Andy Martin: Difference between revisions
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{{about|the United States politician||Andy Martin}} |
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|name = Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona |
|name = Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona |
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|known_for = Frequent political candidate, |
|known_for = Frequent political candidate, various lawsuits, allegations involving [[Barack Obama]]'s birthplace and father |
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|occupation =writer, commentator |
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'''Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona''' (born 1945), usually known as '''Andy Martin''', is an American journalist. He has attracted attention for his political campaigns, filing numerous [[lawsuits]], and for making unsuccessful attempts to win public office for both the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] parties. He has also run twice for the office of [[President of the United States]], once in 1988 and again in 2000.<ref name="newyorktimes1">{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/us/politics/13martin.html |work=[[New York Times]] |date=October 12, 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-13 }}</ref> |
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'''Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona''', usually known as '''Andy Martin''' (born 1945 in [[Middletown, Connecticut]]) is an American journalist, [[perennial candidate]], and [[vexatious litigant]]. ''[[The Nation]]'',<ref name="Nation">{{cite news |first=Christopher |last=Hayes |authorlink=Christopher Hayes (journalist) |coauthors= |title=The New Right-Wing Smear Machine |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071112/hayes/single| work=[[The Nation]] |date= |accessdate=2008-10-13 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'',<ref name="WaPo">Mosk, Matthew. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062703781.html An Attack That Came Out of the Ether]. ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 2008-06-28.</ref> and ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/us/politics/13martin.html|title=The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama |last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|date=October 12, 2008 |publisher=''[[New York Times]]''|accessdate=2008-10-13}}</ref> have identified him as the primary source of false rumors that US President [[Barack Obama]] is secretly a [[Muslim]]. In a later interview with [[CNN]], Martin explicitly abandoned his view that Obama is a Muslim, but now asserts Obama's real father is not [[Barack Obama Sr.]], but is [[Frank Marshall Davis]], an [[African American]] journalist of the 1950s.<ref name="rawstory"/> |
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Martin was accused in the press of being the source of false rumors that U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] is secretly a [[Muslim]].<ref name="newyorktimes1"/><ref name="Nation">{{cite news |first=Christopher |last=Hayes |authorlink=Christopher Hayes (journalist) |coauthors= |title=The New Right-Wing Smear Machine |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071112/hayes/single| work=[[The Nation]] |date= |accessdate=2008-10-13 }}</ref><ref name="WaPo">Mosk, Matthew. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062703781.html An Attack That Came Out of the Ether]. ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 2008-06-28.</ref> Later, in an interview with [[CNN]], Martin asserted that Obama's real father was not [[Barack Obama Sr.]] but [[Frank Marshall Davis]], an [[African American]] journalist of the 1950s.<ref name="rawstory"/> To counter these claims the Obama campaign posted an image of a certified copy of his [[birth certificate]] online.<ref>[http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/birthcert The truth about Barack's birth certificate], Obama for America. Retrieved 2008-06-14.</ref><ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html “Born in the U.S.A.: The truth about Obama's birth certificate”], FactCheck.org (2008-08-26): "The document is a 'certification of birth,' also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns."</ref> On October 17, 2008, Martin [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories#Eligibility litigation|filed a lawsuit]] against the state of [[Hawaii]] calling for the public release of Barack Obama's [[Birth certificate#Long forms|long-form birth certificate]].<ref name="honolulu advertiser">{{Citation| last = Roig| first = Suzanne| title = Suit targets Obama document: Foe of presidential candidate wants birth certificate, related files | newspaper = Honolulu Advertiser| pages =| year = 2008| date = October 18, 2008| url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/honoluluadvertiser/access/1695936171.html?FMT=ABS&date=Oct+18,+2008}}</ref> On October 22, 2008 the [[Supreme Court of Hawaii]] denied the request. |
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== |
==Life and career== |
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Martin was born in 1945 in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref name="NewTimes">Norman, Bob. [http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2003-07-31/news/operation-baghdad/full Operation Baghdad]. [[New Times Broward-Palm Beach]], 2003-07-31.</ref> |
Martin was born in 1945 in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref name="NewTimes">Norman, Bob. [http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2003-07-31/news/operation-baghdad/full Operation Baghdad]. [[New Times Broward-Palm Beach]], 2003-07-31.</ref> |
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In 1973 the [[Illinois Supreme Court]] refused to grant him a license to practice law in the state. It cited several instances of troubling conduct on Martin's part, including an attempt to have a parking violation thrown out because it had been "entered by an insane judge" and his description of an attorney as "shaking and tottering and drooling like an idiot."<ref name="Trib">Chase, John; and Rick Pearson. "Perennial candidate back for another race." [[Chicago Tribune]], 2006-02-10.</ref> |
