#Weinergate: My Interview With Mike Stack
[Guest post by Lee Stranahan]
More reasons to question the story of @PatriotUSA76 and his involvement in the Rep. Anthony Weiner story.
In his online interview with FilmLadd, “Dan Wolfe” says…
Filmladd (4:49:08 PM) [asking a question from Ace]: “How did he know that a “top 5 blogger” had some sex scandal on Weiner, two weeks before this incident? I know he says it was a retweet; but what did he know of this? Who floated this, and did he have further details about it? If no details, what did he suspect?”
danwolfe7676 (4:49:48 PM): A rumor came floating around the net and I am actualy surprised more people didn’t get it
danwolfe7676 (4:50:02 PM): I don’t know where the original source was
danwolfe7676 (4:50:15 PM): It got forwarded of a forward of a forward of a forward to me
Got that? A “got forwarded of a forward of a forward of a forward to me”? But as Patterico asks…
Does anyone know what he’s talking about? I never heard any such rumor. Did any of you — before Mike Stack and Dan Wolfe started talking about it?
In this interview Stack says that this is not at all what Patriot told him and answers other questions about the anonymous persona who ‘threw him under the bus”…and denies any involvement with the reported (and alleged) hack on Weiner’s account.
I’m pretty sure I mangle Ladd’s name in the interview. Sorry, Ladd.
– Lee Stranahan
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: In case you didn’t listen: in the interview, Stack says that Patriot claimed that the supposedly forwarded e-mail regarding the rumor was not forwarded. Stack says Patriot disappeared and threw him under the bus, tossing him away like a piece of garbage. Stack says he has received many tweets where people say they have his address and his e-mail. The Smoking Gun has published information about him. He is getting e-mails from different reporters. One person told him he has seen his house and knows where he lives, and that he has seen a Google view of his house. People are talking about his role in “framing” Weiner, which he denies. He says he was away from a computer until Monday. He reads some of the tweets. He says he feels like Patriot put him in this position, and has gone underground and left him holding the bag.
He say Patriot drove the discussions about Weiner. He says Patriot had talked to them about the evils of Anthony Weiner.
Lee finally asks Stack whether it’s possible that Patriot had something to do with the appearance of the tweet. Stack says he is on the fence, but that he thinks there is a chance.
hmm, no copy of the email from patriot who he claims started the sex scandal rumor?
not real credible, why would he erase it?
came from someone at Drudge Report
sorry, this guy Stack sounds hesitant and fishy
windansea (569f57) — 6/4/2011 @ 4:47 pmThere is no evidence that there was a hack yet. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Weinertweeted a dick photo and has poor dick photo management skillz.
JD (306f5d) — 6/4/2011 @ 5:11 pmWhile I appreciate Stranahan’s reporting on the Sherrod issue, anyone who has followed him on twitter is well aware that he’s been doing some major sucking up to the left, in an attempt to re-burnish his credentials with them. I’ve seen him act in a manner that shows contempt for anyone who doesn’t drop trou, bend over and take the abuse the left wants to dish out. I’ve got some bad news for Lee, he’s never going to have any standing with the left ever again.. but they will use him, before throwing him under the bus once his usefulness is over.
Mary (090eb0) — 6/4/2011 @ 5:15 pmYeah…
My feeling at this point is that Ace is the only person approaching this story properly. If a crime was committed — be it blackmail, “hacking,” whatever — then Anthony Weiner should have called the FBI.
There is really no reason whatsoever to further investigate the motives and identity of the people who exposed RAW’s, ummm, exposure. If Weiner isn’t properly standing up for himself here, why should anyone else be doing it for him?
Lee?
h2u (0025d1) — 6/4/2011 @ 5:27 pmLee, I hate to break it to you, but the case has been solved.
Maybe you’ve been busy with the Dan Wolffe guy and haven’t caught ALL of Anthony Weiner’s interviews.
He’s done everything but stand up and yell, “You’re damn right I ordered that code red”. Or in his case, dick pick.
You’re going off on a tangent here. I’m not really sure what you’re hoping to accomplish?
The issue was never what was the motivation of the guy following Weiner’s tweets, but rather that Weiner tweeted a dick pick to a 21 year old girl from Seattle who wasn’t his wife.
The case is closed. Let it go. I think Ace has wrapped up all the relevant facts and angles of this case up already.
