Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

HCRP Press Release – KPRC reporter must come clean about who’s really behind irresponsible attacks on GOP state lawmakers

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The Harris County Republican Party is pushing back on the attacks on State Rep. Jim Murphy:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
For more information contact:
Vlad Davidiuk
713-806-5641
[email protected]

 

KPRC’s Diaz must come clean about who’s really behind irresponsible attacks on GOP state lawmakers

Reporter uses Bernie Madoff ally, left wing activists as ethics and legal sources

 

HOUSTON – KPRC-TV’s Mario Diaz is acting as a tool of left-wing organizations in his biased attacks on Houston area Republican elected officials.  Paul Simpson, Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, calls on this new KPRC reporter to disclose the left-wing and partisan organizations feeding such information to him, and to acknowledge that the sources he touts are one-sided, biased, and partisan.

“Mario Diaz is using a bizarre lineup of Ponzi-schemers and liberal partisans to attack Houston GOP elected officials,” said Simpson.  “He has an agenda. Mr. Diaz should disclose who’s really behind these attacks. How does a KPRC reporter in Houston come to rely on a former Bernie Madoff ally from Florida, and a former Obama operative and California Democrat Party field director, yet not disclose their questionable backgrounds?  Who is feeding these sources to this new KPRC reporter?”

In recent days, Mr. Diaz has aired a series of misleading partisan attacks on State Representative Jim Murphy.  Their on-air sources have included:

  1. KPRC’s February 21st story cited “tax expert” Michael D. Sullivan, of Fort Lauderdale Florida, who was part of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal.

Mr. Diaz failed to disclose that for years Sullivan ran a feeder fund for Bernie Madoff out of his office on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.  Sullivan’s new company Fresh Start Tax LLC is located at 3696 Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.  http://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/meet-bob-sullivan-another-madoff-money-man

The Florida conservator representing Madoff victims also named Michael D. Sullivan: and his new company Fresh Start Tax LLC in a subpoena here:http://www.floridaconservator.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/04.26.13-Notice-of-Intent-to-Serve-Document-Subpoena-Upon-Michael-D.-Sullivan-Associates-Inc..pdf

  1. On February 8th, on KPRC, Mario Diaz cited as an “ethics lawyer,” local Democratic donor and plaintiffs’ lawyer Cris Feldman.  But Mr. Diaz failed to disclose that Feldman had contributed more than $12,000 to the Harris County Democratic Party in 2018 alone.  https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&contributor_name=feldman%2C+cris&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=02%2F22%2F2018
  1. Mr. Diaz’s KPRC report also cited left-wing community organizer Bay Scoggin, formerly of the California Democratic Party and Barack Obama’s Organizing for America, to opine on Texas’s conservative and part time legislature.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bay-scoggin-59a6a9138/

Lawmakers in Texas are expected to have real jobs and are paid just $7,200 per year, compared to California’s liberal, activist, and full-time legislature paid $104,118.  On February 7th Mario Diaz failed to mention Obama operative Scoggin’s partisanship, breathlessly noting that “it took Bay Scoggin three seconds to sum up” his attack on Texas and Texas Republicans.

“It’s shocking that Mario Diaz relies on these blatantly partisan sources for his attacks.  We call upon him to disclose who brought him these flawed sources, and to stop his misleading attacks on Houston Republicans.”

Harris County Republican Party
http://www.harriscountygop.com/

I love it that the party is fighting back for its elected officials.

Harris County Presidential Election of 2016

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Murphy Turner

There is no question that the 2016 election will be talked about for many years to come. This election is unusual for several reasons and the candidacy of Donald Trump has added more stress for Harris County elected officials and candidates. Paul Simpson is doing the greatest Kabuki dance of all time trying to support what is arguably the worst field of candidates in Harris County history. Folks like Devon Anderson, Mary Lou Keel, Mike Sullivan, and Jim Murphy must give every true conservative on the ballot this election cycle tremendous heartburn. At this point, full panic mode is setting in. If you notice, Paul Simpson does not have one nice thing to say about Donald Trump and let me tell you why.

