Update on the Tareq and Michaele Salahi Connection to NY State Assemblyman Greg Ball

Greg Ball at the Courage Cup in 2005

Well, it turns out that Daniel Branda from Ball4NY, who sent me an email yesterday asking me to remove my post “Swinging Polo Mallets with Tareq and Michaele Salahi” wasn’t some legal sharpshooter–as demonstrated by the absence of any identifiable legal training or experience on Mr. Branda’s LinkedIn profile. He is merely a volunteer for Ball4NY. I’m not sure what’s going on up there in Greg’s organization.

I stand by my 1st Ammendment right to freedom of speech. There is something called a SLAPP suit. The United States Constitution grants every person the right to participate in government and civic affairs, speak freely on public issues, and petition government officials for redress of grievances. Cases where individuals are sued for exercising these constitutional rights are known as “SLAPPs,” or “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.”

According to Wikipedia:

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. Winning the lawsuit is not necessarily the intent of the person filing the SLAPP.

The plaintiff’s goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat.

The New York press needs to do more than simply reiterate what Greg tells them, and get their information straight. It seems from today’s article in the Poughkeepsie Journal that they aren’t even fact checking the dates, and the same superficial reporting and errors are happening at LoHud.com which reported that the public dispute was in 2006 — it was in 2007. It wasn’t The Courage Cup 2006 match, which I planned that is in question of having benefited Citizens United for Ethical Growth PAC, which later transferred the money to Greg’s campaign fund, it was the 2005 Courage Cup, which Greg Ball planned along with Tareq and Michaele Salahi.

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal:

(Ball) said his political action committee made its donation to the Courage Cup charity for the use of the tent at the event. The group then solicited funds for Ball in the tent, an activity the assemblyman said was ”perfectly legal and aboveboard.“

In 2007, The Washington Post did some investigative reporting. They placed calls to those who are on public record as having given money to the Citizens United for Ethical Growth PAC. These people don’t live in Ball’s district and have no clue what Citizens United for Ethical Growth even means or is. These were folks from the Greater Washington, DC community which attended the Courage Cup in 2005 and were told funds were benefiting the Philadephia Work to Ride program. The New York press needs to take this story more seriously, and do some investigative reporting of their own.

I saw this FreeRepublic.com thread where someone stated that I want “to take down Greg Ball (R) and graduate from the Air Force Academy.” I am trying to let the light shine in, which in my opinion is always a good thing. I have great respect for those in our armed forces, but with all due respect, having served in the military or having graduated from the Air Force Academy doesn’t make you infallible.  I’m moderate Republican, so it’s not like I have some hidden political agenda here. We all have heard stories of power corrupting politicians, but to allegedly start out one’s public service this way can only lead to greater corruption down the road, in my opinion.

In my opinion, the Salahi’s and Greg Ball are “birds of a feather”, using charitable donations for personal gain rather than pay polo event vendors.

- Miss A