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An Editorial Response by Brian Reilly to Sharon Rondeau’s Post & eMail article of October 19, 2016 entitled “There Is More Than Meets the Eye with the Arpaio Birth Certificate Investigation”

By on November 2, 2016 in Guest Essays

Guest editorial by Brian Reilly

The following editorial article is my reply to the Sharon Rondeau article, which Ms. Rondeau published in response to an Arizona Central, (AC) article that was published in print and also on the internet. The AC reporter spent 4 ½ hours on September 22, 2016, interviewing us at our home. Here are the links to the AC photo gallery and the AC article:

http://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/arizona-best-reads/2016/10/14/how-arizona-became-ground-zero-for-birthers/92073280/

 

How Arizona became ground zero for ‘birthers’ – azcentral.com

How Arizona became ground zero for ‘birthers’ Brian Reilly sits with wife Denise among documents from his time as a member of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe …

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-best-reads/2016/10/16/how-arizona-became-ground-zero-birthers/91924322/

Sharon Rondeau’s article about my part in the Obama Birth Certificate Investigation and my Cold Case Posse experience is biased, incomplete, inaccurate and unprofessional. For the record, I was not offered the opportunity to give any input for her article or the offer to make any corrections. Her article has once again exposed her pro-Birther agenda and her avoidance of any information that would undermine or conflict with her pro-Birther position or her defense of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Posse volunteer, Mike Zullo and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In my opinion, neither Sharon Rondeau, nor Posse member Mike Zullo are believable. So let’s begin.

Rondeau wrote: “Zullo declined an interview request from The Post & Email for this article but was agreeable to clarifying several points made in the AC piece.”

Response: I consider her article to be the Rondeau, “non-interview, interview” of Mr. Zullo.

A Question of Credibility:

On several occasions, the issue of timeline problems were brought up in Ms. Rondeau’s article. A timeline that Rondeau and Zullo failed to mention is found in Posseman Mike Zullo’s and Deputy Mackiewicz’ report regarding the “Seattle Operation.” This is Exhibit #2726, found in Melendres v. Arpaio. This report was sent to Mike Zullo (his email address is listed on the report) from Deputy Brian Mackiewicz on September 4, 2014 at 6:56PM. The report is entitled: “Elmer’s Case Summary” which was testified to have been written by both Zullo and Mackiewicz. “Elmer” was the code name for confidential informant, Dennis L. Montgomery who was being paid by Sheriff Arpaio’s Office and in return the MCSO, according to court testimony, received worthless information considered “junk.” I sat in disbelief in court listening to Mike Zullo testify to the accuracy of the Elmer Case Summary because Zullo said it was accurate because it was a “law enforcement” report. Ms. Rondeau and Mr. Zullo, please tell us, what is wrong with the following timeline? Continue Reading →

My experience with Douglas Vogt and Miki Booth

By on August 15, 2016 in Guest Essays, Mike Zullo

by Brian Reilly

On August 22, 2011, as a Surprise Tea Party Patriots member, I met with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, at 9:00 A.M., in his office, on the 19th floor of the Wells Fargo Building. As a group, five STPP members and Jerome Corsi had already met with Sheriff Arpaio on August 18th to present him with the petition I had written requesting that Arpaio investigate the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate. The birth certificate had been posted on the White House website, April 27, 2011. Arpaio wanted me to return, on August 22, 2011 , to his office with a formal letter of request and all of the evidence that I had on the subject.

The most important piece of evidence that I had, was the “Eligibility Book” that had been supplied to me by Mr. William (Bill) Wolf, via author, Jerome Corsi of WND.com. This book became the source material for the Cold Case Posse investigation and I specifically discussed Mr. Douglas Vogt’s report with Sheriff Arpaio and Chief Brian Sands on August 22, 2011. To give one a sense of the importance of the Eligibility Book, what follows are excerpts from Bill Wolf’s correspondence. (Please note the correspondence with Representative Mike Pence, the current 2016, GOP pick for Vice President of the United States.) Continue Reading →

Are Birther “Reporters” Professional & Accurate?

