NRA Spies and Lies - Spies

Washington Post: Informant Might Have Stood Among Gun Safety Activists

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the D.C. gun ban, leading gun control advocates dialed into a nationwide conference call to coordinate how the movement should frame its reaction to the media.

Listening in was Mary McFate, a longtime board member of a Pennsylvania gun safety group. Although McFate had been a familiar face in gun safety circles for more than a decade, the other activists on the line were unaware that she once had a career as a corporate spy infiltrating activist groups.

Washington Post, September 28, 2008 READ ARTICLE

Mother Jones: Lobbyist Linked to NRA Spy Caper Co-Chairs McCain's Sportsmen's Committee

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Earlier this week, ABC News reported that the McCain campaign was seeking to distance itself from adviser James Jay Baker, a onetime NRA official and current lobbyist for the gun rights group, who is reportedly a member of McCain's "kitchen cabinet." Questioned by ABC, the campaign played down his involvement, describing him as a "high level volunteer."

It stands to reason why the campaign would want to draw a wide berth around Baker. Until 2002, Baker was the executive director of the NRA's lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action. During his tenure, the ILA engaged the services of a now defunct private security firm, Beckett Brown, which specialized in spying on activist groups. Beckett Brown's point of contact at ILA was Baker's deputy, Patrick O'Malley. O'Malley also served as an NRA contact for Mary Lou Sapone, who, as Mother Jones reported in July, is a freelance spy who infiltrated the gun control movement from more than a decade on behalf of the gun lobby. When we contacted Baker seeking comment on Sapone's work for the NRA, he said, "I don't have anything to say about any vendors at the NRA." And while maintaining that he had no knowledge of any efforts to penetrate the gun control movement while he was at the NRA, he added: "We got information from whatever sources we can." The NRA has refused to comment on the Sapone story, declining to explain any possible relationship between the ILA and Sapone.

Mother Jones, August 22, 2008 READ ARTICLE

ABC News: Gun Control Lobby Claims McCain Insider Had Ties to NRA Spy Op

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

NRA Allegedly Hired Spy to Pose as Gun Control Activist

A Republican political operative considered part of the McCain campaign's "kitchen cabinet" oversaw a National Rifle Association lobbying campaign that allegedly hired a spy to infiltrate gun control groups, according to Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

James Jay Baker served as executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) in the late 1990s when it allegedly hired a woman to pose as a gun control activist and funnel information back to the NRA.

A McCain campaign spokesperson said Baker was only a "high level volunteer" for the campaign.

ABC News, August 19, 2008 READ ARTICLE

Philadelphia Inquirer EDITORIAL: A Spy? The NRA's concealed weapon

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Maybe it's a compliment for gun-control groups to have been spied upon by so formidable an adversary as the National Rifle Association.

That doesn't make it any less despicable, though, for an active volunteer in the gun-control movement in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to work as a paid spy for the NRA.

The volunteer known as Mary McFate sat on the board of the CeaseFirePA gun-control group and worked with other gun-control efforts in the state for several years. She ran unsuccessfully for the board of the nation's premier gun-control group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

But Mother Jones magazine reported recently that McFate's real name is Mary Lou Sapone. The magazine contends that Sapone was paid to snoop for the NRA by a Maryland security firm, and that, in 1990, she'd done a similar con job by infiltrating the animal-rights movement on behalf of a surgical-equipment company.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 14, 2008 READ ARTICLE

CNN American Morning: NRA spy in gun control groups?

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

CNN, August 13, 2008

Washington Post: A Spy for the Gun Lobby?

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The normally hyperaggressive pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, is remarkably quiet about recent news reports that it used a spy to infiltrate organizations that push for gun control.

"No comment" is all the NRA will offer about the story, first in Mother Jones magazine, that named Mary McFate, a.k.a. Mary Lou Sapone (her married name), as a paid consultant to the NRA who spent years working her way inside such groups as CeaseFire PA and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, to ferret out their plans and strategies.

"It sounds like a bad TV movie, but it also sounds like it's real," said Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke. "I've been in politics most of my life and I'm used to dirty tricks, but to have this kind of spy, a mole, is shocking and appalling."

Washington Post, August 12, 2008 READ ARTICLE

CNN: Rick Sanchez Leads Panel Discussion About The NRA Spy Scandal (Video)

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

CNN, August 10, 2008

The Missoulian: NRA spy hiding in Glacier?

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

KALISPELL - The last time Bryan Faehner talked to Mary was a couple weeks ago, “and I was giving her advice on a hike to Iceberg Lake, in Glacier National Park.”