In 1973 the [[Illinois Supreme Court]] refused to grant him a license to practice law in the state. It cited several instances of troubling conduct on Martin's part, including an attempt to have a parking violation thrown out because it had been "entered by an insane judge" and his description of an attorney as "shaking and tottering and drooling like an idiot."<ref name="Trib">Chase, John; and Rick Pearson. "Perennial candidate back for another race." [[Chicago Tribune]], 2006-02-10.</ref><ref name="newyorktimes1"/> |
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| ⚫ | |||
|url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-001030.html |
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|author=Scott Fybush |
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|title=North East Radio Watch: October 30, 2000 |
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|date=October 30, 2000 |
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|accessdate=30 December 2009 |
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}}</ref> |
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Martin then became involved in consumer advocacy. Calling himself "the people's attorney general," he takes credit for being the first to file suit under the civil component of the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO), as well as the first to file [[antitrust]] actions against the [[Big Three television networks]] for anticompetitive practices in network affiliation agreements.<ref>[http://www.andymartin.com/bio.htm Martin's official biography]</ref> |
Martin then became involved in consumer advocacy. Calling himself "the people's attorney general," he takes credit for being the first to file suit under the civil component of the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO), as well as the first to file [[antitrust]] actions against the [[Big Three television networks]] for anticompetitive practices in network affiliation agreements.<ref>[http://www.andymartin.com/bio.htm Martin's official biography]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In the early 1980s Martin owned a country music radio station, WDLW (later [[WRCA]]), in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]].<ref name="fybush">{{cite web |
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===Political career and campaigns=== |
===Political career and campaigns=== |
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His 1996 run for the [[Florida State Senate]] came undone when it was revealed that he had named his campaign committee for his 1986 congressional run "The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate [[List of conspiracy theories#Jewish world domination|Jew Power]] in America." The revelation led the state Republican Party to renounce him. Just before the election, he [[assault]]ed two cameramen from [[WPTV (TV)|WPTV]], the [[NBC]] affiliate in [[West Palm Beach]]. He was convicted of [[mischief|criminal mischief]] and sentenced to a year in jail. He was freed pending [[appeal]], but made personal attacks on the judge while on the way out of the courtroom. The judge held Martin in criminal [[contempt of court]] and sentenced him to seven months in jail. However, he was mistakenly let out of jail after only a month. Martin never returned, and a [[warrant]] was issued for his arrest |
His 1996 run for the [[Florida State Senate]] came undone when it was revealed that he had named his campaign committee for his 1986 congressional run "The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate [[List of conspiracy theories#Jewish world domination|Jew Power]] in America."<ref name="NewTimes"/> The revelation led the state Republican Party to renounce him. Just before the election, he [[assault]]ed two cameramen from [[WPTV (TV)|WPTV]], the [[NBC]] affiliate in [[West Palm Beach]].<ref name="NewTimes"/> He was convicted of [[mischief|criminal mischief]] and sentenced to a year in jail.<ref name="NewTimes"/> He was freed pending [[appeal]], but made personal attacks on the judge while on the way out of the courtroom. <ref name="NewTimes"/> The judge held Martin in criminal [[contempt of court]] and sentenced him to seven months in jail.<ref name="NewTimes"/> However, he was mistakenly let out of jail after only a month.<ref name="NewTimes"/> Martin never returned, and a [[arrest warrant|warrant]] was issued for his arrest.<ref name="NewTimes"/> The warrant was still outstanding at least as of the time of Martin's 2008 Senate run, but he said the issue is being "resolved."<ref>Mendell, David, and Rick Pearson. [http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3058 GOP slate in Illinois U.S. Senate race.]. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', 2008-02-01. Hosted by [[Illinois Republican Party]].</ref> |
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During his 2000 run for president, he |
During his 2000 run for president, he ran a television advertisement in [[Connecticut]] accusing [[George W. Bush]] of using [[cocaine]]. In 2003, after several visits to Iraq he claimed he was 90 percent certain he knew where [[Saddam Hussein]] was hiding and put in a claim for the $25 million reward on offer for the former [[Iraq]]i dictator's capture.<ref name="NewTimes"/> |
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=== |
=== Litigation and anti-Semitic accusations=== |
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In 1982, Edward Weinfeld, a federal judge for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], observed that Martin had a tendency to file "a substantial number of lawsuits of a [[vexatious]], frivolous and scandalous nature."<ref name="Trib"/> In Martin's motion for the 1983 [[bankruptcy]] case, he called the judge "a crooked, slimy [[Jew]] who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race."<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> In another motion that year, Martin stated, "I am able to understand how [[the Holocaust]] took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did."<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> He went on to say that "Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property."<ref>http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070011</ref> When later pressed in an interview about his remarks, Martin claimed that the anti-Semitic comments were inserted into his court papers by malicious judges.<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> |
