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Andy Martin

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(Redirected from Anthony R. Martin-Trigona)
For other people named Andy Martin, see Andy Martin (disambiguation).

Andy Martin
Personal details
Born
Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona

1945 (age 78–79)
Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (Before 1986, 1988–1990)
Republican (1986–1988, 1990–present)
Alma materUniversity of Illinois, Urbana–
Champaign

Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican.

He is a vexatious litigant who has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide.[1] In Connecticut, a federal judge once banned Martin from filing lawsuits in any court in the nation without a judge's permission. The federal judge said Martin considered filing lawsuits to be a "veritable sport."[2]

The Nation,[3] The Washington Post,[4] and The New York Times[5] identified Martin as the primary source of false rumors that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was secretly a Muslim during the 2008 presidential election (an allegation Martin had made as early as 2004). In a later interview with CNN, Martin explicitly abandoned this view and now asserts Obama's real father is not Barack Obama, Sr., but African-American journalist Frank Marshall Davis.[6]

On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii calling for the public release of Barack Obama's birth certificate and other vital records. At the time, conspiracy theories postulated that Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. Obama had previously posted an image of his short-form birth certificate online.[7][8] But Martin's lawsuit sought a copy of Sen. Obama's long-form birth certificate. On November 19, the Hawaii Supreme Court dismissed Martin's lawsuit.

Early life

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Martin was born in 1945 in Middletown, Connecticut.[9] His father, Ralph Beneducci Martin-Trigona, was of Italian, Maltese, and English descent, and his mother, Helen Anthony (née Vasiliou), was Greek American.[10][11] He received a B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1966, and a J.D. from that institution in 1969.

Career

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In 1973 the Illinois Supreme Court refused to grant Martin a license to practice law in the state due to such conduct as attempting to have a parking violation thrown out because it had been "entered by an insane judge" and for commenting that an attorney, who suffers from a mild case of cerebral palsy, was "shaking and tottering and drooling like an idiot."[12] The court also cited Martin's Selective Service record, which attributed to him "a moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character."[1]

Martin then became involved in consumer advocacy and referred to himself as "the people's attorney general". He took 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.[13]

Political campaigns

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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, but lost in the Democratic primary to acting mayor Michael Bilandic, receiving less than 3% of the vote.

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

1996

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Martin's 1996 run for the Florida State Senate unraveled when it was revealed that he had 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, Martin assaulted two cameramen from WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, while they were interviewing him at the TV station. At the trial he arrived late and used the dais to address the television cameras. He then refused to continue the trial with a judge that had been "bought and paid for". The judge immediately held Martin in criminal contempt of court and ordered him jailed for one month.

On the assault charge, he was convicted of criminal mischief and sentenced to a year in jail. However, when he was let out of jail for the contempt charge after serving one month, he was not re-incarcerated for the assault charge, due to a "paperwork glitch".[2][23][24]

Martin never returned to serve out the remainder of his term, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, making him subject to having to serve 16 months in jail.[9] The warrant was still outstanding as of the time of Martin's 2008 Senate run, but Martin said the issue was being "resolved."[25]

2000

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During Martin's 2000 run for president, he accused George W. Bush of using cocaine. In 2003, several months before Saddam Hussein was captured, Martin claimed to have found the former Iraqi dictator's hideout.[9]

2010

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Martin was a 2010 Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Illinois for the seat being vacated by Sen. Roland Burris.[26] In December 2009, Martin ran radio ads which included Martin requesting that one of his primary opponents, Congressman Mark Kirk, answer claims about his sexuality made by Jack Roeser, a radio talk show host.[27] Another ad alleged that Kirk, as well as former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, had always known of fellow Congressman Mark Foley's relationship with a former Page, and had done "nothing to stop Foley's pedophilia, for years", and said, that by extension, Kirk was "a de facto pedophile".[28][29] In response, the state Republican Party announced that Martin would no longer be recognized as a legitimate candidate.[27][30] Martin received 37,359 votes, five percent of the total votes.[31] He attempted to run for the U.S. Senate in the general election as a member of the Reform Party of Illinois, but he did not qualify for the ballot.[32]

Litigation and antisemitic allegations

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Over the years, Martin has filed numerous lawsuits, and was labeled as a vexatious litigant by Edward Weinfeld, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, who observed that Martin had a tendency to file "a substantial number of lawsuits of a vexatious, frivolous and scandalous nature."[1] A number of these filings were allegedly anti-Semitic in nature. In a 1983 bankruptcy case, Martin filed a motion calling the presiding judge "a crooked, slimy Jew who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race."[5] In another motion that year, Martin stated, "I am able to understand how the Holocaust took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did."[5] He went on to say that "Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property."[33] When later pressed in an interview about his remarks, Martin claimed that the anti-Semitic comments were inserted into his court papers by malicious judges.[5]

In 1983, José A. 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.[34] 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, including court personnel and their families. For instance, in the midst of the proceeding, Martin sued Cabranes himself, along with the judge's wife. Martin then sought, unsuccessfully, to have Cabranes recused.[35]

On appeal from Cabranes' ruling, the Second 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 like Martin.[36]

