Hardiman, M

=<div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div style="font-size: small;"><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Eco-terrorism claims</h2>In May 2002, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Nick_Nichols" title="Nick Nichols" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Nick Nichols</a>, described by the Austin Review as an "expert on combating eco-terrorism & environmental extremism," was guest speaker at a luncheon sponsored by the Review and the Republican Club of Austin.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.la.utexas.edu/chenry/aip/fall01/bibs01/msg00050.html" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[2]</a> Shortly after Nichols's visit to Austin, Levin - also a frequent contributor to the Review - published an opinion piece in the Dallas Star Telegram which labelled anti-<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ExxonMobil" title="ExxonMobil" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Exxon Mobil</a> activists <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Eco-terrorism" title="Eco-terrorism" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">eco-terrorists</a> and claimed - with no apparent evidence - that the nonviolent direct action training organisation the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Ruckus_Society" title="Ruckus Society" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Ruckus Society</a> had trained members of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Animal_Liberation_Front" title="Animal Liberation Front" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Animal</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Earth_Liberation_Front" title="Earth Liberation Front" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Earth Liberation Fronts</a>.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/3349679.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[3]</a> The origin of Levin's claims appear to be a February 2002 article published on the website of the food, alcohol andtobacco-industry funded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>, claiming the discovery that the Ruckus Society "has helped train eco-terrorists".<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/1309" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[4]</a> The same month, CFCF Executive Director <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Richard_Berman" title="Richard Berman" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Richard Berman</a> claimed in testimony before a US House of Representatives committee that the Ruckus Society "trains young activists in the techniques of 'monkeywrenching' which, when applied, result in property crimes of enormous financial cost."<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.cdfe.org/berman.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[5]</a>. Berman, however, failed to provide any evidence for this claim.A 2003 article written by Levin, entitled "Terrorism in the Name of the Earth: Flush out eco-terrorism money" and published in the National Law Journal, Front Page Magazine, The American Enterprise, the Austin Review and the San Francisco Chronicle, asserted that "just as a small number of radical <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Muslim&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Muslim (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Muslims</a> are sullying a great religion, a new breed of eco-terrorists is poisoning the environmental movement." The article indirectly asserts that property damage and vandalism attributed to the Earth and Animal Liberation Fronts is funded by donations to tax exempt environmental organisations. According to Levin:"Environmental organizations designated by the IRS as 501(c)(3) groups are illegally transferring funds to non-exempt groups, which then use the money for eco-terror campaigns." Levin then refers to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_Interest_Watch" title="Public Interest Watch" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none;">Public Interest Watch</a> report Green-Peace, Dirty Money: Tax Violations in the World of Non-Profits before going on to allege that <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Greenpeace</a> has committed "numerous acts of eco-terrorism".<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10304" style="text-decoration: initial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[6]</a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div>...
In September 2003, Public Interest Watch (PIW) complained to the Internal Revenue Service that Greenpeace USA tax returns were inaccurate and in violation of the law.[68][better source needed] The IRS conducted an extensive review and concluded in December 2005 that Greenpeace USA continued to qualify for its tax-exempt status. In March 2006 The Wall Street Journal reported that PIW's "federal tax filing, covering August 2003 to July 2004, stated that $120,000 of the $124,095 the group received in contributions during that period came from Exxon Mobil."[69] In 2013, after the IRS performed a follow-up audit, which again was clean, and, following claims of politically motivated IRS audits of groups affiliated with the Tea Party Movement, Greenpeace U.S. Executive Director Phil Radford called for a Congressional investigation into all politically motivated audits – including those allegedly targeting the Tea Party Movement, the NAACP, and Greenpeace.[70==
Mike Hardiman founded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Hardiman_Consulting" title="Hardiman Consulting" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Hardiman Consulting</a>, a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_relations" title="Public relations" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">public relations</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lobbying" title="Lobbying" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">lobbying</a> company in 1999 after a seven-year stint working as press secretary and adviser for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Congress" title="Congress" class="mw-redirect" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Congressman</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Richard_Pombo" title="Richard Pombo" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Richard Pombo</a> (R-CA) on endangered species and other natural resources issues. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.landrights.org/Staff.htm" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[1]</a>

Returns lodged by Hardiman with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/U.S._Senate" title="U.S. Senate" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">U.S. Senate</a> reveal that the lobbying portion of his business had a small client base.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://sopr.senate.gov/" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[2]</a>

Hardiman worked for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Conservative_Union" title="American Conservative Union" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">American Conservative Union</a> until July 15 2001, earning $20,000 from them for the January to June period that year. At the end of July, his thirteen-month stint representing the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Trucking_Association" title="American Trucking Association" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">American Trucking Association</a> also came to an end.

