Washington Post: "Christian Coalition Shrinks As Debt Grows"
I admit — I took a special glee in this piece from the Washington Post today.
It's funny that you never read articles about the gay community shrinking — nor articles that say gay people are deadbeats who don't pay their bills.
Oh, how the (high and) mighty fall.
Christian Coalition Shrinks As Debt Grows
…The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors' lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters.
In March, one of its most effective chapters, the Christian Coalition of Iowa, cut ties with the national organization and reincorporated itself as the Iowa Christian Alliance, saying it "found it impossible to continue to carry a name that in any way associated us with this national organization."
"The credibility is just not there like it once was," said Stephen L. Scheffler, president of the Iowa affiliate since 2000. "The budget has shrunk from $26 million to $1 million. There's a trail of debt. … We believe, our board believes, any Christian organization has an obligation to pay its debts in a timely fashion."
…Lawsuits for unpaid bills have multiplied. The Christian Coalition's longtime law firm -- Huff, Poole & Mahoney PC of Virginia Beach -- says it is owed $69,729. Global Direct, a fundraising firm in Oklahoma, is suing for $87,000 in expenses. Reese & Sons Inc., a moving company in District Heights, is trying to recover $1,890 for packing up furniture when the Christian Coalition closed its Washington office in 2002. The list goes on. … — By Alan Cooperman & Thomas B. Edsall, Washington Post Staff Writers © 2006 The Washington Post Company
It's funny that you never read articles about the gay community shrinking — nor articles that say gay people are deadbeats who don't pay their bills.
Oh, how the (high and) mighty fall.
Christian Coalition Shrinks As Debt Grows
…The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors' lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters.
In March, one of its most effective chapters, the Christian Coalition of Iowa, cut ties with the national organization and reincorporated itself as the Iowa Christian Alliance, saying it "found it impossible to continue to carry a name that in any way associated us with this national organization."
"The credibility is just not there like it once was," said Stephen L. Scheffler, president of the Iowa affiliate since 2000. "The budget has shrunk from $26 million to $1 million. There's a trail of debt. … We believe, our board believes, any Christian organization has an obligation to pay its debts in a timely fashion."
…Lawsuits for unpaid bills have multiplied. The Christian Coalition's longtime law firm -- Huff, Poole & Mahoney PC of Virginia Beach -- says it is owed $69,729. Global Direct, a fundraising firm in Oklahoma, is suing for $87,000 in expenses. Reese & Sons Inc., a moving company in District Heights, is trying to recover $1,890 for packing up furniture when the Christian Coalition closed its Washington office in 2002. The list goes on. … — By Alan Cooperman & Thomas B. Edsall, Washington Post Staff Writers © 2006 The Washington Post Company
posted by Jim at 11:07 PM
1 Comments:
And it gets worse. Now the Christian Coalition has done the same thing that they accused Bill Clinton of doing: Lying to corrupt a pending lawsuit.
On February 16, 2006, The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. doctored and falsified previously-filed Lobbying Reports in the office of the Secretary of the Senate, clumsily erasing the name of Mr. Tracy Ammons as one of the lobbyists who lobbied on behalf of The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. as Chief Senate Lobbyist.
Both versions of the Lobbying Reports for 2002 and 2003 are simultaneously showing on the Secretary of the Senate’s website (at least as of this writing), clearly showing that the reports have been intentionally doctored and falsified by The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. to remove Mr. Tracy Ammons’ name. I would have to imagine that the Christian Coalition erroneously thought that the original version would not show up if a new version was filed, but the clumsy doctoring of information is clearly evident by comparing the two reports.
These can be clearly seen at: http://sopr.senate.gov
Comparing the original and amended Lobbying Reports (assuming the Secretary does not change them) clearly demonstrates that The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. has violated 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and perhaps other laws.
There is an enormous amount of evidence on the falsehood of the Christian Coalition’s lobbying disclosure act reports. Please contact me if you would like the abundant documentation and evidence we have. Advise me if you would like to know more.
You may recall that President Bill Clinton was impeached on the theory that his false statements in a deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit threatened the integrity of the legal system because those statements were intended to derail a pending lawsuit. It was considered so important that we protect the integrity of lawsuits, that the Congress had to impeach a sitting President to protect the rights of plaintiffs to proceed in court without falsification of evidence.
Now, The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. has done exactly the same thing, filing false reports with the government in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, in order to derail a lawsuit by a former employee seeking to get paid his salary for 21 months of work. They have attempted (clumsily) to falsify evidence in order to cheat a former employee out of $130,000 of unpaid, but earned, salary.
On November 1, 2001, Mr. Tracy Ammons began as Chief Senate Lobbyist for The Christian Coalition of America, Inc.
For the second half of 2001, both halves of 2002, and the first half of 2003, The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. filed Lobbying Reports reporting Mr. Tracy Ammons as a lobbyist lobbying extensively on its behalf.
Although the dispute concerns whether Mr. Ammons was to be paid “through” Millennium Consulting LLC or directly from The Christian Coalition of America, Inc., it is not remotely in dispute that he was lobbying on behalf of The Christian Coalition of America, Inc., irrespective of who his paycheck should have come from.
The Christian Coalition issued business cards to Mr. Tracy Ammons with the title “legislative associate” – the same title under which he is identified in the original 2002 and 2003 Lobbying Reports filed with the Secretary of the Senate.
Dozens of documents demonstrate that Mr. Tracy Ammons was lobbying in 2002 and 2003 on behalf of The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. Hundreds of witnesses in the U.S. Congress and among other lobbying organizations know and can testify that Mr. Tracy Ammons was actively lobbying in 2002 and 2003 on behalf of The Christian Coalition of America, Inc.
Mr. Ammons spent around 75% of his time lobbying in the U.S. Congress on behalf of The Christian Coalition of America, Inc., engaged in hundreds of lobbying contacts, and The Christian Coalition of America, Inc. spent more than $20,000 lobbying in Congress.
Mr. Ammons was never paid most of his salary. Therefore, in 2004, he filed a lawsuit for the collection of $130,000 in unpaid salary from these lobbying activities.
SO, THE DOCTORING OF THE LOBBYING REPORTS IS AN ATTEMPT TO DESTROY EVIDENCE and defraud a judicial proceeding. The case has been referred from court to the American Arbitration Association, and the destruction of evidence by doctoring official documents filed with the government is an attempt to defraud and deceive the tribunal deciding Mr. Ammons’ claim.
18 U.S.C. § 1001 provides:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a party to a judicial proceeding, or that party’s counsel, for statements, representations, writings or documents submitted by such party or counsel to a judge or magistrate in that proceeding.
(c) With respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, subsection (a) shall apply only to—
(1) administrative matters, including a claim for payment, a matter related to the procurement of property or services, personnel or employment practices, or support services, or a document required by law, rule, or regulation to be submitted to the Congress or any office or officer within the legislative branch; or
(2) any investigation or review, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee, subcommittee, commission or office of the Congress, consistent with applicable rules of the House or Senate.
The filing of Lobbying Reports is “a document required by law, rule, or regulation to be submitted to the Congress or any office or officer within the legislative branch…” Lobbying in the U.S. Congress is an activity “within the jurisdiction of the … legislative, … branch of the Government of the United States…”
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