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New Documents Show Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s Comments on Obamacare Legislation While Serving as Solicitor General

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained three new documents that provide additional information about Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) while she served as solicitor general. Justice Kagan has said she was not actively involved in the Department of Justice (DOJ) discussions regarding Obamacare. Moreover, the Supreme Court justice did not recuse herself from the High Court decision in April 2011 not to “fast-track” for Supreme Court review Virginia’s lawsuit challenging Obamacare.

The following are highlights from the documents obtained by Judicial Watch pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on February 24, 2011. (Judicial Watch’s lawsuit has been consolidated with a similar FOIA lawsuit that had been first filed against the DOJ by the Media Research Center.):

An October 13, 2009, exchange between Kagan and former Deputy Solicitor General (and current Acting Solicitor General) Neal Katyal. Katyal informs Kagan, “We just got Snowe on health care,” referring to Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). (The bulk of the email exchange reflects a discussion about Kagan, and also provides instructions regarding a hiring decision within the agency, although the nature of the position is unclear. When Katyal asks if Kagan wants to handle the hire via email or in person meeting, Kagan responds, “In person. I’ll call a meeting when I return.”)
A March 21, 2010, email from Kagan to then-Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Laurence Tribe: “I hear they have the votes Larry!! Simply amazing…” Tribe responds, “So healthcare is basically done! Remarkable.”
A March 16, 2010, email from Kagan to David Barron, then-acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, asked if he had seen an article by Michael McConnell published in the Wall Street Journal that discussed a strategy by Democrats to “‘deem’ ObamaCare into Law without voting.” “Did you seee [sic] Michael McConnell’s piece in the wsj?” Kagan writes in an email with the subject line “Health care q.” “YES, HE IS GETTING THIS GOING,” replied Barron.

“These new emails are bound to raise additional questions about whether Justice Kagan ought to participate in High Court deliberations on Obamacare. Certainly, if these documents were known at the time of her confirmation, there may have been quite a different Senate debate. The Obama Justice Department dumped these documents just before a holiday weekend, hoping they would go unnoticed. This slow-walking of documents out of the Obama Justice Department is scandalous and makes one wonder what other information they are sitting on,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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Judicial Watch: New Boeing Controversy Documents Show National Labor Relations Board Staff Joking and Attacking US and Congress

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has received documents from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concerning the NLRB’s decision to file a lawsuit against Seattle-based Boeing for opening a $ 750 million non-union assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, to manufacture its Dreamliner plane (Judicial Watch v. National Labor Relations Board (No. 11-1470)).

The documents, obtained pursuant to Judicial Watch’s original July 14, 2011, Freedom of Information Act request and subsequent lawsuit, include internal correspondence amongst NLRB attorneys discussing the Boeing lawsuit. Among the highlights:

On April 22, 2011, Acting NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon sent an email to Wilma Liebman, outgoing Chairwoman of the NLRB, “The article gave me a new idea. You go to geneva [Switzerland] and I get a job with airbus [French company]. We screwed up the us economy and now we can tackle europe.” Solomon’s comment was in response to an article published in French on the European Planet Labor website noting the devastating potential economic impact on South Carolina if the plant were to be scuttled: “Two billion dollars were invested in Charleston, 1,000 employees were recruited, and the site was supposed to open in July… until the NLRB meddled in.”
On April 22, 2011, NLRB attorney Debra Willen received an email, in which Republican Sen. James DeMint of South Carolina is ridiculed as “Sen. Dement.”
On May 12, 2011, NLRB Deputy Assistant General Counsel Joseph Baniszewski emailed a political cartoon to Deputy Assistant General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo mocking the state of South Carolina with regard to Boeing Corporation’s decision to locate its manufacturing facility in that state.
On April 28, 2011, Miriam Szapiro sent an email to NLRB attorney Debra Willen commenting on an article in The Economist expressing some support for the Boeing lawsuit: “Exactly; it just shows you how incredibly reactionary the US is, that the conservative Economist thinks we’re Neanderthal.”
On April 20, 2011, Mara-Louise Anzalone, counsel for Acting NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon, took exception to U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) statement, “As Senator, I will do everything in my power, including introducing legislation cutting off funding for this wide goose chase, to stop the NLRB’s frivolous complaint [against Boeing].” In an email to NLRB regional attorney Anne Pomerantz, Anzalone writes, “Awesome. Sounds like they’re just going to furlough you and me.”