You cannot understand the 2016 race without looking at the 2014 election of Paul Simpson. In that election, Simpson was supported by a coalition of institutional, big government, pro-immigration, establishment Republicans who teamed up with Libertarians and Log Cabin Republicans to defeat Jared Woodfill.  Another group of supporters bought into the fallacy that the defeat of Woodfill will bring down the “pay to play” guys (i.e., Hotze, Lowry, and Polland). Of course, the real goal for many Simpson sympathizers was to replace the so called “pay to play” slates with their own “pay to play” slates. Allen Blakemore, of course, has his hand in both camps. See Wayne Smith’s primary defeat.

Kevin Shuvalov
Kevin Shuvalov

Simpson’s strategist was Kevin Shuvalov of the Mammoth Group who works for Joe Straus. Think about that for a second. Straus is the establishment Republican whose job is to keep money flowing to contractors, party bosses, police and fire unions, Planned Parenthood, etc. in the Texas Legislature. After two failed campaigns, Simpson turned to Shuvalov’s establishment consulting group in Austin, the Mammoth Group for his 2014 campaign. Following Simpson’s victory, the Mammoth Group basically operates the Harris County Republican Party, and, in turn, the party’s campaign in November. The Mammoth Group works for establishment Republicans and is a reconstituted version of Karl Rove’s old group.

Simpson’s supporter list prohibits him from supporting Trump. Dick Weekley, a big Simpson financial supporter, would punish Paul if he even thought of supporting or helping Trump. Sad but true. It is important to remember that these folks are dependent on cheap foreign labor for their businesses to succeed. This need is juxtaposed against the Trump Train and Mr. Trump’s strong stance against illegal immigration and wasteful government spending. Weekley is not alone and a coalition of political economic opportunists have set their sights on Harris County – the biggest prize in contracting in the state.

The Cruz pity party adds to the crosscurrents of the local political outlook. When Trump defeated Cruz in the Presidential primary, many Cruz supporters in Harris County were disappointed and angry at Trump. Ironically enough, Cruz and Simpson share many supporters. How can Cruz, a man who claims to value the United States Constitution and the legacy of Mr. Justice Scalia, be so shortsighted? What will Cruz say if Hillary is elected and Justice Scalia’s legacy is tarnished by a very liberal court? Cruz and his hurt feelings do not bode well for down-ballot races in Harris County. Cruz’s failure to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland hurt Harris County Republicans.

JennyThen, we have Devon Anderson as the District Attorney candidate. Devon’s problems have been well documented by me, David Jennings, The Houston Chronicle, Jace Larson of Channel 2, and just about every news organization in the country. Devon’s problem is the other battlefront in the conservative movement – social conservatives. Devon Anderson’s indictment and prosecution of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt set off a political firestorm within the pro-life movement. The damage done to the pro-life movement nationally by Devon’s actions may well cost many Harris County Republicans this November. Devon Anderson to this day does not understand the damage she caused the pro-life movement. Social conservatives are rightfully angered by her mere presence on the ballot. See Dr. Hotze’s email to Devon et al. from Saturday night.

The fact that our local party officials are running away from Donald Trump is a disaster in the making. When you see Jim Murphy standing with Sylvester Turner supporting Turner’s pension reform plan, Harris County has a problem. Simpson did not want to involve himself with Devon Anderson and the indictment of Daleiden and all candidates will pay a price. With Simpson at the helm, the local party does not stand for life or fiscal conservatism. The pro-immigration issue is not helping much either. Simpson’s Muslim pep rally and recent carnival were symbolic of the utter failure of the local party. Simpson’s reliance on establishment money creates a well-funded local party, but one devoid of principle. The new mantra is pro-life is taboo and fiscal conservatism does not align with their big government contracts.

It kind of makes me miss Jared.