By on December 23, 2015 in Guest Essays, Mike Zullo

Opinion by Brian Reilly

I find it fascinating that people like Sharon Rondeau, Mark Gillar, Mike Volin and Carl Gallups continue to report their news stories about Arpaio and Zullo according to what they’ve been told, or what they have read from other sources, not what they have actually witnessed. The most recent case in point, is the December 18, 2015 Tea Party Power Hour radio show with Mark Gillar interviewing Sharon Rondeau of the Post & Email internet newspaper. (1) None of the information Rondeau reported was her own eye witness account of court room events in the Melendres v. Arpaio contempt of court hearings.

While I seldom pay much attention to these people, I did listen to this particular show. I’ve attempted to publish my thoughts at Birther Report without successfully breaking their censorship barrier. I’ve attempted to pass on accurate information to the above mentioned people, also with no apparent success. I was a witness to the contempt of court hearings and I personally witnessed volunteer posse member Mike Zullo claim his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination 264 times during his testimony on the 10th and on the 12th of November. I also witnessed Mike Zullo’s reported emotional meltdown during his testimony on the 12th.

What I witnessed in court was shocking. Mike Zullo had been very subdued and professional while on the stand on the 10th, until he decided to stop claiming the Fifth on the 12th. Suddenly, he became loud, demeaning and angry. He became so loud that the court public address speakers began to distort and pop while he yelled into the microphone. He became so emotional that I thought he was on the verge of tears as his voice cracked. It was an amazing and noteworthy outburst. It was also very unprofessional. I’m very familiar with Zullo’s rapid mood swings.

During the break, I was standing in the hall outside the courtroom, speaking with former MCSO Chief Deputy Brian Sands. We were trying to assess what we had just witnessed. We both agreed that Zullo looked like he had cracked under pressure. Suddenly, Zullo burst through the courtroom double doors, and quickly walked over to me, reaching out his right hand, he grabbed my left hand and he said, “It’s alright, Bro!” He was giddy, and highly animated. Both Sands and I questioned what we had just experienced. Zullo turned to his right and then he began to pace up and down the hall. Absolutely nobody approached Zullo out in the hall. He was alone. Not even his wife, Alicia came to court to support Zullo.

Sharon Rondeau, and other Birthers have been highly and unjustly critical of the Phoenix media and the reporting done by professional journalists who have attended the Melendres v. Arpaio contempt of court hearings.

Reporter, Megan Cassidy was in attendance and reported: (2)

“…Zullo became unhinged.” “With a flushed face and, at times, wavering voice, Zullo unleashed a diatribe…”

Reporter Joe Dana was in attendance and reported: (3)

“A key operative [Zullo] for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s volunteer posse surprised the court Thursday, aggressively and loudly answering questions…”

“Arpaio posse leader [Zullo] erupts under oath” “Your honor, at some point I need to stop answering questions… It’s like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Reporter Stephen Lemons was in attendance and reported: (4)

“Posse honcho Mike Zullo, giddy after spilling his guts on the stand.”

“Zullo continued to respond, getting louder and more animated with each gentle query by Young.”

“What is this, a star chamber?” he [Zullo] blurted out. “Don’t my rights matter?”

“I [Zullo] don’t know what I’m doing,”

“This was a brain-damaged dance I did with this guy,” Zullo said of Montgomery.

Reporter Jude Joffe-Block was in attendance and reported: (5)

“Mike Zullo, provided a dramatic conclusion to the hearing with his testimony.”

I witnessed the same events in court along with the Phoenix reporters mentioned above. Their reporting was accurate and professional and mirrored the events that I witnessed in court on the 10thand 12th of November. And for the record, Sharon Rondeau, Mark Gillar, Mike Volin and Carl Gallups were not in attendance in court on November 12th, to witness these events unfold. But despite this handicap, they continued to spin their tales of speculation to sway the opinions of the Birther faithful.

