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Tag: Dinesh D’Souza

  • ‘America’ Director Sends Legal Letter To Google Over Search Results

    Google has reportedly received a letter from the lawyers of Dinesh D’Souza whose film America is not showing up in search results how they’d like.

    The Hollywood Reporter obtained the letter, which was sent to Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond, and reports:

    The letter claims that Google has been confusing America with 2016: Obama’s America, which was D’Souza’s first movie and has been out of theaters for two years, while Lionsgate released America on July 2 and it is currently playing in about 1,100 theaters nationwide.

    Google, according to the letter, has been “misdirecting many users who mistakenly believed the film was not playing in theaters. We understand this was brought to your attention for correction five days ago, yet the problem persists.”

    In a search for “america movie,” some users have been getting the typical carousel movie results showing “movies frequently mentioned on the web” including various Captain America and Avengers-related titles.

    We’re not even seeing that, but just the IMDb page for America as the top result.

    A search for “showtimes for america” brings up a Captain America: The Winter Soldier times page from Fandango. That appears to be the real problem, because when you do the same query for other movies, you typically get stuff like this:

    According to THR, the letter demands Google disclose whether “human or automated error was the source” of the issue, and if measures have been taken to fix the problem. So far, results aren’t showing the showtimes box, at least in my own testing.

    Google has also reportedly been confusing the film with D’Souza’s other film 2016: Obama’s America.

    Image via Google

  • Dinesh D’Souza Indicted Over Campaign Law Violations

    Is this a case of too many stones being thrown inside a glass house?

    Conservative pundit and author Dinesh D’Souza was indicted this past Thursday after being charged with the violation of federal campaign laws. He’s expected to be arraigned by this afternoon.

    D’Souza’s troubles began when members of the FBI noticed some discrepancies during a routine review of campaign filings with the FEC after the 2012 election period.

    Allegedly, the controversial author encouraged individuals to make huge campaign donations to an unnamed individual running for office. He then compensated them for their donations. The donations, which are said to have been upwards of $20,000, far exceeded the set limit of $2,500 per donation.

    The authorities followed up on the matter immediately, which Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara credits to the “zero tolerance approach to corruption of the electoral process.”

    Bharara said that the charges were “a serious violation of federal campaign finance laws,” but according to D’Souza’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman, it was just D’Souza trying to help someone he cared about.

    In a statement, Brafman called the situation, “at most an act of misguided friendship.”

    The unnamed “friend” in this instance is thought to have been Senate candidate Wendy Long (R), who was defeated by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D).

    D’Souza and Long knew each other from when they both attended Dartmouth College. In addition, his name was present on an invitation for a fundraiser that he apparently co-hosted in support of Long.

    This “straw donor” case could land D’Souza in jail for several years if he is hit with the maximum for the charges. He faces one count of making illegal campaign contributions and one count of causing false statements to be made to the FEC.

    D’Souza, was also weathering a personal scandal in relation to claiming to be engaged to one woman while still married to his wife of 20 years.

    Again, glass houses and stones. When you make a career of throwing them as some pundits have, it’s best to not be surprised when the glass shards come tumbling down on you.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Dinesh D’Souza Indicted For Campaign Finance Fraud

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York this week filed charges against Dinesh D’Souza for allegedly violating federal campaign finance laws. D’Souza is a conservative author and filmmaker well-known for his stance against the current presidential administration. Most recently D’Souza is best known for writing and directing the 2012 movie 2016: Obama’s America, a documentary that follows the early life of Barack Obama.

    D’Souza is accused of having several other people make donations to a U.S. Senate campaign, then later reimbursing them for the contributions, which totaled $20,000. The act circumvents election laws that prevent individuals from donating over $5,000 to a single candidate. He has also been charged with causing false statements to be made to the FEC. That charge stems from the donation scheme by proxy causing the campaign committee to falsely report donations to the FEC.

    “Trying to influence elections through bogus campaign contributions is a serious crime,” said George Venizelos, assistant director-in-charge of the FBI. “Today, Mr. D’Souza finds himself on the wrong side of the law. The Federal Election Campaign Act was written to limit the influence of money in elections; the FBI is fiercely committed to enforcing those laws to maintain the integrity of our democratic process.”

    D’Souza’s donation’s were uncovered by the FBI during a review of 2012 campaign committee filings.

    According to TPM, D’Souza’s lawyer has issued a statement emphasizing that D’Souza never had a “corrupt relationship” with the Senate candidate. The lawyer also stated that D’Souza “did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever.”

    “As we have long said, this Office and the FBI take a zero tolerance approach to corruption of the electoral process,” said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for Manhattan. “If, as alleged, the defendant directed others to make contributions to a Senate campaign and reimbursed them, that is a serious violation of federal campaign finance laws.”

    Image via @DineshDSouza