Kelly he was talking to “50 different people in and out of the agency, retired agents,” all of whom he said were “basically disgusted” by Comey’s latest release.

By Sept. 28, Kallstrom said he’d been contacted by hundreds of people, including “a lot of retired agents and a few on the job,” declaring the agents “involved in this thing feel like they’ve been stabbed in the back.” So, he said, “I think we’re going to see a lot more of the facts come out in the course of the next few months. That’s my prediction.”

Kallstrom, whose exchanges with active agents about particular cases are as contrary to FBI policy as Giuliani’s, formally and passionately endorsed Trump this week on Stuart Varney’s Fox Business show, adding that Clinton is a “pathological liar.”

Do read it all. The fix was in. Rudy Giuliani knew about it before Comey spoke. That violates FBI rules. Who will investigate the leaks? The FBI?

Categories Clinton, Politics, Trump
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