Rush's Wikipedia Libelist Traced to Law Firm and Guess What?

American Thinker ^ | 10-16-09 | Ralph Alter

[thouworm]

October 16, 2009 The Search for the Wikipedia Libelist (important update) Ralph Alter

Thanks to an intrepid blogger with the tag Trapdoc posting a letter to Mark Steyn, the search for the Wikipedia Libelist responsible for damaging posts to the Rush Limbaugh account has been narrowed to the IP address of a New York City law firm:

"The quotes were added by a user with the IP address of 69.64.213.146. This address has been used mostly to make changes to the article about Rush, but also Karl Rove, Sean Hannity,.. James Dobson and Sara Palin from 2005 until earlier this year.

"While others have noted this in various forums, no one seems to have made the connection that this IP address is used as a gateway by the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP (see here, for example) that all users from that IP address come from the pbwt.com domain.)"

The firm provides a wide array of legal services with a broad spectrum of politically correct causes served:

"It is one of the first major firms in New York City to elect a woman as managing partner. In addition to its Diversity Committee, a group of Patterson Belknap attorneys formed PAC -- Patterson Attorneys of Color -- to assist with the enhancement of workplace diversity and the recruitment, retention and promotion of attorneys of color. Another group, Out at Patterson, focuses on issues relevant to the firm's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and Women Lawyers at Patterson (WLAP) focuses on women's issues."

Considering Rush's militant political incorrectness, there may be a large number of potentially culpable attorneys and/or staffers to choose from. However, a forensic data retrieval technician should surely be able to narrow the focus and identify the likely poster. Perhaps Rush can enlist the aid of PBWT alumni, Rudy Giuliani, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau or firm partner, Edward F. Cox, (son-in-law of former President, Richard M. Nixon) in his search for justice.

There is no question that Mr. Limbaugh has been damaged by the salacious quotes added to his Wikipedia profile and their dissemination in the PC-stream media. Hope this helps, Rush.

You know they say the only cure for a lawyer is another lawyer.....

Ralph Alter blogs at Right On Target

Update from Thomas Lifson:

Well, well, well, lookee here (from the firm's own website)

Firm Establishes Sports Group September 21, 2009

Growing Cross-Disciplinary Practice Handles Disputes and Transactions for Numerous Sports-Related Entities

NEW YORK, NY - September 21, 2009. Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP is pleased to announce the formal establishment of its interdisciplinary Sports Group. The firm's work in this area dates back decades and includes high-profile disputes and transactions involving professional baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis and golf, as well as the representation of sports-related media entities. Among other matters on behalf of various leagues, teams, and other sports-related entities, over the last several years our attorneys regularly have litigated complex commercial matters, handled sensitive internal investigations issues, and provided corporate, intellectual property and charitable giving advice both in high-profile transactions and as day-to-day legal advisors.

Our Sports Group attorneys' specific experience includes the representation of:

* A leading sports news network as a defendant in a case in which the plaintiff argued that fantasy sports games offered on its website constituted illegal gambling. The court dismissed this case of first impression with prejudice. * Various investor groups as intellectual property counsel in their acquisitions and proposed acquisitions of Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and NASCAR teams. * A professional sports league in an investigation of and issuance of a report concerning allegations made by a member team that a rival team violated the league's anti-tampering rules. * A professional sports hall of fame as plaintiff in a trademark infringement litigation culminating in a successful settlement requiring a change to defendant's use of its mark. * A major U.S. professional soccer league in its formation and launch. * The seller of a Major League Baseball franchise in a breach of contract litigation with an investment bank. * A leading regional sports network in connection with its broadcasting rights agreement to license professional baseball and basketball games to local television stations. * A professional basketball team's foundation in connection with its charitable activities. * A not-for-profit organization formed to further New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in connection with intellectual property matters.

Patterson Belknap's Managing Partner, Bob LoBue, said, "To provide maximum value to our clients, it makes sense to combine in a single working group the full range of skills and experience that the firm has to offer to our sports industry clients. We believe our broad experience advising these entities will be a great asset to them going forward in today's fast-paced and dynamic business environment."