Since then, Martin has continued his pattern of filing legal actions. He has repeatedly been cited for contempt for violating the federal injunction.[37] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida estimated that he has filed thousands of proceedings over the years. In 1993 the Eleventh 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 himself. In throwing out the suit, the Eleventh Circuit called Martin "a notoriously vexatious and vindictive litigator who has long abused the American legal system."[34] 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.[38]

Martin has been sanctioned at the state level as well. He is banned from seeking indigent status in Florida courts due to his history of filing abusive petitions.[39] Martin is also prohibited from filing lawsuits in New York, unless represented by an attorney or with the court's prior approval.[40]

In November 2015, Martin filed a challenge to the appearance of Bernie Sanders on the New Hampshire ballot for the Democratic primary.[41] The challenge was unsuccessful, but Martin announced plans to appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.[42]

Role in rumors about Obama

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Allegations of Obama being a Muslim

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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, was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger Israel,"[3] and that "[Obama's] Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles."[5]

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.[3] In October, a conservative blog, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, reposted Martin's press release in response to a question about Obama's heritage.[43] Then, on December 26, conservative activist Ted Sampley, co-founder of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, posted a column suggesting Obama was a closeted Muslim, heavily quoting Martin's original press release.[44]

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."[3]

On June 28, 2008, Martin told The Washington Post that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."[4]

Jerome Corsi's book The Obama Nation, published on August 1, 2008, opens with a quote from Martin on Obama's alleged Muslim heritage and supposed attempts to conceal it.[5] In October, Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times wrote that the book had been "widely discredited".[5]

On October 5, 2008, Martin was featured as a "journalist" on Hannity's America of the Fox News Channel. According to The New York Times, "The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government."[5] In a subsequent appearance on Hannity & Colmes, Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, criticized Hannity for allowing Martin to appear on the show.[45]

Then-Fox Senior Vice President Bill Shine later retracted support for Martin as a guest: "Having that guy on was a mistake. We obviously didn't do enough research on who the guest was."[46]

Allegations of Obama's father being Frank Marshall Davis

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In an interview featured on the CNN network's American Morning program on October 27, 2008, Martin explicitly abandoned his view that Barack Obama is a Muslim.[6] In the interview, Martin said that Obama was not the son of Barack Obama, Sr., but rather the son of Frank Marshall Davis, an African American journalist and political activist who wrote for a newspaper in Hawaii in the 1940s and 1950s that was accused by the House Un-American Activities Committee as being a front for the Communist Party USA.[6] Martin claimed that he discovered this after a recent trip to Honolulu, although he offered CNN no substantive proof for the claim.[6]

Lawsuit against the state of Hawaii

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President Barack Obama's short-form birth certificate

On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit in a state circuit court of Hawaii against Governor Linda Lingle and state health department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino, seeking to verify the state's official birth certificate for Obama.[47] Months before this suit, the Obama campaign posted an image of his short-form birth certificate online.[7][8] Martin's lawsuit sought to order the state to release a copy of Obama's long-form birth certificate.[48]

The short-form birth certificate that the Obama campaign posted online stated that his date of birth as August 4, 1961, his place of birth as Honolulu, Hawaii, and other details.[47] Martin was quoted as saying, "I want to see a certified copy issued by the state of Hawai'i, not one issued by the state of Obama."[47]

Hawaii State Department and Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo stated that only people with a "tangible relationship" to a person can access a copy of the person's birth certificate, adding that a 1949 law "was enacted primarily to protect your private information, especially in these days where there's ID theft."[47] Attorney General Mark Bennett said that he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it, but said that according to Hawaii Revised Statutes it is unlawful to release vital records to anyone except individuals listed in state records as having close relations with Obama (that is, a spouse, parents, descendants, or someone with a common ancestor).[47] In regard to a designee representing Obama, Okubo says "If someone from Obama's campaign gave us permission in person and presented some kind of verification that he or she was Obama's designee, we could release the vital record."[47]

On October 22, 2008, in a Honolulu court proceeding overseen by the Honorable Bert I. Ayabe of the First Circuit of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, the court denied Martin's petition for a writ of mandamus to order the release of Obama's vital records. A further hearing was held on November 18. On November 19, the court denied Martin's "emergency motion" and dismissed Martin's lawsuit, based on Martin's lack of legal standing to obtain another person's birth document.[49]

