Andy Martin says Mark’s Kirk’s “escape from the media” on Monday afternoon raises new questions about Kirk’s election strategy.
Andy Martin continues “Kirk Week” with analysis of Mark Kirk’s latest bizarre behavior
Mark Kirk’s flight from the media on Monday creates a new dynamic in the senate race
NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The Name You Can Trust”
Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(866) 706-2639
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com
Andy Martin’s anti-Kirk blogs:
www.DefeatMarkKirk.blogspot.com;
www.contrariancommentary.typepad.com/defeatmarkkirk/
www.MarkKirk.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Andy Martin says the Illinois U. S. Senate race is catching up with South Carolina
Why did Mark Kirk run from the media on Monday?
How long does Kirk think he can keep pulling Tom Cruise-style escapes from reporters?
(CHICAGO)(June 22, 2010) Monday morning I finished a column on Mark Kirk and the way his antics are now raising questions in the national media. Afterwards, I headed for lunch and ordered my usual (whole wheat bread, roast beef and Swiss, mayo and mustard, lettuce and tomato). By the time I finished my sandwich Kirk has created another campaign incident.
After speaking to a crowd of 1,000 people, Kirk attempted to flee from the event in downtown Chicago. Kirk was pursued by screaming media calling out his name. Kirk ran through kitchens and back doors, to a waiting SUV that drove off into the traffic.
Weird.
Just about all of Chicago’s media had staked out the MPC event, and all media are reporting on Kirk’s “escape.” The best video is provided by WLS-TV Channel 7:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/
politics&id=7511629
And, again, national media are following Kirk’s peculiar behavior:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
So what does all this mean? Even I’m starting to get stumped.
Kirk can’t evade the media indefinitely. Up to a month ago, the media were Kirk’s base. People like Charles Thomas and Andy Shaw were his attack dogs. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board was Kirk’s cheerleading squad.
A month later, Kirk’s personal life is in chaos, his campaign is in a shambles. Kirk’s inflated military career has become a liability and embarrassment. Even Kirk’s “teaching” experience turned out to be illusory. He was even dumped on by his former nursery school.
Kirk has made his bad situation much worse. The word “misremembered” is probably going to be in dictionaries before long.
Why did Kirk run on Monday? How long does he think he can keep escaping from reporters? Beats me.
Later in the afternoon, I got a call from the Pentagon in response to my Freedom of Information (FOIA) request for all of Kirk’s military records. In the coming days the Department of Defense is going to do a “document dump” and sink “Commander Kirk.”
On and on it goes. Who is advising Kirk? With 45 years of experience in Illinois politics I have never seen a worse statewide campaign. The worst thing Kirk could have done Monday was to run, and he ran. Now every event he attends is going to become a “run” until Kirk is caught. Kirk might think he can explain himself to a friendly audience such as the morons at the Tribune editorial board, but there is no assurance even those gullible bozos will want to coddle Kirk any longer (full disclosure: I am not welcome in the Tribune editorial board room).
The Tribune and Sun-Times and all of Chicago’s mainstream media have egg on their face. Rick Pearson, the Tribune’s creepy reporter who accosted me outside the Union League Club in January, will have to go back to hanging around. Maybe he and Kirk can look for a new nursery school together.
Kirk lied for years. He lied about every aspect of his life, even when there was no need to lie. The media did nothing to check out the facts even after I broadcast statewide ads exposing Kirk as a military imposter and I posted an actual document from the Pentagon confirming that accusation. What more did they want for a starting lead? Still, the media slept.
And the jokes keep coming. Everyone has been laughing at Alvin Greene, the South Carolina Democrat who won a primary under questionable circumstances. But we have our own Alvin Greene here in Illinois.
LeAlan Jones is a U. S. Senate candidate who says on his web site he abandoned the “pressurized world of high finance” at JP Morgan Chase Bank to become a Chicago high school football coach. What does he think the U. S. Senate is if not a “pressurized world?” Mr. Jones has no political experience but he is ready to enter the “world” he already rejected. Mr. Jones may not be quite as inarticulate as Alvin Greene but when asked Monday about future planning in the Chicago metro area all Jones could talk about was the ghetto today. Of course, goofy voters elected Barack Obama, so Jones’ lack of seasoning and experience may not be a handicap. Hey, it’s Illinois.
Something crazy and silly is happening in our national life. We have men and women dying in Afghanistan. We have a Gulf that is saturated with muck. But Democrats are attacking BP executives for going sailing, while our own President Obama is off golfing and attending baseball games. Why is it all right for Obama and Biden to play golf, but not all right for British executives to relax?
Obama knows nothing about the military, and nothing about crisis management. It turns out there really is “no drama” in “no drama Obama.” In fact, there’s nothing at all inside Obama, no drama no nuttin’. [Sales pitch: read my book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask,” that predicted his meltdown.] Obama is the paper maché president. In a crisis, a commander doesn’t take a vacation every weekend, he or she goes down to the Gulf and takes command.