The Sports Group includes leading Litigation, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Intellectual Property, Tax-Exempt Organizations and Corporate attorneys, including:

Litigation:

Peter C. Harvey is the former Attorney General of the State of New Jersey and the first African-American to hold that position. He is active in investigations and complex commercial litigation nationwide. His clients include sports-related and media and entertainment entities. Prior to becoming Attorney General, Mr. Harvey served as First Assistant Attorney General and the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice. He previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Robert W. Lehrburger is a trial and appellate attorney who handles commercial and intellectual property matters, including false advertising, infringement (trademark, copyright and patent), licensing, unfair competition and other complex business disputes. He has written and lectured on a number of intellectual property and litigation topics ranging from deceptive advertising on the internet to domain name cybersquatting to trademark issues lurking in song titles and lyrics.

Daniel S. Ruzumna spent six years at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he last served as Acting Chief of the Major Crimes Unit. His practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and related regulatory proceedings, internal investigations, and complex financial litigation. He has represented corporations and corporate executives in many recent high-profile criminal and regulatory investigations involving alleged violations of the securities laws, antitrust laws, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Saul B. Shapiro is a nationally recognized litigator and veteran of several high-profile sports industry disputes and investigations. His work includes the representation of professional sports leagues and television networks. He is noted consistently as a leading practitioner in Chambers USA, as well as a "Litigation Star" in Euromoney / Institutional Investor's Benchmark: America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys. Mr. Shapiro is co-Chair of the firm's Media and Entertainment Practice.

Transactional:

Karen R. Berry focuses her practice on intellectual property counseling, transactions, and licensing matters, and has particular skill in internet and new media, including "virtual world" issues. She handles software licensing, trademark licensing and a broad range of other agreements for clients that include sports-related entities and individuals. Ms. Berry is a frequent speaker on intellectual property issues concerning for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

William F. Gaske is a tax-exempt organizations lawyer advising on corporate structures and governance, corporate sponsorships, charitable contributions and solicitations and other tax, corporate and general legal matters. He also represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service in matters involving audits, private letter rulings and requests for technical assistance and assists clients with matters under review by the New York Attorney General's office.

Daniel C. Glazer is a nationally recognized intellectual property attorney who has handled several high-profile sports-related transactions. He frequently appears in the national media as a commentator on legal issues in sports (including on CNN, ESPN, NBC, FOX, MSNBC and NPR), has published numerous articles on sports law topics in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and The Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law, and has been profiled in The New York Law Journal regarding his activities in the field. Mr. Glazer has been recommended by Legal 500 U.S. in the category of Sports Law.

Contacts for the Sports Group are Saul B. Shapiro (212-336-2163/sbshapiro@pbwt.com) for Litigation matters; Daniel S Ruzumna (212-336-2034/druzumna@pbwt.com) for Investigations; and Daniel C. Glazer (212-336-2523/dcglazer@pbwt.com) for Transactional matters.

[Candor7]

The fact that ElRushbo DID NOT mention the law firm and Shakalaka Shapiro, makes methink that there is a good chance that a law suite is pending.And possibly a bar malpractise complaint.

It ain't ovah.

El Rushbo also stated to watch for his removal from the MISS AMERICA JUDGE PANEL next week. So he is adding up the defaatory damages brought about by Shakalaka Shapiro.

Conservatives are being defamed in this way, and we are still not shutting up. Buahahahahahahaha!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

wiki needs to take responsibility for this, too.

I yield to no one in my disgust over the suppression of truth in this case, nor in my enthusiasm for suing the socks off of the perpetrators. Nor do I think of Wikipedia as any better than any other part of "the MSM."

But it has to be said that in this case Wikipedia had a disclaimer next to the phony Rush quote, noting that it had been challenged. That's important because it means that anyone who propagated that phony quote was pretty much saying that they didn't care whether it was true or not. That is, that they are guilty of "actual malice," and are wide open to a libel suit.

So it probably isn't the best idea to go after Wiki on this . . .

[justiceseeker93]

Practicing sports law ... hmmm, might they be backing another bidding group?

Could be. But I've been thinking that the NFL itself (or one or more of its owners) is behind the smears of Rush and sicced the likes of Sharpton and Jackson on him. That gave the NFL a convenient reason for effectively kicking him out of the bidding group.

So was the NFL ever a client of that firm or any of the lawyers currently there?

BTW, this seems to be a bipartisan firm, not the kind you would expect to approve the anti-Rush smears from the top. So the guess here is that whoever in the firm did the dirty work did so secretively as a "wildcatter" or "maverick".

[FlashBack]

Exactly...I hope Rush nails these bas*ards!!

[justiceseeker93]

Please see my post # 83.