Ben (ad80e4) — 6/4/2011 @ 5:59 pmRe:Comment by Ben — 6/4/2011 @ 5:59 pm
Ben, your post is recognized for exactly what it is–a nothing to see here, case closed plant. I’ve been very critical of Lee’s zealot-like focus on Patriot as well as some of the wild and convoluted theories being espoused about this case. I think Lee’s reactions have been over the top at times.
But the case is not closed. It is not over by a long shot no matter how much you’d like it to go away. Weiner’s diversions and spin and “private investigation” and failure to involve law enforcement is a clear sign that this is not just about a single lewd tweet to a lone 21 year old (as you so helpfully mention) girl on a Friday night. It’s about what else is out there, and for how long, and who else of the very young female persuasion he’s been tweeting in Weinerland. Getting to the bottom of those details is when Rep Weiner can be evaluated by the public and the case can be closed.
elissa (35276c) — 6/4/2011 @ 7:07 pmWhy are we assuming that this is the same sex scandal rumor that was originally floated?
Why on earth would a Drudge employee send this story down river to let someone else run with it?
If a Drudge employee knew about what Weiner was up to wouldn’t we see a flashing red light on Drudge?
I don’t trust anything Mike has to say at this point. He’s not a whistle blower he’s a jilted tweeter. I don’t know who outed him but I can understand him being upset about it and looking for a little revenge. Although this episode with Mike goes to show why Patriot is not revealing himself either.
Johnny 5 is alive (5ccc5e) — 6/4/2011 @ 7:25 pmNo, this is not more reason to suspect this guy of anything other than being obsessed with Weiner.
Being obsessed with Weiner does NOT make him the fake man on the moon or the hidden 9/11 bomber or even the ninja crotch photographer.
All it makes him is an obsessed lune. Again, this has nothing what-so-ever to do with Weiner posting a photo of his fruity looms on the internets.
Jewels (c7b6c5) — 6/4/2011 @ 8:41 pmHere’s the problem with all of this pointless excavation of the situation: This will only go as far as Weiner will bring law enforcement into it.
Weiner tried to excuse the incident by saying a crime was committed against him, but he risked committing a crime himself by making a false report. So he’s now content to insist that the alleged crime isn’t important enough to investigate (at the very same time Google admits China has hacked into D.C. figures’ Gmail accounts), which he knows damn well nobody really believes.
So this is the end of it — Weiner won’t put himself at risk of breaking the law, but because he won’t, he’s revealed himself to be a pervert. There’s no law against being a pervert in that particular manner.
Wolfe, Stack, and whoever played a part in exposing Weiner’s wiener pic is of no consequence to me unless someone can be brought up on some sort of charge. For all the embarrassment Stack has suffered, it’s all public record, and if Lee hadn’t brought my attention to it, I would never have thought twice about it. Stack’s history is being magnified in places beyond The Smoking Gun for nothing.
L.N. Smithee (4d2a87) — 6/4/2011 @ 8:48 pmThanks for the comments. I will be commenting soon on the first one.
goatsred (b20383) — 6/4/2011 @ 8:56 pmI guess Occum’s Razor isn’t sexy enough.
Ben (ad80e4) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:02 pmHis wife looks like his sister, no wonder he is looking for some body outside the family.
dunce (b89258) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:04 pmUPDATE BY PATTERICO: In case you didn’t listen: in the interview, Stack says that Patriot claimed that the supposedly forwarded e-mail regarding the rumor was not forwarded. Stack says Patriot disappeared and threw him under the bus, tossing him away like a piece of garbage. Stack says he has received many tweets where people say they have his address and his e-mail. The Smoking Gun has published information about him. He is getting e-mails from different reporters. One person told him he has seen his house and knows where he lives, and that he has seen a Google view of his house. People are talking about his role in “framing” Weiner, which he denies. He says he was away from a computer until Monday. He reads some of the tweets. He says he feels like Patriot put him in this position, and has gone underground and left him holding the bag.
He say Patriot drove the discussions about Weiner. He says Patriot had talked to them about the evils of Anthony Weiner.
Lee finally asks Stack whether it’s possible that Patriot had something to do with the appearance of the tweet. Stack says he is on the fence, but that he thinks there is a chance.
Patterico (135ea8) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:25 pmAll this drama over a servant of the people seems to say that the people would rather the servants be the masters.
We still have a semblance of a republican democracy. It would be be nice to preserve what we have.
Ag80 (1bc637) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:33 pmAh jeez…
You know it’s getting to the point where a guy can’t even enjoy a good dem congressman exposes hisself to unsuspecting ladies and gets caught with his pants down story.