But Obama’s “Commander-in-Chief” credentials aren’t any more authentic than Mark Kirk’s. And so America and Illinois continue to suffer under the yoke of incompetent and fraudulent leadership.
In the midst of all of this negative energy we have Mark Kirk, who gloats he has “clean” military efficiency reports even though he has been admonished for engaging in political activity while in uniform. Who scrubbed Kirk’s personnel files? There is much, much more to come in the Kirk-Navy scandal.
What’s Kirk’s next escape plan? Hide out with Osama? Lay up in Kandahar until election day? Inshallah.
Stay Tuned for the 2010 version of Mark Kirk’s “Pentagon Papers.”
“Kirk Week” continues. And so does the “no drama” drama. Golf, anyone? Or the Gulf?
-----------------------------
Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie "Obama: The Hawai'i years." Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com
Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).
UPDATES: www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSAwww.facebook.com/AndyMartin Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]
MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com © Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
----------------------------
Showing posts with label Pentagon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pentagon. Show all posts
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
New Pentagon documents on Mark Kirk
Andy Martin demands Pentagon investigation into Mark Kirk’s military fraud; Andy Martin submits new Freedom of Information demand to Pentagon on Mark Kirk [two letters]
CONTRARIANCOMMENTARY.COM
Independent Worldwide News and Opinion
New York-London-Washington-Chicago-San Francisco-Palm Beach
"The Internet Powerhouse"
Headquarters mail:
Post Office Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
Tel. (866) 706-2639
Fax (866) 707-2639
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E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com
Anthony R. Martin, J. D.
Executive Editor
June 16, 2010
Hon. Gordon S. Heddell
Department of Defense
Office of Inspector General
400 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202-4704
via fax (703) 604-8567
Vice Admiral James W. Houck
Judge Advocate General
1322 Patterson Ave., Suite 3000
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5066
via fax (703) 697-4610
Re: Violations of law by U. S. Navy Cdr. Mark Kirk and
other DOD/Navy personnel
Dear IG Heddell and
Admiral Houck:
I am writing to request an investigation of Mark Kirk by your offices and, if necessary, prosecution and disciplinary action against Mr. Kirk.
For the past decade Mark Kirk has been using the U. S. Navy as a political prop. (I have examples of his literature, and you can find them cached on the Internet.) He has used all of his “deployments” (as he calls them) to pose for pictures in Navy flight suits and flack jackets, which then appear on his political websites. Among his many media lies, he told the Chicago Sun-Times he was fired on by enemy forces while attached to a Dutch unit. He has claimed to have “fought in two wars.” He has claimed to have “deployed” to Afghanistan in 2008 and again in 2009, and after returning he has given “reports” to people who were invited to hear him because of his status as a political candidate, most recently at the Union League Club in Chicago in January.
Kirk has also “tweeted” from the Pentagon, claimed to be running an intelligence operation at the Pentagon and claimed to have won awards/medals that are nonexistent or exaggerated.
Although the media have not yet begun to investigate Kirk’s claim that he was “detailed” to the CIA, I have filed new FOIA requests to verify his “CIA” claims. Please ensure that these FOIA requests are not obstructed or nullified by any ongoing cover-up or corruption.
During the entire period of Kirk’s shenanigans the Navy did nothing to shut down his misbehavior.
Last year I filed Freedom of Information (“FOIA”) requests against Kirk with DOD, USN, USAF, USMC. The Navy provided a single sheet of paper in response. The Air Force refused to disclose if Kirk had traveled on congressional passes to Afghanistan and provided nothing. There was a complete stonewall, and a complete cover-up, from, end to end.
Earlier this week comments apparently originating in the OASD (PA) indicated Kirk had been warned in 2009 about engaging in politics on Navy time. Kirk has denied those accusations and admonitions. His brazenness is unlimited. As such, his lack of an apology makes him an unrepentant sham and thief of Navy valor. When someone refuses to apologize for breaking the law, the law must take even sterner and stronger steps to prosecute such an individual.
Your offices must investigate how the uniformed services, especially the Navy, and DOD were all conned by this military mountebank, and how and why a stonewall of silence was imposed when I sought to access Kirk’s records pursuant to FOIA. The very purpose of the FOIA statute was corrupted and perverted to shield Kirk. Why? Why is DOD violating FOIA when President Obama has asked for more disclosure, not less?
Kirk’s travel accommodations and records, for example, were hardly secret or privileged. The Pentagon has offices which routinely engage in congressional liaison and keep records of their contacts and actions with senators and representatives. Why were those records not turned over to me under FOIA? There was corruption, and there was a cover-up.
I would like those records now.
