***IF*** the Webb campaign actually did opposition research on private citizens as is being alleged by Shaun Kenney (possibly including obtaining individuals’ credit reports) and now at least partially confirmed by NLS (NLS update here) (we shall await what further proof is put forward before passing judgment), then this is a despicably Nixonian act, an abuse of power and a violation of the public trust.
Oh, yeah, it is also a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to get someone’s credit report without their permission. It is illegal for anyone to intentionally obtain information on an individual other than oneself. If you do so, you may violate the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681q) and be fined, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
You would think that headlines like these from the Washington Post would have provided some warning to individuals NOT to do such things:
FBI Investigates Democrats on Steele’s Credit Report (9/21/05)
Researcher Will Face Charges in Steele Case (3/16/06)
Remember that? One difference between that case and these allegations. Michael Steele was a declared candidate for U.S. Senate and a sitting Lt. Governor. Here, the individuals listed are private citizens making the offense all the more serious and disturbing.
Since I am named as one of the people who was allegedly investigated by the Webb campaign, I think that I will check out my credit report and find out who has been requesting copies of it. If I find someone affiliated with the Webb campaign did request my credit report, there will be Hell to pay and I won’t stop until I get a personal, public apology from Senator-elect Webb. If any of this is true, people will soon forget all about “macaca.” That was nonsense. This is serious.
UPDATE:
Here is another instance from which you would have thought they would have learned the lesson NOT to do such things –
Suit over
A lawsuit filed by Virginia Delegate Winsome E. Sears against her one-time political rival, former Delegate William P. Robinson Jr., and a private investigator has ended in an out-of-court settlement.
Two months ago, Mr. Robinson was dropped from the $1 million lawsuit filed last year in federal court. The lawsuit contended Mr. Robinson and Brian F. Melchor of Portsmouth had obtained Mrs. Sears’ credit report without her permission in an effort to discredit her during her political campaign.
Mrs. Sears, a Republican, successfully challenged Mr. Robinson, a Democrat, for his House of Delegates seat in 2001. The district includes parts of Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
Brad Marrs, Mrs. Sears’ attorney, said an agreement was reached with Mr. Melchor and signed last week by a U.S. District judge in Richmond.
Mr. Melchor said he obtained Mrs. Sears’ credit report for an anonymous person, Mr. Marrs said. The investigator has also said he destroyed the report, Mr. Marrs said. Mrs. Sears was awarded $35,000 for attorney fees and $10,000 in damages.
UPDATE 2:
After checking my credit reports with all three credit agencies, the only inquiry I see that is questionable is listed on the Experian report and came during the first-half of September of this year. It could be nothing, but I can’t say for certain since the timing would fit.
Filed under: 2006 Elections, Virginia Politics
In case you didn’t know, you can get a copy of your credit report for free from all 3 credit bureaus at http://www.annualcreditreport.com.
You can get the report online in a matter of minutes and it does list ALL inquiries into your record.
This is a legitimate free deal, not one of those scams that says it’s free and you get x number of days to cancel. This is the website that was established by federal law (I believe) to allow consumers to get one free copy of their credit report from each bureau each year.
Let us know what you find. You may want to pass this info onto your fellow bloggers.
Jesus…you are such a drama queen. No one has mentioned credit reports. These are unsubstantiated rumors yet you report them like they are the truth. That being said it is not illegal to gather information on anyone.
Once again, Kevin, you display your utter lack of reading comprehension. (I can’t believe they even let you inside of Fairfax County schools.) How many times in this post did I qualify things with “if” and “allegedly”? I don’t have all the facts and I am merely commenting as to my impressions if they do turn out to be accurate.
And just because you haven’t seen anything with regard to the possible obtaining of credit reports doesn’t mean that I haven’t been made privvy to such allegations.
Sure, it isn’t illegal to gather information on anyone, but for an incoming U.S. Senator to have had his campaign compile dossiers on private citizens is nothing but Nixonian. It is apparent that if this is what happened then it is nothing more than an attempt to chill free speech. I’d love to see your reaction if the roles were reversed and it had been George Allen poking around your life trying to dig dirt up on your to use to slime you if you dared cross him.
You can post “if” and “allegedly” all you want but the fact of the matter is you like to stir the pot. You have no idea what’s going on but you like to think that you are more important than you actually are.
Believe it or not you are not necessarily a private citizen anymore when you post your opinions on the Internet. This is especially true when talking about politics. There are political items that have been on my mind that I’ve wanted to talk about for the past two to three months but I don’t because I know that someone could easily find out who I am and what I do. It’s called discretion. You should take a dictionary and look the word up to see what it means.
Heck, you’re the one who says that I “like to think that [I am] more important than [I] actually [am].” So, which is it? Am I a private citizen or am I a public figure? So long as I am not in elected office or a candidate for such, I remain a private citizen. Regardless of my status or the status of anyone else who may have been investigated, this is clearly a case where the intent was to malign and slime people for exercising their First Amendment rights.
And Kevin, it is no secret who you work for.