His other major client was ALRA, a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Wise_Use_Movement" title="Wise Use Movement" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wise Use Movement</a> property rights group led by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Chuck_Cushman" title="Chuck Cushman" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Chuck Cushman</a>, though the ALRA web site lists Hardiman on its staff pages. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.landrights.org/Staff.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[3]</a> His $40,000 a year work for them as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lobbyist" title="Lobbyist" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">lobbyist</a> came to an end on February 27, 2004. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://sopr.senate.gov/" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[4]</a> His registration for a Pennsylvania farmer - disclosed as being less than $20,000 in a year - came to an end at the same time.

Hardiman has testified before United States Senate and House committees and state legislatures on land use issues.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://epw.senate.gov/107th/har_0524.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[5]</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_house_hearings&docid=f:88929.wais" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[6]</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/108/testimony/mikehardiman.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[7]</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/107cong/fullcomm/2002sep25/hardiman.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[8]</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.le.state.ut.us/interim/2000/pdf/20000712NAEM.pdf" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAE5JREFUeF5lykEKgDAMBdF/+17Es/QkiosiCBURXIzJooZohmweX6gwmkCeI+Oqc2C1FnvnF2ejlQYU0tLK2NjY6f/l8V12Ti7uhFFgDj19b58EwXuqkAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[9]</a> He was named Advocate of the Year by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Property_Rights_Foundation_of_America&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Property Rights Foundation of America (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background-image: none;">Property Rights Foundation of America</a> for his role in defeating a $47 billion land acquisition trust fund proposed in congress. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://prfamerica.org//Gathered4Success.html" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[10]</a>

In June 2002, Hardiman, wearing his <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Land_Rights_Association" title="American Land Rights Association" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">American Land Rights Association</a> (ALRA) hat, co-signed a letter initiated by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" title="Competitive Enterprise Institute" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a> to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">George W. Bush</a> attacking the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Environmental_Protection_Agency" title="Environmental Protection Agency" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Environmental Protection Agency</a>'s scientific assessment of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Climate_change" title="Climate change" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">climate change</a>. In 2003, Hardiman and 32 other co-signatories wrote to House International Relations Committee Chairman <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Henry_Hyde" title="Henry Hyde" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Henry Hyde</a> expressing their concern "about the approach Congress is taking to climate change policy". <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.cei.org/gencon/003,03465.cfm" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[11]</a>

On September 3, 2002, he founded and served as Executive Director of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_Interest_Watch" title="Public Interest Watch" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Public Interest Watch</a> (PIW), a group that lobbied the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Internal_Revenue_Service" title="Internal Revenue Service" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Internal Revenue Service</a> to withdraw the charitable tax-status for environmental groups such as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Greenpeace</a>, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rainforest_Action_Network" title="Rainforest Action Network" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Rainforest Action Network</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Dogwood_Alliance" title="Dogwood Alliance" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Dogwood Alliance</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.publicinterestwatch.org/" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[12]</a>

In February 2004, Hardiman left PIW to work in <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Iraq" title="Iraq" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">Iraq</a> as a civilian employee of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/U.S._Department_of_Defense" title="U.S. Department of Defense" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none;">U.S. Department of Defense</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114291044305003774-TOpAth_GWFzcGJaKzMWSR6ZEXqk_20060328.html" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[13]</a>

Hardiman worked for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Federation_of_Independent_Business" title="National Federation of Independent Business" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">National Federation of Independent Business</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_26247.html" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[14]</a> in early 2006. He then re-established his public relations and lobbying operation, Hardiman Consulting. Included among his current clients is the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Land_Rights_Association" title="American Land Rights Association" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">American Land Rights Association</a>, for which he registered to lobby in July 2006.