Was it because of fear of congressional retaliation by Kirk, or fear of embarrassment to the Navy that triggered the cover-up/stonewall? Your offices need to find out. Why was only one sheet of FOIA paper was provided in 2009? The Department of Defense was utterly and completely compromised and corrupted.
Kirk should be drummed out of the service for his egregious misconduct spanning at least a decade.
Kirk also appears to have corrupted the “efficiency report” process. Kirk’s defense this week to allegations that he was admonished is that there is nothing to confirm those admonishments in his ER’s. Why not? Did his reviewing officers know he had been admonished in preparing his ER’s? Or was ER fraud a small part of the larger overall cover-up? You need to find out.
I question whether military officers should be preparing ER’s on senators and representatives. The conflict of interest is obvious and unavoidable. Maybe we also need legislation.
I am sure your offices have experienced prosecutors and investigators. You know where you have to go to look into Kirk's antics, and you know why. Kirk has stained the Navy, stained DOD and embarrassed the entire Pentagon, all in a time of war when brave men and women are in harm's way every day.
Kirk is perhaps the greatest military imposter since Senator Joe McCarthy who campaigned for office as “Tail Gunner Joe” even though he never had been a “tail gunner.” McCarthy was a complete fraud, and so is Mark Kirk.
It has never been my privilege to serve on active duty in uniform. But I have been alongside men who have. I have seen them die. I know the risks men and women take every day. I know how lives are endangered and lost. The idea that a congressional clown could appropriate the valor of our heroes for his own crass political prospects is sickening.
You need to act decisively not only because Kirk broke the law and should be prosecuted, but as a warning to other thieves and frauds who engage in similar misconduct. Hang Kirk out as an example to others who may be tempted to engage in stolen valor and military fraud. And do so decisively and promptly.
I am happy to meet with you in Washington or Arlington if my presence will be of any assistance. My worldwide audience and the American people are waiting for your response.
Respectfully submitted,
ANDY MARTIN
CCC.AM:sp
-----------------------------------------
CONTRARIANCOMMENTARY.COM
Independent Worldwide News and Opinion
New York-London-Washington-Chicago-San Francisco-Palm Beach
"The Internet Powerhouse"
Headquarters mail:
Post Office Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
Tel. (866) 706-2639
Fax (866) 707-2639
Web: ContrarianCommentary.com
E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com
Anthony R. Martin, J. D.
Executive Editor
June 16, 2010
Major April Cunningham
OASD (PA)
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
via fax (703) 697-3501
FOIA REQUEST RE CONGRESSMAN/USN MARK KIRK
Dear Major Cunningham:
As you are probably aware, remarks you made to one of my fellow bloggers about Navy officer Mark Kirk have been widely carried by the Associated Press as well as other bloggers.
This letter is a two-part request: first, I would like copies of any materials in your office, OASD (PA), on which your statements to nitpicker.blogspot.com were based. Second, pursuant to FOIA I would like to request all of Mark Kirk’s DOD records within the Navy, Air Force, USMC and elsewhere. All of these records are obviously subject to the FOIA jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense.
Indeed, in view of the growing congressional and political scandal over Mr. Kirk’s unlawful behavior, I believe Secretary Gates himself should be involved in ordering a “clean breast” and full disclosure of all of Kirk’s files. There has obviously been a cover-up in the past.
My contemporaneous complaint to the DOD IG and USN JAG are self-explanatory.
1. FOIA release of the documents on which your remarks to nitpicker.blogspot.com was based
When you apparently spoke to nitpicker.blogspot.com, I assume (i) you were authorized to do so and (ii) you based your own comments on documents in your possession. Pursuant to FOIA I would like to request copies of all of the Kirk documents on which your nitpicker comments were based, or any other Kirk records in the possession of OASD (PA). At a minimum, if you discussed documents, or if your discussion was based on Kirk documents, there was a FOIA waiver as to any materials which you used in your public dissemination.
2. General Mark Kirk FOIA request - renewed
Lat year, I submitted detailed FOIA requests to DOD, USN, USMC and USAF. Except for one page from USN, I was unlawfully stonewalled. Since then the controversy has exploded. The time for stonewalling is obviously over. Due to the national scandal over Kirk’s misbehavior, the OASD (PA) is obviously the place to coordinate release of FOIA materials.
I am therefore renewing my 2009 and 2010 FOIA requests through this letter.
I filed a FOIA request earlier this month renewing my 2009 requests, as well as a new FOIA request for any of what Mark Kirk claims are his “detailed to the CIA” materials if any exist (Kirk claims the Navy “detailed him to the CIA”).
The Kirk Pentagon fraud and cover-up scandal has become the most egregious example of military fraud in over a half century. The public’s interest in full disclosure now completely overrides any privacy interests which Kirk may have had. He has been exposed as a liar and fraud. The cover-up, and Kirk’s use of military secrecy to defraud the public, must end.
