How the F.B.I. Identified Murray’s Caller?

 

Is this it! 

Will this get the attention of the citizens of Wingnuttia?

April 6, 2010, 6:16 pm

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

 

Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press Senator Patty Murray

As the F.B.I. moved in on a man who allegedly threatened Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, because of her support for health care legislation, law enforcement agents faced a challenge: they needed to confirm that Charles A. Wilson, the man whose phone number was used to leave menacing messages on her office voicemail, was in fact the man who made the threats.

So they found a convenient way to get Mr. Wilson talking about the issue that seemed to be weighing so heavily on him. Special Agent Cory Cote of the F.B.I. called Mr. Wilson at his home number and, according to the criminal complaint (PDF), “disguised himself as a representative of Patients United Now, a group that was ostensibly attempting to have the federal health care reform legislation repealed.”

Mr. Wilson apparently was interested in what the group had to say: the call lasted about 14 minutes, according to the complaint.

Patients United Now is a real organization, part of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a conservative, antitax advocacy group, that has actively opposed the legislation and also runs a project called “Hands Off My Health Care.” The foundation has also been active in publicizing Tea Party events. It advocates for the federal government to “return to its Constitutional limits” and also seeks to highlight the “alarmism” around global warming.

“As A.F.P. Foundation has said repeatedly, we condemn any threats of violence or acts of violence,” Tim Phillips, president of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, said in an e-mail message. “The F.B.I. did not contact A.F.P. Foundation about this matter. Over the last year, we have been one of the leading grassroots organizations opposing a Washington takeover of our health care. Perhaps that is why they chose to use our name, though they did not notify us.”

As the call began, the suspect, Mr. Wilson, confirmed his identity for the undercover F.B.I. agent.

And according to the complaint charging him with threatening a public official, Mr. Wilson quickly supplied confirmation that he had made the threats against Senator Murray.

“Wilson made several statements that further confirm he was the caller on the voicemail messages,” the complaint said.

(a) Wilson repeatedly expressed his strong dislike for the recent health-care reform legislation (i.e. “I hate it. I hate it!”) (b) Wilson confirmed that he regularly placed calls to Senator Murray’s and Senator Maria Cantwell’s offices. (i.e., “I call Murray every day. I call Cantwell. They don’t like hearing from me. … I call them every day.”) (c) Wilson referred to Senators Murray and Cantwell as the “Pike Street whores,” as does the caller in the voicemail messages; (d) Wilson also referred to Senator Murray as “sneaker shoes Murray,” a phrase that also was stated on some of the voicemail messages; and (e) Wilson made the following remarks, which are similar to the rhetoric in many of the voicemail messages. “They need to be strung up, and I mean put the gallows. I will take no prisoners. …  And I don’t care what they think. They want to come throw me in jail, they can go ahead and do that. That’s fine.”

Let The Sun Shine In......