The documents also include Lafe Solomon’s personal notes detailing conversations with Senator Graham, who said, according to the notes, that “the ‘retaliatory charge’ of the Machinists against Boeing would have huge economic and political consequences” and that if the NLRB filed the complaint, the senator would come out “full guns a-blazing.” The notes also describe Senator Graham as saying “that he was more reasonable than his Senate counterpart (Sen. De Mint).”

The NLRB filed a lawsuit in April 2011, against Boeing, claiming that the company’s decision to open a Dreamliner production line in South Carolina was in retaliation against The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers for a series of union strikes that reportedly slowed production of the plane in 2008 in Washington State. According to Boeing, the NLRB’s “claim is legally frivolous and represents a radical departure from both NLRB and Supreme Court precedent. Boeing has every right under both federal law and its collective bargaining agreement to build additional U.S. production capacity outside of the Puget Sound region.”

Judicial Watch last month released NRLB documents that detailed additional controversial comments by NRLB staff.

“These documents provide further evidence that the Obama administration’s attack on Boeing is irresponsible and politically motivated,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “NLRB attorneys come off as juvenile politicos rather than professionals interested in arbitrating a labor dispute. The utter contempt for congressional oversight shows that the NRLB thinks it is above the law. We hope these documents help educate the public about the ongoing abuse of power by this agency.”

Last year, President Obama bypassed the U.S. Senate and recess-appointed Craig Becker to head the NLRB’s five-member board. The Becker appointment was made after the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate refused to move forward on his confirmation. An ally of ACORN, Becker had previously worked for the SEIU and the AFL-CIO, major financial backers of Obama and the Democratic Party. Controversially, Becker has refused to recuse himself from certain NLRB decisions affecting his former union clients.

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Judicial Watch Uncovers FDA Gardasil Records Detailing 26 New Reported Deaths

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has received new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), detailing reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. The adverse reaction reports detail 26 new deaths reported between September 1, 2010 and September 15, 2011 as well as incidents of seizures, paralysis, blindness, pancreatitis, speech problems, short term memory loss and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The documents come from the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which is used by the FDA to monitor the safety of vaccines. The documents were obtained pursuant to a September 15, 2011 FOIA request for reports made from September 1, 2010 through September 15, 2011.

Adverse Gardasil events reported to the FDA include:

The information was received from the patient’s mother…concerning her healthy 14 year old daughter who in August 2007, January 2008, and June 2008, was vaccinated with a first, second and third dose of GARDASIL…It was reported that the patient experienced several symptoms including numbness and tingling in her fingers and toes, fatigue, a really hard time falling asleep, urinary tract infections, ovarian cyst, moody, trouble getting out of bed and seizures. The patient had had upwards of 150 seizures following her third shot in June 2008. During her seizures she stopped breathing for periods of 30 to 40 seconds. The patient was diagnosed with Neurocardiogenic syndrome and seizures. It was reported that the patient died due to ovarian cyst. The reporter felt that the patient’s symptoms were related to vaccination with GARDASIL.
Additional information was received from a newspaper article concerning a 18 year old female…who on 10-MAY-2007 was vaccinated with GARDASIL…in the right arm…The patient who was a college freshman travelled on 05-OCT-2007 to visit her family for the weekend. The patient reportedly felt “slightly ill” upon her arrival and subsequently took an aspirin and went to bed awakening at 1:30 PM the following afternoon “appearing refreshed”. The patient became feverish again that night and woke at 1:00 AM the morning of 07-OCT-2007 with chills and a severe headache complaining that “my headache is about to explode”. The patient was taken to a local hospital, where a brain computed axial tomography (CAT) scan was performed and the brain revealed meningococcal disease in her brain and brain stem. The patient was immediately transferred to another hospital and died the evening of 07-OCT-2007 due to complications of meningitis.
Information has been received from a physician regarding a 15 year old female who on 26-SEP-2007 was vaccinated with her second dose of GARDASIL for prevention of HPV…Thirty minutes after the vaccination, the patient experienced a headache and that night went home and slept until the next morning. The patient woke up the next day and went to school. The school nurse called the patient’s mother and informed her that the patient felt tingling in both hands. Later that day, the patient was again sent to the nurse’s office due to a shaking sensation all over. Later that evening, things became worse and the patient started crying from the pain and burning in her back. The patient was taken to the emergency room by her parents. In the emergency room, the patient collapsed and was not able to walk; she was paralyzed from the waist down. It was reported that the patient was hospitalized for two months.