Pursuant to FOIA I am formally and legally requesting, and I would like DOD, USN, USAF to release, any and all records in their possession concerning Mr. Kirk or, in the alternative, to prepare and provide a detailed and explicit “Vaughn Index” for any information which is not disclosed.
For example (1), there have to be records on how Mr. Kirk got to Afghanistan in December, 2009 and again 2009. Did he travel on a USAF congressional plane? Navy plane? There is no basis on which to conceal these records any longer. They are absolutely subject to full FOIA disclosure.
For example (2), were there prior complaints about Kirk? When and where? Were there admonishments, or internal memos within DOD? We need full disclosure and documentation of any discussions of Kirk’s politically suspect behavior. Information concerning violations of laws and regulations is not subject to secrecy under any interpretation of FOIA.
Full disclosure is particularly important because earlier this week, in response to your own disclosures, Kirk denied he had been admonished and said his ER’s were “clean.” Why were his ER’s clean? Is there is a major military/congressional scandal here? I think so. Was the Navy “scrubbing” Kirk’s files because he was a congressman? Because of fear of retaliation? For example (3), a Navy officer “tipped off” Kirk when media filed earlier FOIAs. Is that type of “head’s up” usual under FOIA, or just a “congressional privilege?” Was there a memo on the head’s up? Please turn it over.
You full cooperation, and the full cooperation of DOD and Secretary Gates, will be sincerely appreciated. I only want the truth and the facts about Mark Kirk. Nothing less, and nothing more.
Respectfully submitted,
ANDY MARTIN
CCC:AM:sp
CONTRARIANCOMMENTARY.COM
Independent Worldwide News and Opinion
New York-London-Washington-Chicago-San Francisco-Palm Beach
"The Internet Powerhouse"
Headquarters mail:
Post Office Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
Tel. (866) 706-2639
Fax (866) 707-2639
Web: ContrarianCommentary.com
E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com
Anthony R. Martin, J. D.
Executive Editor
June 16, 2010
Hon. Gordon S. Heddell
Department of Defense
Office of Inspector General
400 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202-4704
via fax (703) 604-8567
Vice Admiral James W. Houck
Judge Advocate General
1322 Patterson Ave., Suite 3000
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5066
via fax (703) 697-4610
Re: Violations of law by U. S. Navy Cdr. Mark Kirk and
other DOD/Navy personnel
Dear IG Heddell and
Admiral Houck:
I am writing to request an investigation of Mark Kirk by your offices and, if necessary, prosecution and disciplinary action against Mr. Kirk.
For the past decade Mark Kirk has been using the U. S. Navy as a political prop. (I have examples of his literature, and you can find them cached on the Internet.) He has used all of his “deployments” (as he calls them) to pose for pictures in Navy flight suits and flack jackets, which then appear on his political websites. Among his many media lies, he told the Chicago Sun-Times he was fired on by enemy forces while attached to a Dutch unit. He has claimed to have “fought in two wars.” He has claimed to have “deployed” to Afghanistan in 2008 and again in 2009, and after returning he has given “reports” to people who were invited to hear him because of his status as a political candidate, most recently at the Union League Club in Chicago in January.
Kirk has also “tweeted” from the Pentagon, claimed to be running an intelligence operation at the Pentagon and claimed to have won awards/medals that are nonexistent or exaggerated.
Although the media have not yet begun to investigate Kirk’s claim that he was “detailed” to the CIA, I have filed new FOIA requests to verify his “CIA” claims. Please ensure that these FOIA requests are not obstructed or nullified by any ongoing cover-up or corruption.
During the entire period of Kirk’s shenanigans the Navy did nothing to shut down his misbehavior.
Last year I filed Freedom of Information (“FOIA”) requests against Kirk with DOD, USN, USAF, USMC. The Navy provided a single sheet of paper in response. The Air Force refused to disclose if Kirk had traveled on congressional passes to Afghanistan and provided nothing. There was a complete stonewall, and a complete cover-up, from, end to end.
Earlier this week comments apparently originating in the OASD (PA) indicated Kirk had been warned in 2009 about engaging in politics on Navy time. Kirk has denied those accusations and admonitions. His brazenness is unlimited. As such, his lack of an apology makes him an unrepentant sham and thief of Navy valor. When someone refuses to apologize for breaking the law, the law must take even sterner and stronger steps to prosecute such an individual.
Your offices must investigate how the uniformed services, especially the Navy, and DOD were all conned by this military mountebank, and how and why a stonewall of silence was imposed when I sought to access Kirk’s records pursuant to FOIA. The very purpose of the FOIA statute was corrupted and perverted to shield Kirk. Why? Why is DOD violating FOIA when President Obama has asked for more disclosure, not less?