#NeverDevon

@DonPHooper

 

Daleiden Dismissed for Now

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David D CourthouseA few months ago, I spoke to the Spring Tea Party about the prosecution of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the citizen journalists who investigated the unlawful selling of body parts by Planned Parenthood. This followed my appearance at the Daughters of Liberty (DOL) where I was invited to speak by DOL president, Bonnie Lugo, about the indictments. David Jennings wrote a story about Devon Anderson’s attempts to prevent my speech and you can read it here. Bonnie Lugo says it best, “I am pro-life before I am a Republican.” She is a pro-life warrior and I cannot thank her enough for allowing me the opportunity to speak to her group in the midst of enormous pressure by Devon Anderson to cancel my appearance.

Since the Spring Tea Party meeting was days before the May runoff, Mary Lou Keel showed up to campaign in her race for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, our highest criminal court. Keel held over her October grand jury, which indicted David and Sandra in January. At the meeting, Keel challenged my request for the names of her grand jurors. She said that she would never reveal the names of her grand jurors to me or any reporter.

Think about that concept for a second. Mary Lou KeelWhat happens when a grand jury indicts a police officer in this anti-police environment? I know that high ranking officials of the Houston Police Officers’ Union are concerned about this possibility. Under Susan Brown’s leadership, all but one of the Harris County felony court judges have a standing order with District Clerk Chris Daniel to hide the names of their grand jurors. These orders are in conflict with the spirit of opinions from three Texas Attorneys General. You can read all of the various opinions from the Texas Attorney General’s Office here: 1 Mr G Brian Garrison, 2 Barnhart vState, 3 Mr Rodolfo Ramirez, 4 Mr Scott A Durfee, 5 Ms Angelia Orr, 6 Ms Ashley D Fourt, 7 Ms Donna M Hawkins. Transparency is justice.

Since Anderson’s office failed to prosecute Dr. Karpen, I have been following Anderson’s injustices when it comes to protecting life. I knew that Tuesday, July 26, 2016 would be an important date for David and Sandra.

Keel’s grand jury indicted David and Sandra for the felony offense of tampering with a government document because they allegedly used fake identification to work undercover and expose Planned Parenthood. The grand jury also indicted David for offering to purchase baby body parts, a misdemeanor. David’s attorneys filed a motion to quash both the felony and misdemeanor indictments.

In a thoughtful four page order, Judge Diane Bull dismissed the misdemeanor indictment against David on June 13. Judge Bull deserves credit for seeing Devon’s nonsense.

The felony case fell into the 338th District Court with Brock Thomas presiding. When Devon Anderson and Thomas lost their benches in 2008, they practiced criminal defense together.

Thomas set a hearing on David’s motion to quash for July 26. David’s attorneys filed a motion to quash and the government filed a response, which included an affidavit from Josh Schaffer, attorney for Planned Parenthood. Exhibit C {Josh Schaffer’s Affidavit}

As I revealed a few days ago, Devon Anderson was adamant that the prosecution of David and Sandra was just and being handled by her top staff. Sunni Mitchell, the much-touted and tenured prosecutor leading the charge, was in the courtroom but seemed to be a passive participant. Mitchell also led the “investigation” into Douglas Karpen that ended in a no bill.

I got to the courthouse early and entered the courtroom to see what I could see before the hearing began. The audience was filled with local reporters and defendants on the daily court docket. As I sat in the courtroom, I saw Jared Woodfill approach David and whisper something in his ear. Then, Judge Thomas announced to the crowd that the state dismissed the indictment against David.

I knew that the state had subpoenaed three people: (1) Josh Schaffer, Planned Parenthood’s lawyer, (2) Inger Chandler, a prosecutor from the DA’s conviction integrity unit, and (3) Murphy Klasing, David’s original attorney who communicated with Sunni Mitchell when David submitted his videos to the DA’s office. Schaffer was conspicuously absent from the hearing.