On April 27, 2011, White House staffers gave reporters a copy of the official long-form certificate, and posted a PDF image of the certificate on the White House website.[50][51] The certificate reconfirmed the information on the official short-form certificate released in 2008, and provided additional details such as the name of the hospital where Obama was born.[52][53]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Chase, John; Rick Pearson (February 10, 2006). "Perennial candidate back for another race". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  2. ^ a b JIM Di PAOLA, Staff Writer for the SUN-SENTINEL (November 2, 1996). "INSULTED JUDGE SENDS STATE SENATE CANDIDATE TO JAIL". sun-sentinel.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Hayes, Christopher (November 12, 2007). "The New Right-Wing Smear Machine". The Nation. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Mosk, Matthew. An Attack That Came Out of the Ether Archived November 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. The Washington Post, June 28, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rutenberg, Jim (October 12, 2008). "The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d Edwards, David; Kane, Muriel (October 27, 2008), "Author of Obama Muslim rumor replaces it with Communist rumor", The Raw Story, archived from the original on October 30, 2008, retrieved October 28, 2008
  7. ^ a b The truth about Barack's birth certificate Archived October 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Obama for America. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
  8. ^ a b “Born in the U.S.A.: The truth about Obama's birth certificate” Archived October 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, FactCheck.org (August 26, 2008): "The document is a 'certification of birth,' also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns."
  9. ^ a b c Norman, Bob. Operation Baghdad Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. New Times Broward-Palm Beach, July 31, 2003.
  10. ^ "Illinois Republican Andy Martin Asks Chicago Cardinal for Special Memorial Service to Honor Italian Soldiers Killed in Iraq. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  11. ^ "Is Andy Martin a Natural Born Citizen? | The Post & Email". Thepostemail.com. February 28, 2011. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  12. ^ "IN RE MARTIN-TRIGONA". September 25, 1973. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
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  16. ^ "Commentary: Fox News' Obama 'expert' has long Florida resume". Mcclatchydc.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
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  20. ^ "'Birther King' announces 2016 campaign for U.S. president". Wikinews. August 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  21. ^ "Andy Martin FEC Filing" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. July 16, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  22. ^ "Republican First Congressional District candidates meet with voters at winery". July 28, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  23. ^ FRED GRIMM - MIAMI HERALD (October 13, 2008). "Commentary: Fox News' Obama 'expert' has long Florida resume".
  24. ^ CURTIS KRUEGER (September 13, 2005). "U.S. SENATE". tampabay.com.
  25. ^ Mendell, David, and Rick Pearson. GOP slate in Illinois U.S. Senate race Archived July 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . Chicago Tribune, 2008-02-01. Hosted by Illinois Republican Party.
  26. ^ "State primary election scheduled for February 2, 2010". ci.carbondale.il.us. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  27. ^ a b Pallasch, Abdon M. (December 28, 2009). "GOP opponent claims front-runner Mark Kirk is gay in attack ad". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
  28. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ Guzzardi, Will (January 6, 2010). "Andy Martin, GOP Senate Candidate, Calls Opponent Mark Kirk A "De Facto Pedophile" (AUDIO)". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  30. ^ Dellimore, Craig; Pillman, Stan (December 28, 2009), "Political Ad Questions Republican's Sexual Orientation", WBBM, archived from the original on December 31, 2009
  31. ^ "Chicago tribune election centre". Chicago Tribune. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  32. ^ "Galesburg Radio 14...WGIL". Wgil.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  33. ^ Washington Times: Gadfly's TV ads target Bush in N.H. December 22, 1999. Newsbank archive. Archived May 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ a b Martin-Trigona v. Shaw Archived May 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , 986 F.2d 1384.
  35. ^ In re Anthony R. Martin-Trigona, 573 F.Supp. 1237 (D. Conn. 1983)
  36. ^ Martin-Trigona v. Smith et al. Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 737 F.2d 1254.
  37. ^ [1] Archived November 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, 767 F.2d 35
  38. ^ "Abstract of dismissal of Media Matters case" (PDF). Media Matters for America. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  39. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2011. Retrieved 2010-04-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  40. ^ Martin-Trigona v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. 546 N.Y.S.2d 910 (N.Y. Sup., 1989)
  41. ^ Mielke, Brad (November 14, 2015). "Some Voters Trying to Kick Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders Off NH Ballot". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  42. ^ DiStaso, John (November 24, 2015). "State elections panel rejects challenge to Sanders' Democratic primary ballot eligibility". WMUR-TV. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  43. ^ "Infidel Bloggers Alliance: Is Barack Obama Lying About His Life Story?". Ibloga.blogspot.com. October 23, 2006. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  44. ^ "Barak Hussein Obama - Who is he?". Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  45. ^ Rutenberg, Jim (November 8, 2008). "Gibbs Is Set to Rise in Obama's Inner Circle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  46. ^ Kurtz, Howard (October 27, 2008). "Worlds Apart: The Great Hannity-Olbermann Divide". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  47. ^ a b c d e f Roig, Suzanne (October 18, 2008). "Suit targets Obama document: Foe of presidential candidate wants birth certificate, related files". Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008.
  48. ^ Roig, Suzanne. "Suit targets Obama document" Archived October 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , The Honolulu Advertiser (October 18, 2008).
  49. ^ Jim Dooley, "Obama certificate lawsuit dismissed: Judge says Net author Martin had no standing to get birth document, Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Honolulu Advertiser, November 21, 2008.
  50. ^ "Barack Obama's long form birth certificate" (PDF). obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2017. Alt URL
  51. ^ "Obama releases detailed U.S. birth certificate". NBC News. April 27, 2011. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  52. ^ Page, Susan; Jackie Kucinich (April 27, 2011). "Obama releases long-form birth certificate". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  53. ^ Silverleib, Alan (April 27, 2011). "Obama releases original long-form birth certificate". CNN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
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