How did Mark Gillar and Sharon Rondeau attempt to sway Birther opinion on the Tea Party Power Hour? The following was transcribed from the program1: (1)

Mark Gillar:

“I know how bad the reporting is in the Phoenix area…”

Sharon Rondeau:

“Well, that is uh, very well said. And, I have found that that is absolutely true. And I’ve only recently found this I mean let’s say in the last year since I have been following this case. It is just astounding.

Ah, one of them [Megan Cassidy] described Mike Zullo’s November 12th testimony as unhinged. She used the word unhinged, she said, that’s when he became unhinged. As a journalist, you don’t use words like that, that’s an opinion, uhm, it sways public opinion. And, all of them seem to do that. To use the word such as unhinged or uhm, some of them they use different terms, like that he had an outburst, or, but they were, they were describing things, without really getting into the substance of what Mike Zullo said.

So, in other words, they put out headlines, they used words to sway public opinion, and I was very, very surprised to find out how bad the reporters are there. Phoenix is a big city, and Maricopa County has hundreds of thousands of people, maybe millions of people, I’m not even sure how many, it’s a very big jurisdictional area I know and the Sheriff’s department I think is the third largest in the country. I’ll have to check it. It’s second or third. It’s quite big. So you would think that they would have the best reporters but they do not. So, to basically confirm what you have said, I have found this out recently.”

Sharon Rondeau then went on to say: After Zullo’s November 12th testimony, “Nobody interviewed him… Nobody interviewed him. Nobody wanted to interview him… Nobody flocked to Zullo.” Ms. Rondeau never explained why she or the other Birther news outlets have never done a recorded interview with Mike Zullo after he gave his testimony. (I’m told by Mike Volin that Mike Zullo, after his court testimony, refused to do an on air interview with Volin, Gallups and Rondeau.)

If Ms. Rondeau would have been in court to witness Mike Zullo’s peculiar behavior, she would be in a better position to understand why “nobody flocked to Zullo.” His unprofessional testimony was simply not believable. Ms. Rondeau may wish to review the definition and the synonyms for the word “unhinged.” (6)

Ms. Rondeau stated in her interview with Mr. Gillar that, “The transcript cannot be the full story. There has to be more to this.” I very much agree. If Ms. Rondeau would have attended the court proceedings along with the Phoenix reporters, she would have witnessed the complete story. Mike Zullo appeared unhinged and his testimony was simply not believable.

And finally, because I attended the hearings, I witnessed firsthand, inaccuracies in Mr. Zullo’s testimony to the court, given while under oath. My expectation is that criminal referrals will be forthcoming for Sheriff Arpaio and others. Judge Snow will not allow his court to be disrespected or obstructed.

Are Birther reporters professional and accurate? Not according to my experience.

(1) http://www.thepostemail.com/2015/11/15/arpaio-case-where-have-all-the-reporters-gone/

(2) http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/breaking/2015/11/12/posseman-says-joe-arpaio-didnt-order-inquiry/75661716/

(3) http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/11/12/arpaio-posse-leader-erupts-under-oath/75674218/

(4) http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/joe-arpaios-posse-investigator-does-180-sings-about-seattle-investigation-7821070

(5) http://kjzz.org/node/219906

(6 ) http://www.synonyms.net/synonym/unhinged

Zullo tries to extricate himself from race code morass

By on October 6, 2014 in Guest Essays

I’ve been putting off writing something about Zullo’s latest comments on the fake race code table he presented at his 2nd big news conference. Now the esteemed HistorianDude has written a comment here that covers the topic well. So here is what he said:

Question: Who verified the coding theory promoted by the Cold Case Posse?

July 17, 2012:

Zullo: “These codings we learned through our investigation, and then locating the mysterious U.K. Lee, which has plagued this thing for four years, where people were wondering who this is, we located Verna Lee. Verna Lee is 95 years old, amazingly sharp. We spoke with her and she confirms to us what I’m going to share with you now.”

“You can’t have a document coded like other documents double-checked and have a code that says 9, “not stated” and have a piece of information sitting in the box. That just can’t happen. Verna Lee confirmed that for us.”