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Many of these filings were [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] in nature. In his motion for the 1983 [[bankruptcy]] case, he called the judge "a crooked, slimy [[Jew]] who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race."<ref name="NYT"/> In another motion that year, Martin stated, "I am able to understand how [[the Holocaust]] took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did."<ref name="NYT"/> He went on to say that "Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property." <ref>http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070011</ref> When later pressed in an interview about his remarks, Martin claimed that the anti-Semitic comments were inserted into his court papers by malicious judges.<ref name="NYT"/> |
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== Role in rumors about Obama == |
== Role in rumors about Obama == |
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=== Allegations of Obama being a Muslim === |
=== Allegations of Obama being a Muslim === |
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According to a report by journalist [[Christopher Hayes (journalist)|Chris Hayes]] for ''[[The Nation]]'', Martin issued a press release shortly after [[Barack Obama]]'s keynote speech at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] that he had evidence Obama "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage." Martin claimed that Obama was really a [[Muslim]], was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger [[Israel]],"<ref name="Nation"/> and that "[Obama's] Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles."<ref name=" |
According to a report by journalist [[Christopher Hayes (journalist)|Chris Hayes]] for ''[[The Nation]]'', Martin issued a press release shortly after [[Barack Obama]]'s keynote speech at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] that he had evidence Obama "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage." Martin claimed that Obama was really a [[Muslim]], was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger [[Israel]],"<ref name="Nation"/> and that "[Obama's] Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles."<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> |
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On June 28, 2008 Martin told the ''[[Washington Post]]'' that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."<ref name="WaPo"/> |
On June 28, 2008 Martin told the ''[[Washington Post]]'' that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."<ref name="WaPo"/> |
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[[Jerome Corsi]]'s book ''[[The Obama Nation]]'', published on August 1, 2008, opens with a quote from Martin on Obama's alleged Muslim heritage and supposed attempts to conceal it.<ref name= |
[[Jerome Corsi]]'s book ''[[The Obama Nation]]'', published on August 1, 2008, opens with a quote from Martin on Obama's alleged Muslim heritage and supposed attempts to conceal it.<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> Jim Rutenberg of ''[[The New York Times]]'' says that the book has been "widely discredited".<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> |
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On October 5, 2008, Martin was featured as a journalist on ''[[Hannity's America]]'' on the [[Fox News Channel]]. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government."<ref name="newyorktimes1"/> |
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On October 5, 2008, Martin was featured as a journalist on ''[[Hannity's America]]'' on the [[Fox News Channel]]. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government."<ref>{{Citation| last = Rutenberg| first = Jim| title = The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama | newspaper = [[The New York Times]]| pages = A1| year = 2008| date = October 13, 2008| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/us/politics/13martin.html}}</ref> In a subsequent appearance on ''[[Hannity & Colmes]]'', [[Robert Gibbs]], Obama's communications director, criticized Hannity for allowing Martin to appear on the show.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/us/politics/08gibbs.html?ref=politics</ref> |
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===Allegations of Obama's father being Frank Marshall Davis=== |
===Allegations of Obama's father being Frank Marshall Davis=== |
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{{main|Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories#Martin v. Lingle}} |
{{main|Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories#Martin v. Lingle}} |
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On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit in a state [[circuit court]] of [[Hawaii]] against Governor [[Linda Lingle]] and health department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino, seeking to verify the state's official [[birth certificate]] of Barack Obama.<ref name="honolulu advertiser"/> Martin was quoted as saying, "I want to see a certified copy issued by the state of Hawai'i, not one issued by the state of Obama."<ref name="honolulu advertiser" |
On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit in a state [[circuit court]] of [[Hawaii]] against Governor [[Linda Lingle]] and health department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino, seeking to verify the state's official [[birth certificate]] of Barack Obama.<ref name="honolulu advertiser"/> Martin was quoted as saying, "I want to see a certified copy issued by the state of Hawai'i, not one issued by the state of Obama."<ref name="honolulu advertiser"/> On November 19, the court denied Martin's "emergency motion" and dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds of Martin's lack of legal [[standing (law)|standing]] to obtain another person's birth document.<ref>Jim Dooley, [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/honoluluadvertiser/access/1694344021.html?FMT=ABS&date=Nov+21,+2008 "Obama certificate lawsuit dismissed: Judge says Net author Martin had no standing to get birth document,] ''[[Honolulu Advertiser]]'', November 21, 2008.</ref> |
