Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, August 11, 2018
Gabbard Operative Paid to Harass HSTA VP?
By Selected News Articles @ 11:05 PM :: 10172 Views :: Ethics, Congressional Delegation, Labor, Politicians

Opinion: Gabbard’s PR Team is Getting Desperate

by Christine Gralow, Meanwhile in Hawaii, August 10, 2018

Earlier this week, Hawai'i Public Radio aired a piece that included an interview with me and a statement from a Tulsi Gabbard spokesperson.

Gabbard’s spokesperson stated, in an email to HPR Political Reporter Wayne Yoshioka, “Tulsi Gabbard is not going to participate in anything involving Gralow who has a history of bigotry and fabrications and we aren’t going to help amplify her Hindu-phobia.”

The statement was a predictable diversion. Gabbard’s team has been using various tactics to try to shut down my investigative reporting on Gabbard and the Kailua-based Science of Identity Foundation for well over a year now. The tactics seem to be growing increasingly desperate.

First, Science of Identity disciples came to my home, apparently to try to intimidate me, after I asked questions at a Gabbard town hall in Waianae. That’s when I realized I was dealing with a group that operates a lot like Scientology.

Picture

Tulsi Gabbard speaking with Tucker Carlson in April 2017. Gabbard has avoided speaking with several local journalists while favoring national outlets like Fox News and The New Yorker.

​Then, Gabbard’s D.C. publicist, Chris Cooper of The Potomac Square Group, sent a rambling email to an editor at Honolulu Magazine about me. Cooper’s general M.O. is to use his status as a former Wall Street Journal reporter to rake in money from politicians who want stories buried. He is tied to Fusion GPS, which is also run by former Wall Street Journal reporters turned ethically challenged D.C. damage fixers. Per Politico, Cooper is also being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee around his 2016 work for Kremlin attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

“I can assure you that if i (sic) have anything to say about it, Tulsi will not cooperate with Ms. Gralow,” Cooper wrote on June 30, 2017, to the Honolulu Magazine editor, who had expressed strong interest in my work. “Ms. Gralow is a political activist. She is not a reporter.”

Per FEC records, the Tulsi for Hawai'i campaign paid Cooper $19,400 on October 6, 2017.

Next, after I independently published my first article on the Science of Identity Foundation’s international financial trail, someone tried to shut it down by launching two amateurish Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

Throughout all of this, numerous posts kept popping up about me from fake Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit accounts. The claims against me included Hinduphobic bigotry and four restraining orders.

One such fake account also targeted special education teacher and former Hawai’i State Teachers Association Vice President Justin Hughey. When HSTA endorsed Sherry Alu Campagna over Gabbard, an “Aquino Purificacion” jumped in to comment on Facebook, “Not surprising considering a TRO was filed against HSTA VP Justin Hughey by the owner of a small business on Maui after he entered the business threatening and harassing Tulsi’s staff.”

There is no record of a TRO ever having been requested or issued against Hughey. The “Aquino Purificacion” account was easily traceable to Gabbard's copywriter, Marissa Rodriguez. Gabbard's FEC records include multiple payments to Rodriguez, who also uses the fake name “M.P. Magayon” on Medium to post pro-Gabbard propaganda.

Gabbard has enormous name recognition in Hawai'i, and analysts say she will win tomorrow’s Democratic primary election against Alu Campagna. If Gabbard does win and continues to pursue a national political career, as expected, what’s next for her P.R. team? Joining Trump’s national efforts to shut down the free press altogether?

---30---

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii