Mikey Weinstein Brings in More Cash…for Less Work?

The accountant for Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation seems to have finally found his stride, as Weinstein’s charity has filed its last two public disclosures in relatively record time.

That said, the rest of the story is just about the same. Despite the fact the finances of Mikey Weinstein’s “charity” have been publicly criticized (and again, just recently), his ethically suspect practices continue.

As in prior years, in 2019 the largest expense for Weinstein’s self-founded “charity” was his own compensation, totaling $364,241. That’s in line with what he paid himself in 2018. The MRFF’s total ‘take’, however, actually fell to $663,335. Though the “charity’s” income was down substantially, Weinstein’s pay remained essentially the same, meaning the direct compensation for his “work” at the MRFF was a solid 54.9% of its revenue, one of the highest percentages to date.

(In defending his exorbitant salary — which the Military Times previously called “unheard of” — Mikey said

My salary is perfectly in line with a ton of other folks that do what they do.

However, Weinstein failed to Read more

Mikey Weinstein and Wreaths Across America

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein made headlines last month when he accused Wreaths Across America, the non-profit that places wreaths in national cemeteries each year, of “carpet bombing” cemeteries with “Christian gang signs.” (That the wreaths are a “Christian gang sign” will come as a surprise to Christians, who for millenia have used several symbols of their faith — but not a wreath.) His initial acerbic press release occurred in November, though it wasn’t until well into December that it hit the major news cycles.

One of the most obvious questions to ask when Weinstein goes after a long-running tradition like the annual Wreaths Across America event is, “why now?” If something is so egregious, why has he waited years to say anything about it? It appears Mikey himself tried to stave off this criticism by claiming he’s “tried to handle each client outreach on a case-by-case basis.” Maybe, but that’s not really Mikey’s style. He’s been known to make public demands and issue scathing press releases mere hours, if not minutes, after receiving a single complaint.

It seems more likely that Weinstein didn’t even really care about WAA. For years, Mikey has stayed Read more

Mikey Weinstein Falsely Accuses Army Chaplain of Lying

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his research assistant Christine “Chris” Rodda have been railing against US Army 1LT Alex Stovall for the past couple of months. Stovall is a member of the Army Reserve, and he’s also a candidate for Arizona’s ninth congressional district.

Stovall’s political comments – made as a candidate in the vein of Donald Trump – have drawn much of the MRFF’s ire, as has the fact he’s shown up in campaign ads and interviews while in uniform.

Making political comments while a civilian – that is, a Reservist not on orders – is a non-event. There are quite a few US military members in Congress on both sides of the aisle (according to the CRS, 14 in both houses), and they’ve certainly all made political comments about their political adversaries and the Nation’s leadership. When not on military orders, they are civilians and can speak as such — which is why Army Capt Alan Kennedy sued his chain of command over the punishments he received while participating in BLM “protests” while not on orders.

Even as a failed lawyer and JAG who was apparently relegated to administrative law while in the Air Force, Mikey Weinstein should still know this, but the accusation makes for “good” press for him. It attracts the attention of those who don’t know any better – even if it’s not entirely true.

Wearing the uniform while engaged in political activity is certainly an issue (and it has been an issue for others in the past), but it has nothing to do with religion or religious liberty in the US military, which makes you wonder why Weinstein is trying to become the uniform police for the military. The nexus for Weinstein’s cabal comes in the fact that Stovall is a Reserve chaplain candidate – and this is where Weinstein and Rodda go off the rails, recently Read more

Mikey Weinstein Fights Oppression of Vacation Bible School

Early in June, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s so-called “religious freedom” group ensured the sanctity of religious liberty in the US military by forcing the leaders of Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to pull down a banner advertising Vacation Bible School at the chapel:

An advocacy group that says it fights “church/state violations and noxious abuse” in the military said Friday it forced the removal of a banner advertising a Vacation Bible School program from the main gate at the Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation…said the banner’s slogan, “Jesus [Power] Pulls Us Through,” was objectionable when displayed at the base entrance.

Here’s the thing: VBS has been extremely popular at military bases throughout Read more

Mikey Weinstein Says Chaplain’s Christianity is Antisemitic

[Update: The WHS has pulled the article down.]

In a raging letter to senior DoD officials yesterday, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein launched a withering attack on an Easter message written by US Navy Chaplain (LT) Aristotle Rivera, claiming his mainstream Christian message is “anti-Semitic.”

Chaplain Rivera — a West Point grad who spent six years in the Army before another six years in the Air Force and is now in the Navy — wrote an article for the Washington Headquarters Services of the DoD, which is essentially the part of the DoD that encompasses the DC area. The article asked, “What did the people talk about at the first Easter?” The short article describes events about two months after Jesus died: Read more

Fact Check: Did Mikey Weinstein Protect Religious Exercise of Muslim Soldiers?

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein put out a press release yesterday claiming his MRFF – and it alone – was responsible for ensuring the religious liberty of two US troops of the Muslim faith. Ramadan begins next week, and according to the information released by Weinstein, but for him, those two troops were not going to receive accommodations for their faith during that time.

If, by chance, Mikey Weinstein did ensure the accommodation of religious troops, it would be laudable – and potentially the first time Weinstein has done something that resembled the name in his “religious freedom” foundation.

According to email traffic selectively released by Weinstein, the two troops had requested accommodations during the month of Ramadan, and they were denied: Read more

A Muslim Became a Christian US Soldier. Mikey Weinstein Isn’t Happy.

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, self-described defender of religious freedom in the US military, returned to rare form yesterday and excoriated the US military because it published a story about a US Soldier — and she’s a Christian.

In what is likely an intentional Public Affairs and recruiting effort, the military has long had a practice of publishing personal interest stories on its troops. While there are many “average Americans” profiled, there are also many stories about US troops with relatively unique and significant experiences. There are many stories about growing up in impoverished or oppressive countries, living in fear or struggle before coming to America, and wanting to “give back” to the country they feel has given them so much.

About a week ago, the US Army published such a story about US Army SPC Zahraa ‘Katya’ Frelund, who, as an Iraqi teenager in 2009, ran away from what she knew and into the arms of US troops on a US Army base in Baghdad. The Army Captain she met there told her Read more

Mikey Weinstein Ties Capitol Riot to Military Christians

In his latest effort to ride the coat tails of trending news, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein contends he has warned for years about what led to the riot at the Capitol in early January.

In Weinstein’s words to the US Air Force Academy: “We told you so.”

We warned you that this radical, right-wing influence found not only at USAFA, but tolerated or even endorsed by senior officers throughout the Air Force, caused a toxic leadership environment and eroded unit cohesion, good order, morale, and discipline. We constantly worried and warned that these seemingly (to some) innocuous events would lead to embarrassment for our Air Force Academy or worse — and that’s exactly what’s happened.

As proof, Weinstein cited retired LtCol Larry Brock, who was prominently photographed in the Capitol building during the riot.

As with some of Weinstein’s prior claims of validation, however, this one also requires a time machine to be true. Brock graduated with the USAFA Class of 1989 – more than Read more

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