Mr. Hardiman holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification awarded by the Project Management Institute <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.pmi.org/" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[15]</a>.

<h2 style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Contact information</h2>

Michael Hardiman

507 Seward Square, SE

Washington DC 20003

Phone 202-531-2290

Fax 202-543-7126

Email hardimanmike AT yahoo.com

Web: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.hardimanconsulting.com/" style="text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">http://www.hardimanconsulting.com</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">External links</h2>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Public Interest Watch, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050825165010/http://www.publicinterestwatch.org/press_3_9_04.htm" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAFZJREFUeF59z4EJADEIQ1F36k7u5E7ZKXeUQPACJ3wK7UNokVxVk9kHnQH7bY9hbDyDhNXgjpRLqFlo4M2GgfyJHhjq8V4agfrgPQX3JtJQGbofmCHgA/nAKks+JAjFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Public Interest Watch names interim executive director: Consumer Advocate Lewis Fein Succeeds Michael Hardiman</a>", Media Release, March 9, 2004.</li>

</ul>

</div>

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Categories</a>:

<li style=" margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-style: none; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:United_States" title="Category:United States" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">United States</a></li>

<li style=" margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Lobbyists" title="Category:Lobbyists" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Lobbyists</a></li>

<li style=" margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Public_relations_professionals" title="Category:Public relations professionals" style=" text-decoration: initial; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Public relations professionals</a></li>

</ul>

<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading">Intimidating public interest groups</h1>

<div id="jump-to-nav" class="mw-jump" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Jump to: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Intimidating_public_interest_groups#mw-head">navigation</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Intimidating_public_interest_groups#p-search">search</a></div>

The dramatic increase in the number and influence of public interest groups over recent years has alarmed conservative groups. In response, there has been a flurry of attempts to establish on-line databases to monitor non-profit groups. For all the bluster accompanying these projects, few have amounted to much.

Another strand in their strategy has been developing the intellectual rationale and rhetoric on how curtailing non-profit groups is consistent with maintaining a healthy democracy.

The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Capital_Research_Center" title="Capital Research Center">Capital Research Center</a>'s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Green_Watch" title="Green Watch">Green Watch</a> - which gained $50,000 in funding from ExxonMobil in 2002 and 2003 - is perhaps the most effective at profiling the "liberal environmentalist movement". <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www2.exxonmobil.com/files/corporate/public_policy1.pdf">[1]</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/files/corporate/giving_report.pdf">[2]</a>

Others, such as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ActivistCash.com" title="ActivistCash.com">ActivistCash.com</a> purport to 'expose' activist groups, while in reality providing little more than information that is publicly available. The ActivistCash.com website was launched in December 2001 with profiles on only 16 activist groups. By January 2003 it had crept up to only 33. In the next eighteen months to June 2004 only an additional six groups had been added to the database.

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Public_Interest_Watch" title="Public Interest Watch" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Public Interest Watch</a> (PIW) was launched in September 2002 by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Hardiman" title="Mike Hardiman" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Mike Hardiman</a>. Hardiman, the principal of the public relations and lobbying company <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Hardiman_Consulting" title="Hardiman Consulting" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Hardiman Consulting</a>, was also a lobbyist for the 'wise use' group, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Land_Rights_Association" title="American Land Rights Association" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">American Land Rights Association</a>. The group seems to have been primarily a vehicle to attack Greenpeace. On the basis of a review of IRS 990 forms, PIW filed a complaint with the IRS urging an investigation claiming that the perfectly legal transfer of funds between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) arms amounted to 'money laundering'. Hardiman resigned in January 2004 . In March 2004 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Lewis_Fein" title="Lewis Fein" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Lewis Fein</a> was appointed as an interim Executive Director.

However, PIW appears to be a phantom organisation. Asked if the organization had had filed an IRS return Fein said "I believe so". Nor was he able to state who the Board members were or whether the address listed on the website was in fact an office address rather than the residential address of a board member.