October 4, 2014:

Zullo: “And for two feverish days Jerry Corsi sent his associate who this woman stayed in the lobby of the CDC for eight hours a day for two days trying to get the answer to this question. On the third day, it was about two and a half hours I believe before the press conference was going to go, at that point in time the “9” code issue was not going to be in it. As fate would have it, Attorney Larry Klayman happened to be in Phoenix so he stopped in wanted to say hello to the sheriff. Larry Klayman, Larry Klayman’s associate, Sheriff Arpaio, myself and Jerry Corsi were all in the conference room when the phone rang from the woman from the CDC. And I have her information, who she is and she’s not a clerk. She’s a highly educated individual. Jerry put her on speaker phone. I remember Jerry sitting there with his fingers crossed. And she confirmed for us that what we were saying and requesting, what the number 9 meant was in fact what it was. He asked her to repeat it. ‘Are you saying this 9 in this box yada-yada-yada means X?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’”

Discussion: In 2012, there was no mention whatsoever about a CDC verification, or of the mysterious Corsi “associate” that allegedly waited in the CDC lobby for three days to get a verification. It was instead long retired Verna K. Lee who took center stage in the press conference as the external authority who could corroborate the Posse theory. In retrospect it becomes clear that Lee’s alleged verification applies at best only to the process by which coding took place, and not to the specific codes or meanings of codes used in 1961. Zullo made no effort to make that distinction clear.

Worse, the alleged “CDC verification” now claimed by Zullo two years later apparently entails no actual, tangible CDC verification whatsoever. There is nothing in writing from the CDC. There is no individual from the CDC identified as a source. There is no statement, email, quotation (attributable or otherwise) or even a paraphrase of anybody associated with the CDC providing any information whatsoever, let alone a verification of the 1961 meaning of the “9” code for race, to the Cold Case Posse.

And of course, most damning is the fact that the actual 1961 CDC coding manual has been found proving that the Posse theory is objectively wrong out of the gate.

An open letter to Pastor Carl Gallups

By on October 4, 2014 in Mike Zullo

In response to the September 26, 2014 Freedom Friday Show

by Brian Reilly

"If I find out Zullo’s lying to me, I’ll tell the world about that."

— Carl Gallups, Freedom Friday 9/26/2014

Pastor Gallups, I have listened to you on the radio, several times over the past few years and quite frankly, the information that you present, on occasion, does not match with my experience and training as a former, volunteer Cold Case Posse member who not only worked shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Mike Zullo, but I was also recruited for the Cold Case Posse by Mr. Mike Zullo. (I became a CCP member on April 17, 2012 and I resigned,  10 weeks later on June 30, 2012, after I saw the inner workings of the Cold Case Posse.)

For example, I recall you stated on your program or read in your articles your reference to Mr. Zullo as a professional, law enforcement officer.  In one of your articles you refer to the combined 80 years of law enforcement experience that Sheriff Arpaio and Mr. Zullo have together. I’ve also heard you say or publish the titles, "Detective" and "Lieutenant" referring to Mr. Zullo’s rank within the Cold Case Posse.  Please, feel free to correct me if I’m inaccurate.

In Mike Zullo’s Alabama affidavit, he refers to himself as a "former" law enforcement officer. When my wife and I attended the March 1, 2012 Cold Case Posse press conference, Mr. Zullo was asked, by the press,  about how much law enforcement experience he had.  "Five years" was his response, and that was in New Jersey, not Arizona. Zullo volunteers in an unpaid Posse position. How does the word, "professional" apply?  Sheriff Arpaio, at the time of the 80 years comment made above, I believe had 50 or 51 years of law enforcement experience.  Were you suggesting that Mr. Zullo had 29-30 years of professional law enforcement experience? And, in the Posse, we had no military rank.  Former MCSO Deputy Chief, Brian Sands, with a reported 30 years of law enforcement experience, classified the Posse title "Commander" simply as a point of contact for the Posse in his book "Arpaio, Defacto Lawman." (Available on line at Barnes & Nobles.)