Whether Mary might pack a gun on that hike could depend upon whether she was traveling as Mary McFate, or as Mary Lou Sapone.

“I guess Mary kind of lived two lives,” Faehner said.
Faehner is a legislative representative for the National Parks Conservation Association, a group that advocates on behalf of America's parks. Most recently, the group has been the center of opposition to a Bush administration proposal that would allow visitors to carry loaded guns in national parks.

The Missoulian, August 10, 2008 READ ARTICLE

Philadelphia Inquirer: Gun-control group ousts suspected NRA mole

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

CeaseFire PA's board of directors expelled fellow member Mary McFate yesterday after giving her a week to refute allegations that she was a paid spy for the National Rifle Association.

The gun-control advocacy organization's 16 members voted unanimously, by teleconference and by proxy, to remove McFate, who had been with the organization since its inception in 2002.

McFate was identified last week in a Mother Jones article as Mary Lou Sapone, named in a 2005 civil trial as a paid operative for the NRA.

"The fact that the NRA feels compelled to plant spies in organizations like ours borders on paranoia," CeaseFire PA president Phil Goldsmith said in a statement. "It reminds me of the days when General Motors spied on Ralph Nader when he was trying to make automobiles safer."

Goldsmith said he tried to contact McFate by e-mail and registered letter over the last week, but received no response.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2008 READ ARTICLE

NPR: NRA Spy Penetrates Gun Control Movement

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Listen Now

Weekend Edition Saturday, August 9, 2008 · Mother Jones magazine has reported that a gun control activist who championed the cause for more than a decade is suspected of spying for the National Rifle Association.

NPR by Scott Simon Weekend Edition Saturday, August 9, 2008 LISTEN TO BROADCAST

USA TODAY: Gun-control groups fear top activist was NRA spy

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

PHILADELPHIA — A gun-control activist who championed the cause for more than a decade and served on the boards of two anti-violence groups is suspected of working as a paid spy for the National Rifle Association, and now those organizations are expelling her and sweeping their offices for bugs.

The suggestion that Mary Lou McFate was a double agent is contained in a deposition filed as part of a contract dispute involving a security firm. The muckraking magazine Mother Jones, in a story last week, was the first to report on McFate's alleged dual identity.

The NRA refused to comment to the magazine and did not respond to calls Tuesday from The Associated Press. Nor did McFate.

The 62-year-old former flight attendant and sex counselor from Sarasota, Fla., is not new to the world of informants.

By Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press Writer August 6, 2008 READ ARTICLE

Mother Jones: Why So Silent, NRA?

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Why won't the NRA speak? The National Rifle Association is not known as an organization run by people who are shy with the media. Yet the most powerful player in the gun lobby--and one of the most powerful political organizations around--still won't say anything about Mary Lou Sapone (a.k.a. Mary McFate).

Last week, Mother Jones broke the story of Sapone, who for about fifteen years was a gun lobby mole within senior levels of the gun control movement. Sapone was a self-described "research consultant" who had also penetrated the animal rights movement and environmental groups. But none of her operations--as far as is known publicly--were as extensive as her infiltration of various gun control organizations. And for at least some of the time that Sapone (as Mary McFate) worked at various gun violence prevention groups she had the NRA as a client, according to the deposition of a former business associate (as we explained in our story on her). Other evidence suggests a years-long relationship between Sapone and the NRA or gun rights advocates connected to the NRA.

Mother Jones, August 5, 2008 READ ARTICLE

Philadelphia Inquirer: A trusted Pa. gun-control ally ... and NRA spy?

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Mary McFate was the kind of volunteer the gun-control movement in Pennsylvania prized. By all accounts, she was dedicated and diligent, humble enough to stuff envelopes yet bold enough to lobby U.S. senators.

Now it seems that the CeaseFire PA board member may have been more versatile than anyone could have imagined. According to Mother Jones magazine, she was a spy for the National Rifle Association.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 1, 2008 By Jeff Shields READ ARTICLE

MSNBC: Reported NRA Spy Mary McFate/Sapone In Keith Olbermann's Worst Persons Tonight

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

(Begins at about 1:34.)

Mother Jones: There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole

NEWS: Mary McFate was a prominent gun control activist. Mary Lou Sapone was a freelance spy with an NRA connection. They are the same person. A Mother Jones investigation.

By James Ridgeway, Daniel Schulman, and David Corn July 30, 2008 READ ARTICLE