[SaraJohnson]

Rush is not going to do anything about this legally. He might talk about who is behind the slander based on this research, but he is not going to be any activist hero. He talks - that is all.

[PIF]

Apparently it is. My mistake. When you want to find out who an IP address belongs to the first thing is to look it up in Whois. From that info you can identify various things about the address, to find the individual using a particular address portion (69.64.213.146) of the range of IP addresses, you’d have to query the IP identity listed.

In this case, contact: RCN NEW YORK COMMUNICATIONS, LLC either by the mail address or one of the email address listed. This is best left to one’s lawyers. I’m sure others here at FR can fill in more info if you need it.

[lwd]

A lawyer named Saul Shapiro ....lmfao!

[bjorn14]

The thing that aggravates me the most is that Roger Goodell shoots off his stupid mouth before knowing all the facts just like Obama did in the Crowley/Gates case. And who re the mind-numbed robots...the Left-wingers took these quotes as gospel and ran with them. How do you like your crow now? Oh sorry that’s right....you had good intentions. BARF!

[N. Theknow]

Should freerepublic get sued because of idiot comments on here?

Idiot comments on FR?

Ash is back?

[Freee-dame]

How do you like your crow now? Oh sorry that’s right....you had good intentions.

They don't care. Lying for the good of the (communist or in this case, Dem) Party is considered a good. They are pretty sure they won't be sued and they get invited to a whole new list of top drawer lefty gatherings. In this internet age, all of the newspaper, tv, etc linkages are there forever waiting for anyone who googles Rush + racist. Liberals win even when (perhaps mostly when) they lie. I don't know how conservatives, who at least believe that lying is wrong, can ever win.

[thouworm]

Rush said yesterday that he knew of 2 other bidding groups. He also said he was positive that the main reason for the smears to get him out was linked to NFL's Players Assoc., & its head, DeMaurice Smith, & upcoming negotiations.
~~~~~~

Smith, the NFLPA head, last week voiced his objections to Limbaugh’s bid with NFL commissioner, and urged players to speak out against Limbaugh’s bid.

Sharpton and Jackson also attacked Limbaugh’s involvement, asserting that Limbaugh’s track record on race should exclude him. Limbaugh said the real reason he’s out is the NFLPA’s attempt to influence negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. He said Smith warned he would bring the White House into negotiations if necessary.

“It’s designed to intimidate the owners, frighten the owners, and say ‘We’re running this league now, gang, not you,”’ Limbaugh said. “This little warning shot fired across the bow to the owners, to say ‘Get ready, here we come for the next collective bargaining agreement,’ so we’ll see how it all unfolds.”

This link for the above is also a good article summarizing what Rush said.
News 14 Carolina



DeMaurice Smith was elected by the Board of Player Representatives in March 2009 as the new Executive Director of the NFL Players Association.

Previously, he was a trial lawyer and litigation partner at D.C. law firm Patton Boggs, where he concentrated on white-collar criminal defense and tort liability trials. He was also Chair of the firm’s Government Investigations and White-Collar Practice Group. He has argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

In addition, he has defended individuals in high profile criminal cases and Congressional investigations while also representing Fortune 500 companies in criminal and complex civil cases, compliance matters, and internal investigations. He also represented Halliburton, Shell Motor Company and Ford Motor Company during his career.

Smith previously served as Counsel to then Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder in the U.S. Department of Justice before entering private practice. His duties revolved around national security issues, congressional relations, and DOJ budget and finance allocation.