I ran into Murphy Klasing in the courthouse elevator. He was a little late and surprised that he missed the hearing since he was an expected participant. Murphy said that the prosecutors called him on Friday to say that they would prep him on Tuesday morning. Murphy told the prosecutors that he wanted to prep on Friday because he wanted to be prepared. Also, he was a little perplexed as to why the state wanted him as a witness because he did not have anything to say that would help the government; but, the prosecutors put him off. Murphy was the lawyer who first realized that the DA’s office had given David’s videos to Planned Parenthood so his testimony was crucial to David’s defense.

The interesting no show was Josh Schaffer. If he was a subpoenaed witness, why wasn’t he there? I was anticipating Josh’s testimony because what would he say on the stand after writing an affidavit that supported the defense’s contention that the grand jury investigation was improper? I know Josh to be a good lawyer and doubt he would perjure himself for his client or Devon Anderson.

The government’s dismissal form reads as follows:

“Colorable claim raised regarding whether grand jury investigated new matters after extension order was issued.”

Daleiden Dismissal

Now, more than ever, I believe that Mary Lou Keel’s grand jury did nothing with this investigation until after the grand jury term was extended on December 16, which is not in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure. When I spoke at both the Daughters of Liberty and the Spring Tea Party, I discussed what I called the smoking gun.

In his affidavit, Josh Schaeffer said that Planned Parenthood did not know Sandra Merritt’s name until after January 2 when David Daleiden gave a deposition in California. If this was true, Mary Lou Keel’s grand jury could not have been investigating Sandra when it was extended in mid-December. In Texas, grand juries can only be extended to continue an investigation.

Prior to the hearing, on July 1, David’s attorneys filed two motions. The first motion requested the names of the grand jurors who indicted David and Sandra. The second motion requested the grand jury testimony. It took over five months for David’s attorneys to request this information. Sandra’s attorneys never requested this information. The motion is linked here: Daleiden’s Motion to Disclose Grand Jury List, Daleiden’s Motion to Disclose Grand Jury Testimony

I requested the names of the grand jurors from Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel; but, every attempt was thwarted. David Daleiden always had the right to this information as a defendant.

When asked about releasing the grand jury information on the campaign trail, Mary Lou Keel would say, “Well, David’s lawyers have not asked for the grand jury names.” In her race for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Keel used quotes from David and Sandra’s lawyers to support her claim that she did nothing improper in relation to this investigation.

“I’ve known Judge Keel since we were prosecutors together over 25 years ago.  She is a highly ethical, by-the-book judge who knows and follows the law.  She will be a tremendous asset to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.” Terry Yates (David’s attorney)

“I have known Judge Mary Lou Keel for almost 30 years. I first met her as an Assistant District Attorney where she was a tough, but fair prosecutor. As a lawyer having appeared in front of Judge Keel for more than 20 years, I have found her to be knowledgeable, straightforward and very well informed. Her experience and expertise make her uniquely qualified to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.” Dan Cogdell (Sandra’s attorney)

In November, pro-life voters need to remember Keel’s efforts to hide the names of her grand jurors. The win-at-all-costs mentality from Anderson and Keel is pervasive. Keel, wounded after her grand jury indicted two pro-life activists, obtained references from two attorneys representing David and Sandra. I believe that it was improper for these attorneys to support Keel, especially when Keel improperly extended the grand jury that wrongfully indicted their clients. It was certainly improper and unethical for Keel to seek out and use these endorsements. This impropriety places a stain on her campaign to sit on the highest criminal court in Texas.

Since David and Sandra were indicted, Anderson and Keel have emphatically supported their actions. Keel said that she did not mishandle her grand jury and the extension was proper. Anderson said that the indictments were valid and claimed to feel like Atticus Finch. In other words, Anderson likened her prosecution of David and Sandra to Atticus and his defense of an innocent black man.  Both Keel and Anderson said over and over that they are pro-life. Then, on July 26, Anderson’s prosecutors dismissed David and Sandra’s tampering case with the notation that the grand jury investigation was invalid.

Is it a coincidence that the DA’s office dismissed the indictments against David and Sandra after David’s attorneys requested the grand jury information? I say NO. The dismissal happened on the very next court setting.