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==Suit against Wikimedia Foundation== |
==Suit against Wikimedia Foundation== |
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On December 17, 2009, Martin announced at |
On December 17, 2009, Martin announced at a press conference in [[New York]] that he would be filing a lawsuit against the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] seeking an injunction.<ref name="martin press release"/> Martin called the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia "protosocialist scams" that target conservatives, and a tax exempt wing of United States President [[Barack Obama]]'s political operations.<ref name="martin press release">{{cite press release |url=http://www.pr-inside.com/andy-martin-says-that-wikipedia-and-r1636647.htm |title=Andy Martin says that Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation are pro-Obama tax-exempt scams |publisher=Andy Martin |date=2009-12-17 |accessdate=2009-12-17}}</ref> The announcement was accompanied by a press release, and occurred while he was at a conference in New York for the "Second National Conference on Barack Obama’s Missing Birth Certificate and College Records".<ref name="huffington post article">{{Citation| last =| first =| title = |
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Andy Martin: Wikipedia Is A Pro-Obama, Tax-Exempt Scam, Senate Candidate Claims | newspaper = Huffington Post| pages =| year = 2009| date = December 17, 2009| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/andy-martin-wikipedia-is_n_396003.html}}</ref> |
Andy Martin: Wikipedia Is A Pro-Obama, Tax-Exempt Scam, Senate Candidate Claims. | newspaper = Huffington Post| pages =| year = 2009| date = December 17, 2009| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/andy-martin-wikipedia-is_n_396003.html}}</ref> |
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==Current U.S. Senate race== |
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{{main|United States Senate elections in Illinois, 2010}} |
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Martin is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Illinois for the seat being vacated by Sen. [[Roland Burris]]. The Illinois primary will be conducted on February 2, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.carbondale.il.us/?q=node/748|title=State primary election scheduled for February 2, 2010|publisher=ci.carbondale.il.us|accessdate=January 18, 2010}}</ref> In December 2009, Martin ran radio ads which included Martin requesting that one of his opponents, Republican [[Mark Kirk]], answer claims about his sexuality made by Illinois Republican [[Jack Roeser]].<ref name="suntimesallegation">{{Cite news | last = Pallasch | first = Abdon M. | title = GOP opponent claims front-runner Mark Kirk is gay in attack ad | newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] | location = Chicago | date = 2009-12-28 | url = http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1961750,mark-kirk-gay-attack-ad-election-122809.article | accessdate = 2009-12-28}}</ref> The Illinois Republican Party Chairman Patrick Brady subsequently announced "The Illinois Republican Party disavows the statements made today by Mr. Andrew Martin in his statewide radio advertisements...Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."<ref name="suntimesallegation" /><ref name="WBBM">{{Citation| last = Dellimore| first = Craig| last = Pillman | first = Stan | title = Political Ad Questions Republican's Sexual Orientation| source = WBBM| date = December 28, 2009| url = http://www.wbbm780.com/Political-Ad-Questions-Republican-s-Sexual-Orienta/5952370}}</ref> Martin returned 37,359 votes, five percent of the total votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elections.chicagotribune.com|title=Chicago tribune election centre|publisher=The [[Chicago tribune]]|date=February 3, 2010|accessdate=March 9, 2010}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:1945 births]] |
[[Category:1945 births]] |
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[[Category:Political controversies in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Antisemitism]] |
[[Category:Antisemitism]] |
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[[Category:Barack Obama]] |
[[Category:Barack Obama]] |
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Revision as of 16:24, 29 March 2010
Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 |
| Occupation(s) | writer, commentator |
| Known for | Frequent political candidate, various lawsuits, allegations involving Barack Obama's birthplace and father |
Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona (born 1945), usually known as Andy Martin, is an American journalist. He has attracted attention for his political campaigns, filing numerous lawsuits, and for making unsuccessful attempts to win public office for both the Republican and Democratic parties. He has also run twice for the office of President of the United States, once in 1988 and again in 2000.[1]
Martin was accused in the press of being the source of false rumors that U.S. President Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim.[1][2][3] Later, in an interview with CNN, Martin asserted that Obama's real father was not Barack Obama Sr. but Frank Marshall Davis, an African American journalist of the 1950s.[4] To counter these claims the Obama campaign posted an image of a certified copy of his birth certificate online.[5][6] On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii calling for the public release of Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate.[7] On October 22, 2008 the Supreme Court of Hawaii denied the request.
