So let's summarize what we now know for sure about the primary source of the "Obama is a Muslim" smear, Anthony Martin-Trigona, alias Andy Martin. This, I believe, should be more than enough to blow apart any shred of credibility the "Obama is a Muslim" rumors still have.
I'm hoping to compile enough to send to some of my born-again friends ... granted, quite a few of them aren't voting for Obama anyway, but if I can stop them from spreading these smears it'll make some difference.
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He's a chronic abuser of the criminal-justice system. Martin-Trigona has a long history of filing frivolous lawsuits, so much so that he is not allowed to file
any legal action in federal court
without permission.
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He's an anti-Semite. During a run for a congressional seat in Connecticut, Martin-Trigona named his campaign committee
"The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate Jew Power in America." And many of his numerous legal filings have been anti-Semitic in nature. Ironic, considering that in
his original press release attacking Obama, he claimed Obama's "lies" about his heritage posed a danger to Israel and the Jewish community.
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He's a fugitive. Martin-Trigona was
convicted in 1996 of criminal mischief for assaulting two TV cameramen. He was sentenced to a year in jail, but was let out on appeal. But when he insulted the judge before TV cameras while he was still in the courtroom, he was tossed back in the slammer for contempt of court. He was to serve seven months, but was mistakenly let back out after only a month--and as near as can be determined, he's never come back. Since he lost his appeal, he will have to serve 16 months in Palm Beach County jail if he's ever caught.
And yet, this is the guy who is responsible for one of the most pernicious smears in recent memory. Granted, it looks like the email is a heavily edited version of Ted Sampley's hit piece on him in 2006, the primary source of that article was Martin's press release.