In late 2009 this site noted the hypocrisy of Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation over its treatment of Chaplain (LtCol) Gary Hensley. Weinstein’s researcher, Chris Rodda, said a sermon given by Hensley in a military chapel was “of course…permissible,” while at the same time the MRFF used video of the sermon as a fundraising prop in a list of “violations.” As has been demonstrated here before, it wasn’t ironic Weinstein was raising money at the expense of the religious freedom he claims to defend.
That article noted Weinstein has reaped heavily from the “non-profit” he founded and runs, allowing him to take home a paycheck of more than $250,000 in 2008 — nearly half of everything his “foundation” received (while Rodda simultaneously begged for donations, claiming Weinstein didn’t “even pay himself a salary”).
Weinstein seemed to take umbrage at the publication of his public financial data and threatened to sue this site for defamation. He apparently thought it was damaging to his reputation for people to know 46% of his “non-profit’s” funds went directly to him — a shocking number when compared to reputable non-profits as documented at Charity Navigator, for example. The legal threat seemed to be a weak attempt at intimidation, as it was obvious Weinstein had no viable case and he never moved on the legal threat (though he did file a frivolous complaint with the military, and he has repeated the open-ended threat). Of course, while he dispenses vitriol with ease, Weinstein apparently wilts in the face of criticism, as he has repeatedly issued legal threats against those who have the gall to point out his hypocrisy.
To the point, Weinstein’s own public documents showed his significant pay, the re-publication of which apparently disturbed him.
It seems Weinstein didn’t learn his lesson.
The very next year, Michael Weinstein, the sole-paid officer of his self-created Read more