Life and career
Martin was born in 1945 in Middletown, Connecticut.[8]
In 1973 the Illinois Supreme Court refused to grant him a license to practice law in the state. It cited several instances of troubling conduct on Martin's part, including an attempt to have a parking violation thrown out because it had been "entered by an insane judge" and his description of an attorney as "shaking and tottering and drooling like an idiot."[9][1]
In the early 1980s Martin owned a country music radio station, WDLW (later WRCA), in Waltham, Massachusetts.[10]
Martin then became involved in consumer advocacy. Calling himself "the people's attorney general," he takes credit for being the first to file suit under the civil component of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as the first to file antitrust actions against the Big Three television networks for anticompetitive practices in network affiliation agreements.[11]
Political career and campaigns
His 1996 run for the Florida State Senate came undone when it was revealed that he had named his campaign committee for his 1986 congressional run "The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate Jew Power in America."[8] The revelation led the state Republican Party to renounce him. Just before the election, he assaulted two cameramen from WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach.[8] He was convicted of criminal mischief and sentenced to a year in jail.[8] He was freed pending appeal, but made personal attacks on the judge while on the way out of the courtroom. [8] The judge held Martin in criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to seven months in jail.[8] However, he was mistakenly let out of jail after only a month.[8] Martin never returned, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.[8] The warrant was still outstanding at least as of the time of Martin's 2008 Senate run, but he said the issue is being "resolved."[12]
During his 2000 run for president, he ran a television advertisement in Connecticut accusing George W. Bush of using cocaine. In 2003, after several visits to Iraq he claimed he was 90 percent certain he knew where Saddam Hussein was hiding and put in a claim for the $25 million reward on offer for the former Iraqi dictator's capture.[8]
Litigation and anti-Semitic accusations
In 1982, Edward Weinfeld, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, observed that Martin had a tendency to file "a substantial number of lawsuits of a vexatious, frivolous and scandalous nature."[9] In Martin's motion for the 1983 bankruptcy case, he called the judge "a crooked, slimy Jew who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race."[1] In another motion that year, Martin stated, "I am able to understand how the Holocaust took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did."[1] He went on to say that "Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property."[13] When later pressed in an interview about his remarks, Martin claimed that the anti-Semitic comments were inserted into his court papers by malicious judges.[1]
Role in rumors about Obama
Allegations of Obama being a Muslim
According to a report by journalist Chris Hayes for The Nation, Martin issued a press release shortly after Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that he had evidence Obama "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage." Martin claimed that Obama was really a Muslim, was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger Israel,"[2] and that "[Obama's] Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles."[1]
On June 28, 2008 Martin told the Washington Post that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."[3]
Jerome Corsi's book The Obama Nation, published on August 1, 2008, opens with a quote from Martin on Obama's alleged Muslim heritage and supposed attempts to conceal it.[1] Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times says that the book has been "widely discredited".[1] On October 5, 2008, Martin was featured as a journalist on Hannity's America on the Fox News Channel. According to The New York Times, "The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government."[1]
Allegations of Obama's father being Frank Marshall Davis
In an interview featured on the CNN network's American Morning program on October 27, 2008, Andy Martin explicitly abandoned his view that Barack Obama is a Muslim.[4] In the interview, Martin asserts a newer view that Obama is not the son of Barack Obama, Sr., but is rather the son of Frank Marshall Davis, an African American journalist and political activist who wrote for a newspaper in Hawaii in the 1940s and 1950s that was accused by the House Un-American Activities Committee as being a front for the Communist Party USA.[4] Martin claimed that he discovered this after his recent trip to Honolulu, although he offered CNN no substantive proof for the claim.[4]