~~~~~~~~~~~


Looks to me like it could have been a conspiracy. Check this out from Freeper Smoking Frog. I posted to ask for a source; didn't get a reply yet. It may have come from a Laroche document, but the link I tried is dead.

~~~~~~~~~~

George Soros may have found his disciple, Saakashvili, at the offices of Patterson, Belknap, Webb, and Tyler LLC in Tbilisi, where the young lawyer started his career after coming home in 1992 from study at Columbia University. A professor there, R. Scott Horton, combines the careers of human rights defender, and privatization consultant in the former U.S.S.R. In the 1980s, he was the lawyer for aging Academician Andrei Sakharov and his wife, Yelena Bonner. Today, Horton represents the Ukrainian intelligence Major Mykola Melnychenko, whose peddling of audiotapes of President Leonid Kuchma’s private conversation launched a political crisis in Ukraine in 2001.

At a 1998 Columbia University conference on Caspian oil reserves (co-sponsored by Exxon), this friend of dissidents presented a report astronomically remote from human rights—on the juridical implications of the division of the Caspian Sea. By that time, Patterson, Belknap, Webb, and Tyler had been in Kazakstan for ten years, and in Moscow for five. In Russia, the firm is a partner of Alpha Group’s Tyumen Oil Co. (TNK), recently merged with British Petroleum, and the largest Russian telecommunications company, Svyazinvest, co-privatized by George Soros, Boris Jordan, and Vladimir Potanin in 1997.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363558/posts?page=31#31

[smokingfrog]

Backing the Georgian Opposition

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2003/3047georgia_soros.html

[RebelTex]

“What if Limbaugh hired that agency to pursue a slander case? That would be interesting.”

Nah, it would be better to hire Denny Crane. He’s never lost a case.

;>D

[WVNan]

LOL. Hadn’t thought about Ash for some time now. He did make things interesting back in the day.

[thouworm]

Thanks Smoking Frog; also found this:

In 2004, Soros, using his “Democracy Alliance,” which represented nothing more than a hostile takeover of the Democratic Party by globalist forces represented by Soros and his friends, pooled and bundled campaign contributions for a number of Democratic candidates, earning him the same loyalty that similar bribes bought him in Georgia.

Soros reportedly convinced organizations and web sites he funded, including MoveOn.org, DailyKos, Democratic Underground, and others to launch an anti-Halliburton campaign. Halliburton was engaged in the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that pumped oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia to the Turkish deep water port at Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.

The campaign by Soros against Halliburton worked. The firm began divesting itself of its Kellogg, Brown & Root subsidiary in early 2006. As the result of the Soros effort against Halliburton, the company’s stock plummeted from $40 a share to $26 a share. Soros, a longtime hedge fund and currency speculator who profits from crises and financial collapses, bought 2 million shares of Halliburton at its low share price of $26 per share.

He then, according to WMR’s financial industry sources, ordered his “progressive” recipients of funding to ease off on their criticism of Halliburton. The result was that Halliburton shares increased to $50 a share. Soros earned a cool $40 million from his manipulation of the politics and finances surrounding Vice President Dick Cheney’s old firm.

Soros’ manipulation of the progressive media is highlighted in an article by Michael Barker, a doctoral student at Griffith University in Australia, titled “The Soros Media ‘Empire.’” Soros’ role in “democracy manipulation” is cited in the article: “The Soros Foundations’ most recent annual report shows that Soros still remains a force to be reckoned with among democracy manipulators, as the entire Soros Foundations Network distributed over $400 million worth of grants in 2006.”

Saakashvili’s own ties with “progressive journalists” linked to Soros are highlighted by his friendship with Scott Horton, a journalist with Harper’s. Horton hired Saakashvili in 1994 to work for him at the New York law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler after the Georgian graduated from Columbia Law School.

Other Patterson, Belknap et al. alumni include former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and current Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Saakashvili referred to Horton as his “colleague” at a July 2006 seminar at the neocon citadel, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, DC.

Online Journal

[RWGinger]

My God there is more incest among obamites than the trailer park in Clinton’s hometown.

so we know this but can’t do anything about it

[justiceseeker93]

Rush said yesterday he knew of 2 other bidding groups. He also said he was positive that the main reason for the smears to get him out was linked to the NFL's Players Assoc. & its head, DeMaurice Smith, & upcoming negotiations.

Either or both two other bidding groups may have been involved in the smears against Rush, but I tend to think that it would be very convenient for the NFL (or some owners within it, with perhaps Goodell) to have joined with the Players Union to encourage the attacks on Rush. It would have been in the best selfish interests of both the NFL and the union to not allow Rush in.

Note that the NFL, among all the major professional sports leagues, has a history of being coziest with its union, ever since the big strike (or was it a lockout, I forget) around 1980, which caused the cancellation of half of the season and replacement games for the first part of it. In the aftermath of that, the players destroyed their union and formed a new one - one that has been far more accommodating to the NFL over the years.

So collusion between the league (or a segment of it) and the head of the union could have instigated the smear campaign. Legally, one couldn't call it a "conspiracy" unless you could show that a criminal act was committed.

[justiceseeker93]

I believe that Rush also mentioned the possibility of Soros looking for an NFL franchise on his radio show.

[Tallguy]

Goose, gander — good point!