Blogger who prank-called Gov. Scott Walker as Koch brother once wrote article attacking ... troops

The Daily Caller ^ | Feb 23, 2011 | Matthew Boyle

[KeyLargo]

The Buffalo Beast blogger who prank-called Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, falsely posing as billionaire David Koch, has written some edgy — some may say offensive — articles in the past. For the publication he edits, Ian Murphy has written such pieces as.... [edited for profanity]

[KeyLargo]

I didn’t think that there was any such group as professional journalists but they posted this on their website:

SPJ: Remember ethics in wake of fake phone call with Wisconsin governor

For Immediate Release:

Contacts:
Hagit Limor, SPJ President, (513) 852-4012,
hlimor@spj.org
Scott Leadingham, SPJ Communications Director (317) 927-8000, ext. 211
sleadingham@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists, through its Ethics Committee, strongly condemns the actions of an alternative online outlet this week when an editor lied and posed as a financial backer in a recorded phone call with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.....

http://www.spj.org/news.asp?REF=1033#1033

[From The Deer Stand]

Isn’t it illegal to tape a telephone conversation with properly identifying one’s self and informing the person the call is being recorded?

[KeyLargo]

Wisconsin

If the person who records the wire, electronic, or oral communication is a party to the conversation or has obtained prior consent from one party, he may lawfully record and divulge the contents of the communication, unless he does so for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act. Wis. Stat. § 968.31.

Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. See definition of “oral communication,” Wis. Stat. § 968.27.

Wisconsin law expressly authorizes civil damages for violations and allows recovery of the greater of actual damages, $100 for each day of violation or $1,000, along with punitive damages, litigation costs, and attorney fees. Wis. Stat. § 968.31.

Recording a communication without consent is criminally punishable by up to six years in prison and/ or a $10,000 fine. Wis. Stat.§ 939.50.

Massachusetts

It is a crime to record any conversation, whether oral or wire, without the consent of all parties in Massachusetts. The penalty for violating the law is a fine of up to $10,000 and a jail sentence of up to five years. Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 272 , § 99.

Disclosure of the contents of an illegally recorded conversation, when accompanied by the knowledge that it was obtained illegally, is a misdemeanor that can be punished with a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to two years. Civil damages are expressly authorized for the greater of actual damages, $100 for each day of violation or $1,000. Punitive damages and attorney fees also are recoverable.

For example, in Com. v. Hanedanian, 742 N.E.2d 1113 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001), the appellate court held that a defendant’s conduct of intentionally making a secret tape recording of oral communications between himself and his attorneys, without consent, violated the statute, even though the defendant was a party to the conversation.

However, the First Circuit, applying the holding in Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001), held in 2007 that a woman who accepted from a source a recorded tape, that she had reason to know was recorded illegally by the source, could not be punished for publishing the tape on her website. The court held that the woman had a First Amendment right to publish the tape she received. Jean v. Massachusetts State Police, 492 F.3d 24 (1st Cir. 2007).

An appellate court has also held that the recorded conversation or communication does not need to be intelligible in order for the interception to violate the wiretapping statute. Com. v. Wright, 814 N.E.2d 741 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004).

[apoliticalone]

My jaded view on this is that politicians by their nature are corrupt self serving individuals regardless of their Party affiliation and what they tell their constituents.

The press and law enforcement (FBI) and others should regularly attempt to set them up for bribes, corruption, deals for money if only to keep them honest. When they fear that every potential conversation and deal is a set-up, then they will go against their nature and be honest.

Another issue that I question is why would the Wisc legislators offer a no-bid deal to sell state assets if not for making it a special deal. Every government transaction should require and be open to multiple bids.

I care about honest government long before Party.

[Clink]

Here is a link to the disgusting article Murphy wrote about the troops. If you thought Daily Kos and DU stuff was vile, you “ain’t seen nothin’” till you read this:http://weaselzippers.us/2011/02/24/new-lefty-hero-blogger-who-pranked-wi-gov-says-fck-the-troops-calls-them-rapists-who-volunteer-to-murder-people/