Kirk’s travel accommodations and records, for example, were hardly secret or privileged. The Pentagon has offices which routinely engage in congressional liaison and keep records of their contacts and actions with senators and representatives. Why were those records not turned over to me under FOIA? There was corruption, and there was a cover-up.
I would like those records now.
Was it because of fear of congressional retaliation by Kirk, or fear of embarrassment to the Navy that triggered the cover-up/stonewall? Your offices need to find out. Why was only one sheet of FOIA paper was provided in 2009? The Department of Defense was utterly and completely compromised and corrupted.
Kirk should be drummed out of the service for his egregious misconduct spanning at least a decade.
Kirk also appears to have corrupted the “efficiency report” process. Kirk’s defense this week to allegations that he was admonished is that there is nothing to confirm those admonishments in his ER’s. Why not? Did his reviewing officers know he had been admonished in preparing his ER’s? Or was ER fraud a small part of the larger overall cover-up? You need to find out.
I question whether military officers should be preparing ER’s on senators and representatives. The conflict of interest is obvious and unavoidable. Maybe we also need legislation.
I am sure your offices have experienced prosecutors and investigators. You know where you have to go to look into Kirk's antics, and you know why. Kirk has stained the Navy, stained DOD and embarrassed the entire Pentagon, all in a time of war when brave men and women are in harm's way every day.
Kirk is perhaps the greatest military imposter since Senator Joe McCarthy who campaigned for office as “Tail Gunner Joe” even though he never had been a “tail gunner.” McCarthy was a complete fraud, and so is Mark Kirk.
It has never been my privilege to serve on active duty in uniform. But I have been alongside men who have. I have seen them die. I know the risks men and women take every day. I know how lives are endangered and lost. The idea that a congressional clown could appropriate the valor of our heroes for his own crass political prospects is sickening.
You need to act decisively not only because Kirk broke the law and should be prosecuted, but as a warning to other thieves and frauds who engage in similar misconduct. Hang Kirk out as an example to others who may be tempted to engage in stolen valor and military fraud. And do so decisively and promptly.
I am happy to meet with you in Washington or Arlington if my presence will be of any assistance. My worldwide audience and the American people are waiting for your response.
Respectfully submitted,
ANDY MARTIN
CCC.AM:sp
-----------------------------------------
CONTRARIANCOMMENTARY.COM
Independent Worldwide News and Opinion
New York-London-Washington-Chicago-San Francisco-Palm Beach
"The Internet Powerhouse"
Headquarters mail:
Post Office Box 1851
New York, NY 10150-1851
Tel. (866) 706-2639
Fax (866) 707-2639
Web: ContrarianCommentary.com
E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com
Anthony R. Martin, J. D.
Executive Editor
June 16, 2010
Major April Cunningham
OASD (PA)
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
via fax (703) 697-3501
FOIA REQUEST RE CONGRESSMAN/USN MARK KIRK
Dear Major Cunningham:
As you are probably aware, remarks you made to one of my fellow bloggers about Navy officer Mark Kirk have been widely carried by the Associated Press as well as other bloggers.
This letter is a two-part request: first, I would like copies of any materials in your office, OASD (PA), on which your statements to nitpicker.blogspot.com were based. Second, pursuant to FOIA I would like to request all of Mark Kirk’s DOD records within the Navy, Air Force, USMC and elsewhere. All of these records are obviously subject to the FOIA jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense.
Indeed, in view of the growing congressional and political scandal over Mr. Kirk’s unlawful behavior, I believe Secretary Gates himself should be involved in ordering a “clean breast” and full disclosure of all of Kirk’s files. There has obviously been a cover-up in the past.
My contemporaneous complaint to the DOD IG and USN JAG are self-explanatory.
1. FOIA release of the documents on which your remarks to nitpicker.blogspot.com was based
When you apparently spoke to nitpicker.blogspot.com, I assume (i) you were authorized to do so and (ii) you based your own comments on documents in your possession. Pursuant to FOIA I would like to request copies of all of the Kirk documents on which your nitpicker comments were based, or any other Kirk records in the possession of OASD (PA). At a minimum, if you discussed documents, or if your discussion was based on Kirk documents, there was a FOIA waiver as to any materials which you used in your public dissemination.
2. General Mark Kirk FOIA request - renewed
Lat year, I submitted detailed FOIA requests to DOD, USN, USMC and USAF. Except for one page from USN, I was unlawfully stonewalled. Since then the controversy has exploded. The time for stonewalling is obviously over. Due to the national scandal over Kirk’s misbehavior, the OASD (PA) is obviously the place to coordinate release of FOIA materials.
I am therefore renewing my 2009 and 2010 FOIA requests through this letter.