Also important is the fact that Devon and her minions have left open the possibility of re-indicting David and Sandra. I am afraid that this is not over.

Nonetheless, the damage to the pro-life movement by Mary Lou Keel and Devon Anderson and her office is undeniable. The RICO case against David and Operation Rescue has one purpose: to silence Planned Parenthood critics.

Paul Simpson, Jim Murphy, and Jacquie Baly have proven that they do not value life by participating in endorsement videos for Devon’s reelection effort. You have to really question the judgment of these folks in light of Devon jailing several rape victims and a homeless witness to illicit testimony in court.

There are two reasons why Devon dismissed the cases against David and Sandra and justice is not one of them. First, the DA’s office was adamant to protect Keel’s grand jury. As I have outlined before, the DA’s office had at least fifteen grand juries that could have heard this information. Why hold over this particular grand jury? Second, Devon is feeling the heat from the revelation that her office requested the placement of a sexual assault survivor in the Harris County Jail. Backed into a corner, Devon was forced to do something to improve her image in the community.

I implore you to not let Devon sweep this under the rug. Devon did not have a sudden change of heart on these cases. You have an opportunity to right this injustice in November.

#neverdevon #byedevon

ABC 13 KTRK and Mayor Parker

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I am appalled by the local television coverage of our mayor’s lack of fiscal responsibility. Undoubtedly, no one individual holds greater responsibility for our financial recklessness and our outrageous debt than Mayor Annise Parker. Let me explain why this is true.

Sure, there is blame to go around but Parker has been in control for 18 years of continuous service: six as a councilman, six as City Controller, and six as Mayor. Certainly, for the last 12 years, Parker had direct control over the City of Houston’s finances. Directly prior to serving as Mayor, Annise Parker served as Controller, which is the person responsible for the city’s fiscal management and financial reporting. The purpose of this article is to point out the falsehoods in Annise Parker’s comments and the comments by ABC13 KTRK concerning Parker’s efforts to lobby the Texas Legislature for local pension control.

Yesterday, Parker blamed the City of Houston pension crisis on the Legislature and claimed that she was unsuccessful in her efforts to gain local control of our pensions – and, ABC13 KTRK backed up Parker’s false claim. In direct opposition of this claim, Annise Parker signed an agreement with the Houston Police Officer’s Union to not lobby the Legislature for local pension control. Now you have to really think about that. Our Mayor went on TV to perpetuate a lie for no other reason than to protect her legacy. This can only be done with duplicity by ABC13. Our local media bears responsibility for the financial condition of the City because of this type of reporting and total failure to investigate false claims by city leadership.

Houston local media has never held the Mayor responsible for our fiscal condition. Annise Parker is the most responsible for many reasons and her deal with union bosses to not support local control is just one example. Parker has blessed or agreed to one bad deal after another for 18 years in exchange for the police endorsement. This is exactly why the City of Houston is bankrupt as measured by any prudent standard.

More importantly, falsehoods spewed by the Mayor and perpetuated by local media is a huge part of the fiscal problem. The public deserve to know the truth. Annise Parker’s angry lesbian politics dominated her time in office (against her promises to Westside conservatives) and fiscal responsibility was never part of her tenure. Sure, Parker has made decisions that appear and could be spun to appear as fiscally responsible but this has never been the truth. Parker is desperately trying to make sure that blame does not land on her for the City’s financial condition, which will be her legacy. Parker and Controller Green put out a bogus and completely untrue statement concerning our City’s financial condition, which was covered by several media outlets. This was yet another attempt to deflect blame for Parker’s devastatingly poor mismanagement of Houston.

Please know the facts when you got to vote. Listen to the candidates and watch out for the spin. Many are just seeking power with no hope or plan to right the sinking ship. If the media tells you that Annise Parker attempted to lobby the Legislature for local pension control, please know that she signed an agreement to do exactly the opposite in exchange for political support. If you are watching ABC13 KTRK as a local news source, please quit!