In your articles, I believe that I’ve read that you have a decade of previous professional law enforcement experience. I would assume that you were paid for your service as a professional.  I would assume to become a sworn law enforcement officer, you went through a state certification process.  I would assume that you had a title such as Police Officer,  Deputy Sheriff or Corrections Officer or the like.  I would assume that you carried a law enforcement commission card, that identified you as a state certified,  sworn law enforcement officer. I assume that you carried a badge that stated your law enforcement position and your department.  I assume that you had the authority to enforce the law, inherent with the position of a certified sworn law enforcement officer.  Pastor Gallups, have you asked Mike Zullo if his experience is the same as yours?  Posse members are not sworn, state certified, law enforcement officers.

In your Sharon Rondeau / Post & Email article, you are quoted as saying that you asked Sheriff Arpaio if Mike Zullo is really a law enforcement officer. To quote your question to Sheriff Arpaio, "Tell me, tell our audience: Does Mike Zullo really have law enforcement powers?  Is he [Zullo] a bona fide law enforcement officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office? Does he [Zullo] have arrest authority?" Sheriff Arpaio’s response: "Yes, yes, yes, and yes.  He works for me, and he is a bona fide law enforcement officer with my authority." The key words, "with my authority."  Pastor Gallups, I would remind you that "bona fide" refers to "genuine." As Posse members we were told that we could only act if given a command by a sworn MCSO Deputy Sheriff, who was a state certified law enforcement officer.

Pastor Gallups, in your law enforcement position, could you be arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer?  Did you know, according to our Posse training classes, we were told, never to carry our badges when not doing volunteer Posse work?  We were told to leave our badges at home so that we would not use the badges for identification, as volunteer Posse members  could be arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer. I’m sure that you would agree, a bona fide, state certified law enforcement officer would not be arrested for showing his badge for identification.  Can you think of anytime that you would have been arrested as a real law enforcement officer for showing your badge?  I was told in our Ethics / Law & Legal training classes that Posse members have been prosecuted here in Arizona for impersonating law enforcement officers.

And finally, I communicated this week with Executive Director Lyle Mann of Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training (AZ POST).  My question to him was: "Has Michael P. Zullo EVER been AZ POST certified as a law enforcement officer?"  Director Mann’s reply:  "No he has not." lylem@azpost.gov.

Pastor Gallups, I hope that you will consider the things that I have written in this letter, and seek the truth.
 
Regards,
Brian Reilly

Banned ‘Birther’ Breaks the BR Censorship Barrier

By on March 9, 2014 in Birther Report, Featured Articles, Fox News, Guest Essays, Mike Zullo

The Cold Case Posse’s “Universe Shattering” Evidence

Opinion: By Brian Reilly To: Kevin Davidson, Dr. Conspiracy

Once again, America is being told by Birther news outlets that new, universe shattering evidence about the Obama investigation will be released by Commander Mike Zullo and his non-profit, all volunteer, Cold Case Posse in March, or possibly April or possibly May or, possibly never, depending on who the Birther spokesperson is for the day. Even if new evidence were released this month, the Cold Case Posse has cried wolf so many times, who really is going to listen, except hardcore, agenda driven Birthers?

But wait a minute…..Brian Reilly…..isn’t he a Birther? Why is he writing to Dr. Conspiracy??? I’m glad that you asked. I’ve been banned at many Birther websites, including Birther Report. Many Birther sites put my comments into an endless, black cavern of moderation with my comments never seeing the light of day or the courtesy of a reply or a posting. My comments don’t fit the Birther narrative. On one particularly nefarious Birther website I’ve read threats and defamatory statements directed toward me for simply speaking my opinion. Do these tactics sound familiar? I came to Dr. Conspiracy’s website because, I had no other choice. I believed that he would give me the freedom to write and publish my thoughts. I was right. I am grateful for Dr. Conspiracy’s courtesy.

Yes, Dr. Conspiracy has me listed on his Birthers A-Z list, but I have never considered myself a Birther. I simply had questions about President Obama’s birth certificate, based on the PDF I saw posted on April 27, 2011 on the White House website. Many wanted answers as did I. But no, I don’t consider myself a Birther. Continue Reading →