I filed a FOIA request earlier this month renewing my 2009 requests, as well as a new FOIA request for any of what Mark Kirk claims are his “detailed to the CIA” materials if any exist (Kirk claims the Navy “detailed him to the CIA”).
The Kirk Pentagon fraud and cover-up scandal has become the most egregious example of military fraud in over a half century. The public’s interest in full disclosure now completely overrides any privacy interests which Kirk may have had. He has been exposed as a liar and fraud. The cover-up, and Kirk’s use of military secrecy to defraud the public, must end.
Pursuant to FOIA I am formally and legally requesting, and I would like DOD, USN, USAF to release, any and all records in their possession concerning Mr. Kirk or, in the alternative, to prepare and provide a detailed and explicit “Vaughn Index” for any information which is not disclosed.
For example (1), there have to be records on how Mr. Kirk got to Afghanistan in December, 2009 and again 2009. Did he travel on a USAF congressional plane? Navy plane? There is no basis on which to conceal these records any longer. They are absolutely subject to full FOIA disclosure.
For example (2), were there prior complaints about Kirk? When and where? Were there admonishments, or internal memos within DOD? We need full disclosure and documentation of any discussions of Kirk’s politically suspect behavior. Information concerning violations of laws and regulations is not subject to secrecy under any interpretation of FOIA.
Full disclosure is particularly important because earlier this week, in response to your own disclosures, Kirk denied he had been admonished and said his ER’s were “clean.” Why were his ER’s clean? Is there is a major military/congressional scandal here? I think so. Was the Navy “scrubbing” Kirk’s files because he was a congressman? Because of fear of retaliation? For example (3), a Navy officer “tipped off” Kirk when media filed earlier FOIAs. Is that type of “head’s up” usual under FOIA, or just a “congressional privilege?” Was there a memo on the head’s up? Please turn it over.
You full cooperation, and the full cooperation of DOD and Secretary Gates, will be sincerely appreciated. I only want the truth and the facts about Mark Kirk. Nothing less, and nothing more.
Respectfully submitted,
ANDY MARTIN
CCC:AM:sp
Monday, May 31, 2010
Pentagon clamps down on political abuses by Congressman Mark Kirk
Kirk adversary Andy Martin will hold a blockbuster news conference on Memorial Day to disclose that the Department of Defense is prohibiting Mark Kirk from blatant use of military uniforms and insignia in his political campaigns. DOD wants to a void any implication of an “endorsement” of Kirk by the military. “Mark Kirk is the greatest military imposter in recent history,” Martin charges. “Kirk makes Connecticut military fraud Richard Blumenthal look like a genuine ‘war hero.’ Now the Pentagon has had enough.
“Kirk has been told to place a disclaimer on his use of military garb, and cannot use military insignia to falsely portray himself as a Navy warrior. All this has come as a result of my pressuring the Pentagon to shut down the Mark Kirk ‘stolen valor’ political fraud campaign in Illinois,” Martin says.
Martin has been attacking the Department of Defense for allowing military imposter Kirk to sashay around in various uniforms and on military installations, when the obvious intent is to falsely portray Kirk as some sort of warrior in Kirk’s campaigns for office. Kirk does hold a military commission but that is essentially where the truth ends. Kirk has falsely claimed to have “fought in wars.”
Kirk has also falsely claimed to have been a CIA agent.
PALM BEACH [CHICAGO] NEWS CONFERENCE: Monday, May 31
Department of Defense clamps down on Congressman Mark Kirk’s abuse of military uniforms and installations
Pentagon requires Kirk to run a disclaimer that Kirk’s photos do not “endorse” Kirk
Andy Martin says Kirk has also falsely claimed to be a “CIA agent”
NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The Name You Can Trust”
Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(866) 706-2639
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com
www.MarkKirk.us
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ATTENTION DAYBOOK/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MONDAY NEWS CONFERENCE IN PALM BEACH
Andy Martin says the Department of Defense has blocked Mark Kirk from misusing military insignia, uniforms and installations in his political campaigns
Kirk’s literature is now required to carry a mandated disclaimer: “(Use of photograph in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy)”
Martin is working to block Mark Kirk from falsely claiming to have “served” in Afghanistan when Pentagon records show no evidence of Kirk’s presence there (see www.MarkKirk.us)
In another of his Walter Mitty exaggerations Kirk also claims to have been a “CIA agent”
(CHICAGO)(May 31, 2010) Former Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a Palm Beach news conference Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st to announce that the Department of Defense has barred Mark Kirk from using military garb to promote his political campaigns.
During the Illinois Primary Martin ran a statewide radio ad disclosing that Kirk was a military fraud who was inflating his resume. The ad can be heard at:
http://www.andyforussenator.com/andys_ads.htm
Kirk’s opponent Alexi Giannoulias has now picked up on Martin’s earlier advertising and disclosures. Kirk uses his congressional position to concoct photo ops on military installations to further his political campaigns.