In May 2003 the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/National_Center_for_Public_Policy_Research" title="National Center for Public Policy Research">National Center for Public Policy Research</a>, established the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Envirotruth" title="Envirotruth">Envirotruth</a> website, which it claims "sheds light on the environmentalist movement, offering information about their tactics, terrorist acts and fundraising machines." Like most of the other profiling sites, it is long on hype and short on details. In 2003 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Exxon_Mobil" title="Exxon Mobil">Exxon Mobil</a> contributed $30,000 to underwrite the project. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/files/corporate/giving_report.pdf">[3]</a>

The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_the_Defense_of_Free_Enterprise" title="Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise">Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise</a>'s <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/RANamuck" title="RANamuck">RANamuck</a> website targeting the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network has not been updated since September 2002. Similarly, its <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PETA_Probe&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="PETA Probe (page does not exist)">PETA Probe</a> site was last actively updated in late 2002.

In June 2003, with a great deal of fanfare, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Enterprise_Institute" title="American Enterprise Institute">American Enterprise Institute</a> unveiled <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/NGOWatch.org" title="NGOWatch.org">NGOWatch.org</a>, a joint project with the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Federalist_Society_for_Law_and_Public_Policy_Studies" title="Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies">Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies</a>. The site, they claimed, would "expose the funding, operations and agendas of international NGOs". However, one-year later sections of the site remain "under construction" while the actual profiles on groups are spartan.

The launch of the NGOwatch site co-incided with a conference on NGO's co-hosted with the Australian conservative think tank, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_of_Public_Affairs" title="Institute of Public Affairs">Institute of Public Affairs</a> (IPA) The IPA itself launched a specialist newsletter, NGO Watch, in April 2001 to profile human rights, development and environmental organisations. However, faced with little subscriber support, the October 2002 edition was the last. "It just wasn't financially sustaining, there weren't enough buying the product," said IPA Senior Fellow, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Gary_Johns" title="Gary Johns">Gary Johns</a> told Inter-Press Service.

While some of these projects have floundered or been abandoned by their sponsors it would be a mistake to conclude they have no effect. In part, their role is to create a climate in which non-profits divert scarce resources away from their core mission or soften their advocacy.

While there are thousands of non-profit environmental and other non-profit groups, only a handful appear to have been singled out for specific attention. The key groups featured by one or more of these groups are:

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_Sierra_Club" title="Conservatives target the Sierra Club">Conservatives target the Sierra Club</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_Natural_Resources_Defense_Council" title="Conservatives target the Natural Resources Defense Council">Conservatives target the Natural Resources Defense Council</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_Greenpeace" title="Conservatives target Greenpeace">Conservatives target Greenpeace</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_Rainforest_Action_Network" title="Conservatives target the Rainforest Action Network">Conservatives target the Rainforest Action Network</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_Dogwood_Alliance" title="Conservatives target the Dogwood Alliance">Conservatives target the Dogwood Alliance</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_Environmental_Working_Group" title="Conservatives target the Environmental Working Group">Conservatives target the Environmental Working Group</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Conservatives_target_the_People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals" title="Conservatives target the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals">Conservatives target the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">Other SourceWatch resources</h2>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Intimidating_democracy" title="Intimidating democracy">Intimidating democracy</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Intimidating_foundations" title="Intimidating foundations">Intimidating foundations</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Criminalising_civil_disobedience" title="Criminalising civil disobedience">Criminalising civil disobedience</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Trade_Practices_Amendment%28Small_Business_Protection%29_Bill_2007%28Australia%29" title="Trade Practices Amendment (Small Business Protection) Bill 2007 (Australia)">Trade Practices Amendment (Small Business Protection) Bill 2007 (Australia)</a></li>

</ul>

<h3 style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">External links</h3>

<li>Interview with Bob Burton, June 10, 2004.</li>

<li>Bob Burton, "Calls to Reign in NGOs Dismissed by Critics", Inter-Press Service, April 9, 2004.</li>

<li>Gary Johns and John Roskam, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/aboutfacs/programs/community-managing_relations_with_ngo.htm">The Protocol: Managing Relations with NGOs</a>", Institute of Public Affairs, April 2004.</li>

<li>Michael Marx, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://businessethicsnetwork.org/nl_q1_05_thinking.html">Thinking Like a Network Series: Preparing for the Backlash to Marketplace Campaigns</a>", Business Ethics Network Newsletter, May 2005.</li>

</ul>

</div>

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