Andy Martin

Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945 in Middletown, Connecticut) is an American journalist, perennial candidate. The Nation and The Washington Post have identified him as the primary source of rumors that 2008Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama is secretly aMuslim.

Life and career

Martin was born in 1945 in Middletown, Connecticut. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1966, earning a law degree from that institution in 1969.

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."

Martin then turned his attention to consumer advocacy. Styling 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. He also claims to have launched Operation Greylord, an investigation which revealed serious corruption in Chicago's criminal-justice system.

Martin grew up as a Democrat, and served as an intern to Senator Paul Douglas in the summer of 1966. In 1977, he ran in a special election for mayor of Chicago, losing to acting mayor Michael Bilandic.

Over the years, he has run for various offices in Connecticut, Florida and Illinois as a Democrat, a Republican and an independent. Among them:

• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1978 (Democratic primary)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1980 (Democratic primary)
• U.S. House from Connecticut, 1986 (Republican primary)
• President of the United States, 1988 (Democratic primary)
• Governor of Florida, 1990 (Republican primary)
• U.S. House from Florida, 1992 (Republican primary)
• Florida State Senate, 1996 (unsuccessful Republican nominee)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 1998 (Republican primary)
• President of the United States, 2000] (Republican primary)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 2000 (unsuccessful independent candidate)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 (Republican primary)
• Governor of Illinois, 2006 (Republican primary)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2008 (Republican primary)

His 1996 run for the Florida State Senate came unraveled when it was revealed that he'd named his campaign committee for his 1986 congressional run "The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate Jew Power in America." 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. He was convicted of 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. If he is ever arrested, he will have to serve 16 months in jail. 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."

During his 2000 run for president, he accused George W. Bush of using cocaine. In 2003, several months before Saddam Hussein was captured, he claimed to have found the former Iraqi dictator's hideout.

Vexatious litigant

Martin has been labeled a vexatious litigant by numerous federal and state courts. As early as 1982, Edward Weinfeld, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, observed that he had a tendency to file "a substantial number of lawsuits of a vexatious, frivolous and scandalous nature."

In 1983, Jose Cabranes, a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, issued a sweeping injunction barring Martin or anyone acting "at his behest, at his direction or instigation, or in concert with him" from filing any new action or proceeding in any federal or state court without first seeking permission from the court in which he wished to file that action or proceeding. In his ruling, Cabranes noted that Martin had a tendency to file legal actions with "persistence, viciousness, and general disregard for decency and logic." According to Cabranes, Martin's practice was to file "an incessant stream of frivolous or meritless motions, demands, letters to the court and other documents," as well as "vexatious lawsuits" against anyone who dared cross him. Many of these filings were anti-Semitic in nature. On appeal by Martin, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals limited the scope of the injunction to federal courts, but stated that the federal courts were constitutionally obligated to protect themselves and the administration of justice from vexatious litigants.

Since then, Martin has continued his pattern of filing legal action almost unabated. It is estimated that he has filed thousands of proceedings over the years. For example, in 1993 the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that his mother was acting in concert with him by filing a federal civil rights action against several Florida state officials. The court noted similar wording in the suit filed by Martin's mother and a petition filed by Martin itself. In throwing out the suit, the 11th Circuit called Martin "a notoriously vexatious and vindictive litigator who has long abused the American legal system." Most recently, a libel and invasion of privacy suit against Media Matters and its founder, David Brock, was dismissed with prejudice because Martin had violated the terms of the injunction.

Martin has also been sanctioned at the state level as well. For example, he is banned from seeking indigent status in Florida courts due to his history of filing abusive petitions.

Role in rumors about Obama

According to a report by journalist Chris Hayes for The Nation, Martin issued a press release shortly after 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, and was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger Israel."

Within a few days, the conservative site Free Republic picked up Martin's press release, triggering a long discussion. However, according to Hayes, the issue went dormant after Obama's election to the Senate, only to pick up again in 2006 as rumors spread that Obama was considering a presidential run. In October, a conservative blog, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, reposted Martin's press release in response to a question about Obama's heritage. Then, on December 26, conservative activist Ted Sampley, co-founder of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, posted a column suggesting Obama was a secret Muslim, heavily quoting Martin's original press release. According to Hayes, the first of many emails suggesting Obama was a Muslim was forwarded to Snopes within hours of Sampley's story. Hayes believes that the email was likely a slightly altered version of the Sampley article, which was in turn heavily based on Martin's 2004 press release. Martin told Hayes that he got numerous calls once the emails began circulating. When the callers asked him if he wrote the release, Martin replied, "They are all my children."

According to the June 28, 2008 edition of The Washington Post, political theorist Danielle Allen traced the origin of the rumors about Obama's background back to Martin's 2004 press release. In contrast to his attitude during his interview with The Nation, Martin told the Post that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."

External links

• Martin's personal Website