Tom Fitton

Tom Fitton
Tom Fitton at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference.
Residence	Washington, D.C.
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	George Washington University
Occupation	Activist
Organization	Judicial Watch

Thomas J. "Tom" Fitton is an American conservative activist. He is the President of Judicial Watch, a conservative educational foundation. He has worked for America's Voice and National Empowerment Television, the International Policy Forum, the Leadership Institute, and Accuracy in Media. He also used to be a talk radio and television host.^[1]

Judicial Watch

Fitton has been President of Judicial Watch since August 1998. According to Judicial Watch's mission statement, the organization seeks to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in government and fidelity to the rule of law. The organization fulfills its mission primarily by seeking access to government records, filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other public records act lawsuits, engaging in other forms of civil litigation, and pursuing various other actions designed to generate public pressure on government agencies and public officials.^[2]

Under Fitton’s leadership, Judicial Watch was named one of Washington’s top ten most effective government watchdog organizations by The Hill. He is a nationally recognized expert on government corruption, immigration enforcement, congressional and judicial ethics, and open government.^[3]

Fitton’s book, The Corruption Chronicles, released on July 24, 2012, hit #1 on BookScan’s nonfiction hardcover list for the week ending July 29, 2012 and debuted at #6 on The New York Times Best Sellers Nonfiction Hardcover List on August 12, 2012. According to the jacket cover the book, "exposes devastating secrets the Obama administration has desperately fought - even in court - to keep hidden."^[4]

Awards

The American Conservative Union (ACU) awarded Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton with the 'Defender of the Constitution Award' during its annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2015. This award embodies an individual who contributes significantly to the conservative cause, and is dedicated to the values in our nation’s founding document, the U.S. Constitution. “Tom and his organization ensure that public officials act ethically and do not abuse the powers entrusted to them,” said Dan Schneider, Executive Director of the American Conservative Union.^[5]

Controversy

In 2006, Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch's former Chairman, attempted to reclaim control of Judicial Watch by suing Fitton, the organization, and the organization's other officers and directors. Most of Klayman's claims, including all of the claims against Fitton and Judicial Watch's other officers and directors, were dismissed in 2009.^[6]

In July 2013, Fitton gained widespread attention for judicial watch in conservative media after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, when Fitton appeared in numerous interviews to claim that the Obama administration's Department of Justice had sent representatives to Sanford in the wake of Martin’s death "to help organize and manage rallies and protests against George Zimmerman." Politicfact Florida, a fact-checking project sponsored by the "Tampa Bay Times," rated Fitton's claim "mostly false."^[7]

In July 2013, Fitton was identified as a key member of Groundswell, a secretive coalition of right wing activists and journalists attempting to make radical political change behind the scenes, whose members met in the offices of Judicial Watch.^[8] As head of Judicial Watch, Fitton has launched a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration on behalf of Dr. Larry Kawa and his orthodontics practice.^[9] The case has been dismissed by federal district court and is under appeal in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.^[10]

Works

• Fitton, Tom (2014). The Corruption Chronicles: Obama's Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government. New York: Threshold Editions. ISBN 978-1-4767-6705-5. 
• Fitton, Tom Clean House: Exposing Our Government's Secrets and Lies (New York: Threshold Editions, 2016). ISBN 978-1-5011-3704-4

References

External links

• Judicial Watch homepage
• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Q & A with Tom Fitton, May 19, 2009