Emerson boasted about his role but also lashed out at King for not including him on the witness list. In a particularly bizarre letter written last January, Emerson vowed to withhold further assistance as retaliation for the snub.
"I was even going to bring in a special guest today and a VERY informed and connected source, who could have been very useful, possibly even critical to your hearing, but he too will not attend unless I do," Emerson wrote. "You have caved in to the demands of radical Islamists in removing me as a witness."
In another weird twist, Emerson somehow envisioned himself as the victim of McCarthyism because he wasn't being allowed to go before the House Homeland Security Committee and accuse large segments of the American-Muslim community of being un-American. [Politico, Jan. 19, 2011]
Then, last summer, the Center for American Progress sponsored a report on Emerson and other Muslim-bashers. The context was the aftermath of a murderous rampage in Norway by Christian terrorist Anders Breivik. He cited their writings in a manifesto justifying his killing of 76 people on July 22 as the beginning of a war against "multiculturalists" who preach tolerance of Muslims.
CAP's report, "Fear, Inc.," noted a number of Emerson's falsehoods and exaggerations about American Muslims and examined the convoluted financing of Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism, which has drawn substantial support from right-wing foundations and funders whose political interests have benefited from a surging right-wing campaign against Muslims....
"Emerson's nonprofit organization IPT received a total of $400,000 from Donors Capital Fund in 2007 and 2008, as well as $100,000 from the Becker Foundation, and $250,000 from Daniel Pipes' Middle East Forum, according to our research," the report said."Emerson's nonprofit organization, in turn, helps fund his for-profit company, SAE Productions. IPT paid SAE Productions $3.33 million to enable the company to 'study alleged ties between American Muslims and overseas terrorism.' Emerson is SAE's sole employee.
"Even more intriguingly, a review of grants in November 2010 showed large sums of money contributed to the "Investigative Project,' or "IPT,' care of the Counterterrorism & Security Education and Research Foundation. An examination of CTSERF's 990 forms [reports that non-profits file with the Internal Revenue Service] showed that, much like the Investigative Project, all grant revenue was transferred to a private, for-profit entity, the International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals.
"Emerson did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication. The Russell Berrie Foundation has contributed $2,736,000 to CTSERF, and Richard Scaife foundations contributed $1,575,000. While neither the IPT, CTSERF, or IACSP websites make any mention of a link between CTSERF and the IPT, Ray Locker, the Investigative Project's managing director, told the LobeLog blog that a relationship "exists' and "it's all above board and passes muster with the IRS.'
"But in 2008, when Emerson was asked why the IACSP's Web address was listed at the bottom of an IPT press release on LexisNexis, he told LobeLog, "[I have] no idea how the IACSP website address got listed on the LexisNexis version of our press release. We are not a project of IACSP although we have frequently published material in their magazine.'
"He went on to say that "as for funding questions, other than what we have stated on our website, that we take no funds from outside the U.S. or from governmental agencies or from religious and political groups, we have a long standing policy since we were founded not to discuss matters of funding (for security reasons).'"
The "Fear, Inc." continued:
"Steven Fustero, chief executive of CTSERF, told LobeLog, "The research and education designated funds are ["] transferred to IACSP, which in turn makes the research grants,' but would not discuss the relationship between CTSERF and IPT. An examination of CTSERF tax documents from 1999 to 2008 shows the group receiving $11,108,332 in grant revenue and transferring $12,206,900 to IACSP."This kind of action enrages Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog group. He argued that "basically, you have a nonprofit acting as a front organization, and all that money going to a for-profit.'
"The increasing influence of Islamophobia donors to Emerson's nonprofit and for-profit work has focused more recently on anti-Islam, anti-Muslim expertise. Indeed, according to an investigation by The Tennessean newspaper, the Investigative Project now solicits money by telling donors they're in imminent danger from Muslims."
Who's Dangerous?
In the two decades since The New Republic's October Surprise "debunking" article, the magazine also has revealed more about its commitment to quality "journalism," through such debacles as the serial fraud of its correspondent Stephen Glass.
And, publisher Martin Peretz has exposed more about his personal agenda. He now lives part time in Israel and -- like Emerson -- has taken to smearing Muslims, such as in this TNR blog post regarding the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan. He declared:
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