Wet blankie thrown on Weiner – film at eleven.
papertiger (e55ba0) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:39 pmGeeez! Weiner is the peter tweeter. We so don’t care what either Stack or Patriot say about each other or accuse each other of. We do very much care what Weiner did, and probably has been doing for a while. Every minute that is focused on pressuring anybody but Weiner and his little social media buddies is a wasted minute and gives Weiner and his fancy hired clean-up crew more time to work a cover-up.
elissa (35276c) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:47 pmGeeez! Weiner is the peter tweeter. We so don’t care what either Stack or Patriot say about each other or accuse each other of. We do very much care what Weiner did, and probably has been doing for a while. Every minute that is focused on pressuring anybody but Weiner and his little social media buddies is a wasted minute and gives Weiner and his fancy hired clean-up crew more time to work a cover-up.
Well said
JD (318f81) — 6/4/2011 @ 9:57 pmPapertiger:
Exactly. We have gotten to the point that politicians are some sort of protected class depending on their party.
They do their jobs at our whim. Yet, they don’t do their stinking jobs and pretend that somehow they are more important than the people struggling to keep theirs or trying to find one.
People are tired, angry and hurting. Rewarding the elite class is getting tiresome. Yet, we continue to have to watch and listen to the media tell us to listen to our betters.
Populism is a dangerous game for both sides.
People believe in freedom and democracy. The problem is people believe more in freedom more than corrupt democracy.
Nonetheless, it is our fault, not because we are foolish, but because we don’t vote.
Ag80 (1bc637) — 6/4/2011 @ 10:02 pmI don’t get the relevance of the rumor.
The rumor was never a Weiner-specific rumor.
The rumor is completely unrelated to Anthony Weiner’s dick photo sending tendencies and completely unrelated to the twitter-harem he cultivated.
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 6/5/2011 @ 1:30 amI read the whole Vanity Fair article on the seedy sex bars the whole intern and congresscritters inhabit every week.
I also watched this video of Weiner not answering the question did he send it :
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/crotch_anthony_weiner_says_pic_can_ovlbrNDMVL50vhmcam2ZZL
I suspect his security firm hire – along with whatever other contacts he has through the wiretap machines and facebook owners (Google democrats, right?) are expediently wiping all evidence of anything since “there is no investigation because Weiner didn’t ask for one”.
SiliconDoc (7ba52b) — 6/5/2011 @ 1:50 am—
It would be nice if the rest of the USA citizens experienced that kind of immense priviledge when the ax of doubt hangs over their heads.
Evidence wiping ensues, while the usual meat and greet whoring scores in the Cap Bar n Grill continues unabated.
I agree with Elissa, JD and others. No matter what or who, the bottom line is this: Weiner sends pictures of his erect penis out to other people. He should have better judgement. He should have more respect for his wife. He is a cocky little jerk. As I have said before, he will remain in congress because that, in a nut shell, sums up the liberal mindset (Read The Secret Knowledge by David Mamet – it is so good,) but he will sweat a little the next time he feels compelled to share his penis with another.
Janetoo (84c5f6) — 6/5/2011 @ 4:00 amThis: “Geeez! Weiner is the peter tweeter. We so don’t care what either Stack or Patriot say about each other or accuse each other of. We do very much care what Weiner did, and probably has been doing for a while. Every minute that is focused on pressuring anybody but Weiner and his little social media buddies is a wasted minute and gives Weiner and his fancy hired clean-up crew more time to work a cover-up.”
Comment by elissa
and this:
“I guess Occum’s Razor isn’t sexy enough.”
Comment by Ben
Exactly.
Stranahan and Patterico are off on totally meaningless hunting & fishing trips for wild geese and red herrings while the real life big-game elephant sitting in the middle of the living room laughs at them. Oy.
Jay S. (79f341) — 6/5/2011 @ 6:10 amAs far as this kerfuffle has gone into the public spotlight now, wouldn’t it be incumbent on the folks at Twitter to come to Rep. Weiner’s defense and confirm there was a hack if Patriot somehow did access his feed? Knowingly allowing a vulnerability to remain in place not only negatively affects the congressman, if true, but leaves every other customer of the service open to the same type of fraudulent postings.
What Wolfe was doing and his actions after-the-fact do seem odd, but we’re now to the point where if a third party person/company with personal knowledge of the process and the varacity of any hacking claims should step in if there really is a problem. Failure to do so becomes a cover-up on Twitter’s part if they know their service is at risk and fail to alert their subscribers.
