Interesting investigation of "Obama is a Muslim" e-mail

[jasmine621]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/26/3_us_workers_face_investigation_over_obama_e_mail/

It appears that the orign of the e-mail is still unknown. So we should let the allegation that this e-mail originated from the HC campaign drop.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. This is about people forwarding the email, not the originators.

I do want an investigation to get to the bottom of that awful email. It's been too widely disseminated for me not to believe there's been a concerted effort by someone to smear Obama.

[jasmine621]

3. It states that origin is unknown. Some here were saying it definitely

came from the HC campaign as an example of HC's "dirty campaign tactics."

[mth44sc]

2. I never imagined this started with HC

This always impressed me - especially in light of those who so enjoyed fowarding it and believing it - as simply the start of the wingnut smear campaign...

edit for spelling

[Tulkas]

4. We all assumed it was the Conservatives

Because they would rather run against Hillary than Barack.

I don't think anyone with any credibility at all ever accused the Clintons of doing it.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

6. I agree but that email sure was getting passed around a LOT in Nevada before the primary

[MADem]

5. Hatch Act violation!!! The ARMY!!!!

WASHINGTON - Three federal employees are being investigated for unlawful political activities after they allegedly sent an e-mail falsely accusing Barack Obama of being a "radical Muslim," the Globe has learned.

The US Office of Special Counsel - the independent federal agency responsible for enforcing a law banning civil service workers from engaging in political activism while performing their official duties - has launched investigations of two employees at one agency and one employee at another agency. All three are believed to have forwarded the erroneous chain e-mail...Doing so would be a violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law designed to help protect career government employees and the government workforce from the influence of partisan politics. The act bans civil servants from taking "any active part" in political campaigns while on the job.

If a special oversight board finds the three employees in violation of the act, punishment could range from suspension from work without pay to termination from their jobs...A spokesman for the special counsel office, which has about 100 employees and a $17 million annual budget, said news of the investigations could deter other government employees from spreading partisan information over the Internet - including many who do not know it is illegal.

"We think that this e-mail could be the tip of the iceberg and that we may have many more similar e-mails circulating in federal agencies," ....Quick access to the Internet from work "makes it easier for people to make the mistake," he said. "Now people can step into trouble very easily just by forwarding a message that someone else sent to them."...The US Army has already told its soldiers not to use government computers to spread the Obama smear. Personnel at the US Army Medical Command in Fort Sam Houston, were warned last week after an Army employee used an official e-mail address to send the message to soldiers and civilian employees worldwide.

Federal laws bar military personnel from actively engaging in politics while in uniform.

The e-mail questioning Obama's faith and patriotism, though widely discredited, is still alive on the Internet, where it has been forwarded to thousands of voters and has appeared on right-wing blogs. It recently appeared on a local Republican Party office's website in Washington state.

The anonymous author has not been identified and the origin of the e-mail is unknown. A version of the e-mail asserts this is "something that should be considered in your choice" for president.....