Proof of election fraud in the Confirmation of Jonathan Lippman

1) The “Public Confirmation Hearing” was not announced until one day before the hearing, in violation of NY Senate rules which require a five-day notice. The announcement also did not mention that the public was invited, despite its being a “public hearing”.

The NY Senate FAQ page states:

“All Standing Committees may hold public hearings. Assembly rules require that not less than two days notice of such hearings be given,  and the Senate rules require FIVE DAYS NOTICE.”

HOWEVER, The February 11^th, 2009 hearing was announced exclusively on the webpage of the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 10^th, 2009 , ONE DAY in ADVANCE of the hearing, in flagrant vioation of the five-day rule with no mention that the hearing was public. The hearing was not announced in any newspapers, or any radio or television broadcasts in New York State.

In fact, the February 10^th announcement does not mention that anyone was invited, yet at least ten friendly witnesses were invited by the SJC to testify before the committee - none of them members of the Committee or the Senate - and dozens of Lippman’s supporters were present. Their testimony of the friendly witness unequivocally establishes that this was indeed a “public hearing”, despite the Senate’s violation of applicable rules.

[In a recorded conversation that would be humorous if it were not so sinister, Tim Spotts, the assistant to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Sampson tried to convince this reporter that Lippman’s confirmation was not a “public hearing”, although the public was invited to testify. He went so far as to say that the confirmation hearing was not even a hearing. “It’s not a “hearing hearing” said Spotts, “it’s just a confirmation”. 

Spotts was only truthful in his acknowledgement that Lippman’s confirmation was a fait accompli, and the confirmation hearing a sham.]

The “five-day rule” is no mere technicality; it exists to ensure that the public has enough prior notice to prepare their statements and attend “public hearings”; a fundamental tenet of our democracy.  The SJA’s effort to circumvent the democratic process in order to shoehorn in an unpopular candidate represents a contempt for democracy.

It is in violation of state senate rules to hold a public hearing with less than five days notice, and/or without public invitation.  On these ground alone, the confirmation of Jonathan Lippman is illegal and invalid.



2) The SJC failed to investigate allegations by opposing witnesses at the hearing.

Despite the absence of notice, three New York citizens, including Elena Sassower,  Director of the Center for Judicial Accountability (CJA), and Will Galison, CJA member and  Black Star News Journalist, learned of the hearing two days prior through an inadvertent leak by a Senate employee and attended the hearing as witnesses in opposition to Lippman’s confirmation.

The testimonies of Sassower and Galison were videotaped. and were posted on the NY Senate website,  before being expunged from the official record. Fortunately, the videos were copied and are now posted on Youtube and elsewhere. The bias, bullying and intimidation against the opposing witnesses by the SJA are shockingly evident in these clips.



[Although Lippman addressed the Judiciary Committee after the testimony of opposing witnesses (for which he was present), he failed to respond to any of the allegations made against him by opposing witnesses.]

3) Selected Witnesses and reporters “friendly” to Lippman were secretly invited to the hearings in advance of, and to the exclusion of, the general public and press.

Other than these three citizens, the hearing was attended exclusively by about 50 officials and citizens personally invited by Judge Lippman and Senator Sampson to either testify in Lippman’s favor or to applaud favorable testimony. As the announcement of the hearings did not mention that anyone was invited, the friendly witnesses must have been personally invited by the Committee in advance of (and to the exclusion of) the general public.

Likewise, there was also no Senate press release informing the media of the hearing. Only journalists from select newspapers were invited, virtually all of whom neglected to report on the testimony or even the presence of the opposition witnesses.
It is unconstitutional to secretly invite “friendly” witnesses and “friendly” reporters to a public hearing without notifying the general press - and the general public - that the hearing is public.  

On these grounds alone, the confirmation of Jonathan Lippman is illegal and invalid.

4) The Senate Judiciary was denied access to criminal allegations and judicial conduct complaints against Lippman, which were under investigation at the time of the hearings.