Martin is operating a series of anti-Kirk blogs: www.DefeatMarkKirk.blogspot.com;
www.contrariancommentary.typepad.com/defeatmarkkirk/
Martin also maintains an anti-Kirk web site: www.MarkKirk.us
"Mark Kirk has been a military imposter since his first campaign for office,” Martin will charge. "The Pentagon has now barred Kirk from using ‘military’ pictures without adding a disclaimer. In a May 13th e-mail to supporters, Kirk was forced to add:
Thu, May 13, 2010 4:11:00 PM
Congressman Kirk meets with an Afghan leader during his service near Kandahar
(Use of photograph in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy)
***
Very truly yours,
Eric ElkKirk for Senate
“Kirk was in Afghanistan this year as a congressman,” Martin says, “looking for photo ops and seeking to mislead the voters. He performed no actual military duties. If he has any evidence to sustain his claims Kirk should sign a waiver and release his complete Navy/military file to the public.
“Kirk is a dangerous fraud artist and imposter. In the past he has also claimed to be a ‘CIA agent.’
“Kirk had the support of the sleazy Illinois Republican Party’s establishment, but he lied to primary voters and obtained a fraudulent nomination. Kirk bribed the Republican Party with $50,000 in cash to rig the primary in his favor. The ‘election’ was a travesty. Cash-and-carry democracy is not democracy at all. It is Washington Beltway corruption and control of our local electoral process. Kirk used the Republican Party’s apparatus as his own campaign machinery. When a primary is rigged, the candidates that emerge from that process are not entitled to party loyalty.
“I am continuing my Freedom of Information activity to seek the release of Kirk’s hidden military files. There is nothing more despicable than a fraud such as Kirk who seeks to inflate his military service and ‘rip off’ the valor of our men and women in uniform for his own political aggrandizement. Kirk is a sick, sick man. Kirk should be criminally prosecuted for his military abuses and falsifications.
“Illinois news media have been Kirk’s accomplices in spreading Kirk’s bogus military claims. In one utterly absurd example in January, Kirk issued a false press release to the Associated Press, which then uncritically reported Kirk’s lies. Kirk then printed the AP’s lies on his own campaign literature, in effect laundering his lies through the Associated Press. This is journalism? I have posted the U. S. Navy’s response to my earlier FOIA request, in which the Navy could find no records to confirm Kirk’s claim that he ‘served’ in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2008 [see www.markKirk.us and click on letter link].
“In reality and practicality Kirk has been a visiting congressman who tried to collect a second salary by falsely claiming he was doing ‘double duty’ on ‘active duty.’ If you look at Kirk’s May 13th picture, you see no military insignia, rank. He was engaged in a sham episode of ‘deployment’ for his own political advancement, and performed no useful military activity. It is disgraceful that Secretary Gates has allowed the Navy department to be misused in this matter.
“I hope to raise money to run anti-Kirk ads during the summer and fall,” Martin says.
Martin is in Florida visiting relatives.
------------------------------------
May 31st news conference details:
WHO:
Former U. S. Senate candidate and Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin
WHERE:
Sidewalk news conference, in front of 95 N. County Road, Palm Beach, FL
WHEN: Monday, May 31st 1:00 P.M.
WHAT:
Former U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin says the Department of Defense has responded to his complaints by requiring Mark Kirk to place a disclaimer on any of his bogus military pictures.
MEDIA CONTACT:(866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329
WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com
E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
-----------------------------Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and producing the new Internet movie "Obama: The Hawai'i years." Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York. UPDATES: www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSAwww.facebook.com/AndyMartin Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.] MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com © Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
----------------------------
“Kirk has been told to place a disclaimer on his use of military garb, and cannot use military insignia to falsely portray himself as a Navy warrior. All this has come as a result of my pressuring the Pentagon to shut down the Mark Kirk ‘stolen valor’ political fraud campaign in Illinois,” Martin says.
Martin has been attacking the Department of Defense for allowing military imposter Kirk to sashay around in various uniforms and on military installations, when the obvious intent is to falsely portray Kirk as some sort of warrior in Kirk’s campaigns for office. Kirk does hold a military commission but that is essentially where the truth ends. Kirk has falsely claimed to have “fought in wars.”
Kirk has also falsely claimed to have been a CIA agent.