Suit against the state of Hawaii
On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit in a state circuit court of Hawaii against Governor Linda Lingle and health department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino, seeking to verify the state's official birth certificate of Barack Obama.[7] Martin was quoted as saying, "I want to see a certified copy issued by the state of Hawai'i, not one issued by the state of Obama."[7] On November 19, the court denied Martin's "emergency motion" and dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds of Martin's lack of legal standing to obtain another person's birth document.[14]
Suit against Wikimedia Foundation
On December 17, 2009, Martin announced at a press conference in New York that he would be filing a lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation seeking an injunction.[15] Martin called the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia "protosocialist scams" that target conservatives, and a tax exempt wing of United States President Barack Obama's political operations.[15] The announcement was accompanied by a press release, and occurred while he was at a conference in New York for the "Second National Conference on Barack Obama’s Missing Birth Certificate and College Records".[16]
Current U.S. Senate race
Martin is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Illinois for the seat being vacated by Sen. Roland Burris. The Illinois primary will be conducted on February 2, 2010.[17] In December 2009, Martin ran radio ads which included Martin requesting that one of his opponents, Republican Mark Kirk, answer claims about his sexuality made by Illinois Republican Jack Roeser.[18] The Illinois Republican Party Chairman Patrick Brady subsequently announced "The Illinois Republican Party disavows the statements made today by Mr. Andrew Martin in his statewide radio advertisements...Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."[18][19] Martin returned 37,359 votes, five percent of the total votes.[20]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama". New York Times. October 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Hayes, Christopher. "The New Right-Wing Smear Machine". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Mosk, Matthew. An Attack That Came Out of the Ether. The Washington Post, 2008-06-28.
- ^ a b c d Kane, Muriel (October 27, 2008), "Author of Obama Muslim rumor replaces it with Communist rumor", The Raw Story
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ The truth about Barack's birth certificate, Obama for America. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ “Born in the U.S.A.: The truth about Obama's birth certificate”, FactCheck.org (2008-08-26): "The document is a 'certification of birth,' also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns."
- ^ a b c Roig, Suzanne (October 18, 2008), "Suit targets Obama document: Foe of presidential candidate wants birth certificate, related files", Honolulu Advertiser
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i Norman, Bob. Operation Baghdad. New Times Broward-Palm Beach, 2003-07-31.
- ^ a b Chase, John; and Rick Pearson. "Perennial candidate back for another race." Chicago Tribune, 2006-02-10.
- ^ Scott Fybush (October 30, 2000). "North East Radio Watch: October 30, 2000". Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ Martin's official biography
- ^ Mendell, David, and Rick Pearson. GOP slate in Illinois U.S. Senate race.. Chicago Tribune, 2008-02-01. Hosted by Illinois Republican Party.
- ^ http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070011
- ^ Jim Dooley, "Obama certificate lawsuit dismissed: Judge says Net author Martin had no standing to get birth document, Honolulu Advertiser, November 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "Andy Martin says that Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation are pro-Obama tax-exempt scams" (Press release). Andy Martin. 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- ^ "Andy Martin: Wikipedia Is A Pro-Obama, Tax-Exempt Scam, Senate Candidate Claims.", Huffington Post, December 17, 2009
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "State primary election scheduled for February 2, 2010". ci.carbondale.il.us. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
- ^ a b Pallasch, Abdon M. (2009-12-28). "GOP opponent claims front-runner Mark Kirk is gay in attack ad". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
- ^ Pillman, Stan (December 28, 2009), Political Ad Questions Republican's Sexual Orientation
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|source=ignored (help) - ^ "Chicago tribune election centre". The Chicago tribune. February 3, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.