John (f56f7a) — 6/5/2011 @ 6:38 amJohn – if a verified account shows evidence of being hacked, people have stated it is their policy to suspend the account. That has npot happened. In fact, the weinertweeter keeps using the same compromised account, which suggests that it was not compromised in the first place.
JD (b98cae) — 6/5/2011 @ 6:53 amwallah.
wheeler's cat (ce6ac6) — 6/5/2011 @ 6:55 amlook, the girl target SAID she never got a twit from wiener of the pic. she SAID it was RE-TWEETED by patriot.
you guys are thick.
you have been HAD.
Funny how not even weinertweeter agrees with you, geocidal eugenecist.
JD (b98cae) — 6/5/2011 @ 7:06 am“One person told him he has seen his house and knows where he lives, and that he has seen a Google view of his house.”
Sound and fury, sound and fury.
It makes one wonder how the left side of the blogosphere would have reacted if righties had responded in this fashion to the Tweeters who were leveling death threats and wishes at Althouse… and Walker… and Palin… and Limbaugh… and Bachmann… and Trump… and…
JR (646e8b) — 6/5/2011 @ 7:10 am“the girl target SAID she never got a twit from wiener of the pic.”
wheeler’s cat
No one, not even Weiner himself, denies that it was sent from him to her. Weiner’s only offered defense, which could be very quickly proved or shown to be a lie by law enforcement, is that his account was “hacked”. But Weiner is terrified of having it investigated – instead he has pulled an O.J. : he lawyered up to find the “real tweeter”.
Jay S. (79f341) — 6/5/2011 @ 7:52 amI have been on this story from the first few hours and I was the FIRST person to call on Weiner to investigate. I have never said anything other than ‘Weiner knows more then he is saying and is clearly guilty of something.”
All of that is true — and Patriot’s acted very strangely. That’s true, too. Both are true.
With the new Tweetdeck evidence, it seems like another piece of the puzzle points to Weiner having sent the photo — something I’ve never one time claimed isn’t the strongest possibility.
But it’s not the ONLY possibility and sorry — running down other things is good reporting.
Lee Stranahan (708cc3) — 6/5/2011 @ 7:53 amNishi – given the tweetdeck information available, are you willing to admit how f@cking wrong wrong wrong you are?
JD (306f5d) — 6/5/2011 @ 7:56 amYour points are well taken, LS, and I understand approaching with “abundance caution”, as the saying goes.
But I think the point people are making here is that you’re “approaching” the wrong thing. It’s on par with delving into the “strangeness” of Matt Drudge for his part in bringing Monicagate to light or dissecting how weird Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were in exposing Watergate. Irrelevant side trips, at best.
Shooting messengers is not only a fruitless red-herring endeavor, it doesn’t change the delivered news.
Jay S. (79f341) — 6/5/2011 @ 8:10 am==It’s on par with delving into the “strangeness” of Matt Drudge for his part in bringing Monicagate to light or dissecting how weird Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were in exposing Watergate.== comment by Jay S.
What a great comment, Jay! A reminder that Bob Woodward sneaked out to a Rosslyn VA underground parking garage for clandestine meetings with Deep Throat – at a time when such parking structures were often used by men to meet up with other men for reasons far more personal in nature than discussing government crime.
Very suspicious guy, that Bob Woodward.
elissa (db6111) — 6/5/2011 @ 11:29 amThe photo in question, unlike every other photo posted to Weiner’s Yfrog account, did not come from a BlackBerry. A security hole in Yfrog, which allowed anyone to email photos to a Yfrog address without authentication, which would then be posted to a linked Twitter account, was closed shortly after this incident. Was that exploited here? Yfrog logs should show the source IP address of the mail server that delivered the photo, if so–and then the sending mail server should show the sending IP of the prior server or client, and so on. But if that’s the case, why has Weiner declined to offer a denial that it’s his photo (he has denied that he posted it)? There are still plenty of unanswered questions here…
Jim Lippard (50723d) — 6/5/2011 @ 12:04 pmWhoops, looks like I’m a step behind on yfrog vs. tweetdeck…
Jim Lippard (50723d) — 6/5/2011 @ 12:08 pmStack is getting the full Joe the Plumber treatment from the media guardians of the establishment Left.
It’s clear that today the media will, if they can, try to destroy anyone who wounds the Left or even anyone who the media fears might wound the Left. Even if it means criminal violation of privacy rights, as was done to Joe the Plumber.
Brad (d9a8d4) — 6/5/2011 @ 2:43 pmTo clarify, I am not claiming Lee is part of the media mob guarding the Left.
Brad (d9a8d4) — 6/5/2011 @ 2:47 pm