PALM BEACH [CHICAGO] NEWS CONFERENCE: Monday, May 31
Department of Defense clamps down on Congressman Mark Kirk’s abuse of military uniforms and installations
Pentagon requires Kirk to run a disclaimer that Kirk’s photos do not “endorse” Kirk
Andy Martin says Kirk has also falsely claimed to be a “CIA agent”
NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The Name You Can Trust”
Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(866) 706-2639
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com
www.MarkKirk.us
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ATTENTION DAYBOOK/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MONDAY NEWS CONFERENCE IN PALM BEACH
Andy Martin says the Department of Defense has blocked Mark Kirk from misusing military insignia, uniforms and installations in his political campaigns
Kirk’s literature is now required to carry a mandated disclaimer: “(Use of photograph in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy)”
Martin is working to block Mark Kirk from falsely claiming to have “served” in Afghanistan when Pentagon records show no evidence of Kirk’s presence there (see www.MarkKirk.us)
In another of his Walter Mitty exaggerations Kirk also claims to have been a “CIA agent”
(CHICAGO)(May 31, 2010) Former Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a Palm Beach news conference Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st to announce that the Department of Defense has barred Mark Kirk from using military garb to promote his political campaigns.
During the Illinois Primary Martin ran a statewide radio ad disclosing that Kirk was a military fraud who was inflating his resume. The ad can be heard at:
http://www.andyforussenator.com/andys_ads.htm
Kirk’s opponent Alexi Giannoulias has now picked up on Martin’s earlier advertising and disclosures. Kirk uses his congressional position to concoct photo ops on military installations to further his political campaigns.
Martin is operating a series of anti-Kirk blogs: www.DefeatMarkKirk.blogspot.com;
www.contrariancommentary.typepad.com/defeatmarkkirk/
Martin also maintains an anti-Kirk web site: www.MarkKirk.us
"Mark Kirk has been a military imposter since his first campaign for office,” Martin will charge. "The Pentagon has now barred Kirk from using ‘military’ pictures without adding a disclaimer. In a May 13th e-mail to supporters, Kirk was forced to add:
Thu, May 13, 2010 4:11:00 PM
Congressman Kirk meets with an Afghan leader during his service near Kandahar
(Use of photograph in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy)
***
Very truly yours,
Eric ElkKirk for Senate
“Kirk was in Afghanistan this year as a congressman,” Martin says, “looking for photo ops and seeking to mislead the voters. He performed no actual military duties. If he has any evidence to sustain his claims Kirk should sign a waiver and release his complete Navy/military file to the public.
“Kirk is a dangerous fraud artist and imposter. In the past he has also claimed to be a ‘CIA agent.’
“Kirk had the support of the sleazy Illinois Republican Party’s establishment, but he lied to primary voters and obtained a fraudulent nomination. Kirk bribed the Republican Party with $50,000 in cash to rig the primary in his favor. The ‘election’ was a travesty. Cash-and-carry democracy is not democracy at all. It is Washington Beltway corruption and control of our local electoral process. Kirk used the Republican Party’s apparatus as his own campaign machinery. When a primary is rigged, the candidates that emerge from that process are not entitled to party loyalty.
“I am continuing my Freedom of Information activity to seek the release of Kirk’s hidden military files. There is nothing more despicable than a fraud such as Kirk who seeks to inflate his military service and ‘rip off’ the valor of our men and women in uniform for his own political aggrandizement. Kirk is a sick, sick man. Kirk should be criminally prosecuted for his military abuses and falsifications.
“Illinois news media have been Kirk’s accomplices in spreading Kirk’s bogus military claims. In one utterly absurd example in January, Kirk issued a false press release to the Associated Press, which then uncritically reported Kirk’s lies. Kirk then printed the AP’s lies on his own campaign literature, in effect laundering his lies through the Associated Press. This is journalism? I have posted the U. S. Navy’s response to my earlier FOIA request, in which the Navy could find no records to confirm Kirk’s claim that he ‘served’ in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2008 [see www.markKirk.us and click on letter link].
“In reality and practicality Kirk has been a visiting congressman who tried to collect a second salary by falsely claiming he was doing ‘double duty’ on ‘active duty.’ If you look at Kirk’s May 13th picture, you see no military insignia, rank. He was engaged in a sham episode of ‘deployment’ for his own political advancement, and performed no useful military activity. It is disgraceful that Secretary Gates has allowed the Navy department to be misused in this matter.
“I hope to raise money to run anti-Kirk ads during the summer and fall,” Martin says.
Martin is in Florida visiting relatives.
------------------------------------
May 31st news conference details:
WHO:
Former U. S. Senate candidate and Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin
WHERE:
Sidewalk news conference, in front of 95 N. County Road, Palm Beach, FL
WHEN: Monday, May 31st 1:00 P.M.
WHAT:
Former U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin says the Department of Defense has responded to his complaints by requiring Mark Kirk to place a disclaimer on any of his bogus military pictures.
MEDIA CONTACT:(866) 706-2639; Cell (917) 664-9329
WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com
E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
-----------------------------Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and producing the new Internet movie "Obama: The Hawai'i years." Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York. UPDATES: www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSAwww.facebook.com/AndyMartin Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.] MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com © Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
----------------------------
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