In response to the concern about death reports among those who received Gardasil, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) insists that “there was no unusual pattern or clustering to the deaths that would suggest that they were caused by the vaccine.”

“These reports raise additional concerns about Gardasil’s questionable safety and provide ample reason to end the push to give it young girls and boys. And the CDC’s continued caginess on reported deaths is disturbing,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Federal, state, and local officials need to stop promoting this vaccine for children.”

In 2008, Judicial Watch launched an investigation of the FDA’s reporting on adverse reactions to vaccinations for HPV. All previous FDA documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, as well as a Judicial Watch special report, entitled “Examining the FDA’s HPV Vaccine Records: Detailing the Approval Process, Side-Effects, Safety Concerns & Marketing Practices of a Large Scale Health Experiment,” are available on Judicial Watch’s website.

Documents Uncovered

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Judicial Watch Staff Members Angel Azar and Irene Garcia Earn “Certificate of Congressional Recognition”

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today Judicial Watch staff members Angel Azar and Irene Garcia will each receive a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for “outstanding and invaluable service” to the community as a “successful Hispanic leader in South Florida.”

This awards ceremony is part of an effort by Congress to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and will take place on Thursday, October 13, 2011, from 4-6 p.m. at the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Room, 2170 Rayburn HOB in Washington, DC.

Angel S. Azar is the Southeastern regional fundraising director for Judicial Watch. He is a Dominican-born, retired U.S. Army Veteran who has worked for a number of corporations worldwide. Azar also speaks Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian.

Irene Garcia edits Judicial Watch’s daily blog, Corruption Chronicles and is the group’s Spanish media liaison. Before joining the organization in 2001, Garcia spent 13 years as a reporter at The Los Angeles Times where she covered sports, entertainment, breaking news and politics. Garcia, who is Cuban-American, has a journalism degree with a minor in Spanish literature from California State University Northridge.

“Angel and Irene are valued members of the Judicial Watch team who continue to work diligently to help our organization confront government corruption and secrecy. We could not be more proud of their accomplishments at Judicial Watch and in their communities. Angel and Irene are both very deserving of this honor,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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JW Presents Sen. Chuck Grassley: “The Rule of Law under Attack – from Stealth Amnesty to the Fast and Furious Scandal”

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced it will host a presentation by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “The Rule of Law under Attack – from Stealth Amnesty to the Fast and Furious Scandal.” Senator Grassley is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has a well-earned reputation as a leading Senate watchdog against government waste, fraud, and abuse.

Date	Tuesday, October 18
Time	8 a.m. EDT
Location	Judicial Watch Inc.* Main Conference Room 425 Third St., SW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20024

Moderator will be President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton.

The event is free of charge and open to the press and the public.

Breakfast will be provided.

The doors will open at 7:30 a.m. ET for media set-up. Mult box will be available.

*Across from NASA headquarters, one block south of Southwest Federal Center Metro station.

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