The Commission on Judicial Conduct, whose sole duty is to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by NY judges, withheld from the Senate Judiciary Committee pending complaints alleging crimes by Judge Lippman. 



At least one (that of Mr. Galison) and possibly more, judicial complaints against Lippman were pending before the CJC at the time of the hearings. It was the duty of the CJC to inform the SJC that these complaints were pending, and must be adjudicated before a confirmation decision could be reached.
At least one (that of Mr. Galison) and possibly more, judicial complaints against Lippman were pending before the CJC at the time of the hearings. 

It was the duty of the CJC to inform the SJC that these complaints were pending, and must be adjudicated before a confirmation decision could be reached. Incredibly, Robert Tembeckjian, the Administrator of the Commission on Judicial Conduct was personally present at the confirmation hearings, but failed to inform the SJC about complaints of criminal acts by Lippman that were pending before his commission, even when they were referenced by the witnesses.

[Tembeckjian also applauded at the testimony of the friendly witnesses and mocked the opposing witnesses, in a display of bias in favor of the judge he is required by law to investigate.]
Without the benefit of the officially filed evidence against Lippman, the SJC was unable to render an informed decision on his qualifications for Chief Judge. Hence, their report to the full Senate was incomplete and invalid.

On these grounds alone, the confirmation of Jonathan Lippman is illegal and invalid.
[One month after Lippman’s confirmation, the CJC complaint was “dismissed without investigation” by Tembeckjian.]

5) The Senate Judiciary Committee failed to investigate evidence against Lippman which had been submitted directly to all members of the committee prior to the hearing.  


Two weeks prior to the confirmation hearings, documents supporting allegations of criminal activity by Lippman were sent to all 21 members of the SJC by opposing witness Will Galison. At the hearing, Galison asked which of the Senators on the SJC had reviewed the documents and allegations. The Senators refused to answer; one Senator leapt from his chair and yelled “That question is inappropriate!”, to which Chairman Sampson added “We’re the ones asking the questions here!”

Moreover, in violation of Senate rules, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to review or investigate documentation of allegations against Lippman presented by the opposing witnesses who testified at the hearings. In addition to their 5-minute testimonies, the opposing witnesses offered the SJC copious documentation of their allegations against Lippman. In violation of their mandate, the SJC failed to review or investigate any of these documents before voting on Lippman’s confirmation.



No Time Was Allotted to Evaluate Opposing Testimony

In fact, so certain was the SJC that no opposing witnesses would appear or present evidence, (because they were not invited) that they did not allot any period of time to review or investigate potential opposing testimony.  The record shows that the hearing was allowed to continue until just before 11:00 - the final speaker being Lippman himself – and that immediately after Lippman spoke, the handful of committee members, Lippman and his admirers marched from the hearing room to the senate chamber, to address the full senate on the findings of the committee. 

Hence, none of the documentary evidence presented by the opposing witnesses was investigated or considered in the full-senate vote, as required by law.
On these grounds alone, the SJC vote confirming Jonathan Lippman is illegal and invalid.

6) The SJC failed to report the fact or substance of opposing witness testimony to the full Senate prior to the full Senate confirmation vote.

The transcript of Senator Sampson’s presentation to the full senate proves that he failed to inform the senate of any testimony by the opposing witnesses. Hence, the full senate was ignorant of the pending criminal allegations against Lippman and thus voted on incomplete and biased information.
On these grounds alone, the full se1) The “Public Confirmation Hearing” was not announced until one day before the hearing, in violation of NY Senate rules which require a five-day notice. The announcement also did not mention that the public was invited, despite its being a “public hearing”.

On each and all of the grounds cited above, the NY Senate confirmation of Jonathan Lippman is illegal and invalid, hence, Lippman is not the lawful Chief Judge of New York, and is not eligible for nomination for the SJI by the President in that capacity.