Tag Archives: bonnie weinstein

Mikey Weinstein, the MRFF, and MIBON Consulting

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein sometimes tries to make the MRFF — the group he created and runs — seem bigger than just him, citing the number of people associated with his “charity.” However, he quietly admits to the IRS the MRFF has only a single employee — Mikey Weinstein.  That admission seems to contradict claims by others, like Chris Rodda, who say they work for the MRFF.

Normally, personnel costs are not considered “program expenses” in IRS lingo (program expenses are “those incurred while performing its tax-exempt activities”). However, that seems to be how Weinstein framed payment for Rodda’s services. Rodda once admitted the MRFF “Research” expense line item — about $25,000 — was her annual pay (though she has faded from the MRFF scene in the past year or so).  Presumably, the legal explanation is Weinstein treats her as a kind of independent contractor, rather than technically an employee.  The characterization of the use of that $25K on “research” — or Rodda — is not something a potential donor would know if Chris Rodda hadn’t spoken out of school.

What else don’t you know?

While Weinstein itemized such administrivia as Internet ($143) and Bank Fees ($14), he declined to explain three of his charity’s top 5 expenses totaling more than $100,000.  One of those is Rodda’s “research.”  Weinstein pays two other repetitive and predictable (and strikingly similar) annual expenses:  “support” and “consulting.”

Weinstein’s third largest expense in 2012 ($43,000) was vague “support.”  While Read more

Breaking: Former Navy Chaplain Sues Michael Weinstein

Update: Also at the Stars and Stripes.

Michael Weinstein, the self-described “litigator and agitator” who has managed to have every one of his 5 lawsuits dismissed in the past few years, now finds himself on the receiving end of legal action:

[A former Navy chaplain has filed a] defamation lawsuit against the militant anti-Christian activist Mikey Weinstein, who got served yesterday. Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD, just filed the new legal complaint in New Mexico State Court, citing multiple counts of defamation and malicious abuse of the legal process by Weinstein and his openly anti-Christian organization the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Inc.

Klingenschmitt had previously been sued by Weinstein and Read more

Local Editorial Scolds Over-the-Top Weinstein

The IndyStar, which has naturally followed accusations against Indiana’s Adjutant General MajGen Marty Umbarger, published a short editorial that scolded Michael Weinstein for his self-appointed role as judge, jury, and executioner:

[Umbarger’s video] raised the ire of a self-appointed watchdog, an attorney named Mikey Weinstein, who started an organization that bills itself as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation…

In an over-the-top protest, Weinstein has demanded that the general be relieved of his command and court-martialed…

The editorial does not attempt to proclaim General Umbarger’s video statement as without error; it merely says that, if it is an error, it does not rise to the ridiculous demands Weinstein makes:  Read more

Atheist Dates and Military Religious Freedom Advertising

It’s long been known that Michael Weinstein is starved for attention in a way unique for a man his age.  His zealotry for his cause is so consuming, in fact, there are times even his wife has said he has gone “overboard” — because he wants attention.

“When he goes a little overboard, we talk about it,” [Bonnie Weinstein] said. “But people don’t realize that going overboard is what’s getting the attention.”

In theory, Weinstein’s claims of ubiquitous persecution would result in droves of US military members beating down his door for help.  In fact, the opposite is true — in 2007 Weinstein even had to advertise to find someone to complain:

Without such a pawn, Read more

Michael Weinstein Loses Lawsuit Against Imprecatory Chaplain

Michael Weinstein has lost his lawsuit against former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt.  In other words, of the 5 lawsuits the former Air Force JAG Weinstein has filed since 2005, he has won zero.  None have even survived to trial.

Weinstein filed a civil suit against Klingenschmitt in 2009 over the former chaplain’s “imprecatory prayers,” claiming they represented a “terroristic threat” and posed an “imminent danger” to him and his family.  As noted here more than two years ago, Weinstein never had a strong case to begin with.  His allegations were vague and he undermined his own cause.  For example, the only specific evidence he cited were events that occurred prior to Klingenschmitt’s public prayer.

The deposition of Michael Weinstein’s wife, Bonnie, may have done the most Read more

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