Larry Klayman
Encyclopedia
Larry Elliot Klayman is an American
attorney
and activist. He is known as the founder and former Chairman of Judicial Watch
, a public interest and non-profit law firm, which attained notoriety through the initiation of 18 civil lawsuits against the Clinton Administration, and later an unsuccessful lawsuit against Vice-President Dick Cheney
in order to obtain information about the White House
's energy task force
.
In September 2003, Klayman left the organization to run for the United States Senate
from Florida. He lost in the Republican primary. In 2006 Klayman sued Judicial Watch and its president Tom Fitton
charging financial and other mismanagement issues which damaged Judicial Watch, the donors and Klayman.
After his run for the U.S. Senate, Klayman formed the organization Freedom Watch to "protect civil liberties [and] rights of all persons, whatever their ethnicity, race, religion, sex or otherwise."
During the Ronald Reagan
administration, Klayman was a prosecutor in the Justice Department and was on the trial team that succeeded in breaking up the telephone monopoly of AT&T
.
Klayman has authored the books Fatal Neglect and Whores: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment, and writes a weekly column for the conservative news website WorldNetDaily
.
On the NBC series The West Wing, John Diehl played a character patterned after Klayman called "Harry Klaypool."
In April 2011, Klayman filed a lawsuit against Facebook
, accusing the social media website of "negligence" for not responding quickly enough to calls to take down an anti-Israel
"Third Intifada
" page and demanding $1 billion in damages. Facebook representatives responded that the suit was "without merit".
As of July 1, 2011, Klayman's Pennsylvania law license was in "Administrative Suspension" status (usually indicative of a failure to pay bar fees and/or a failure to keep up with Continuing Legal Education
requirements).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and activist. He is known as the founder and former Chairman of Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch is an organization that describes itself as "a conservative, non-partisan American educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law." According to its mission statement, Judicial Watch "advocates high standards of...
, a public interest and non-profit law firm, which attained notoriety through the initiation of 18 civil lawsuits against the Clinton Administration, and later an unsuccessful lawsuit against Vice-President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
in order to obtain information about the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
's energy task force
Energy Task Force
The Energy Task Force, officially the National Energy Policy Development Group , was a task force created by then-U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001 during his second week in office. Vice President Dick Cheney was named chairman...
.
In September 2003, Klayman left the organization to run for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Florida. He lost in the Republican primary. In 2006 Klayman sued Judicial Watch and its president Tom Fitton
Tom Fitton
Thomas J. "Tom" Fitton is an American activist. He is currently known as the President of Judicial Watch, a self-described "conservative, non-partisan, educational foundation." He previously worked for America's Voice and National Empowerment Television, the International Policy Forum, the...
charging financial and other mismanagement issues which damaged Judicial Watch, the donors and Klayman.
After his run for the U.S. Senate, Klayman formed the organization Freedom Watch to "protect civil liberties [and] rights of all persons, whatever their ethnicity, race, religion, sex or otherwise."
During the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration, Klayman was a prosecutor in the Justice Department and was on the trial team that succeeded in breaking up the telephone monopoly of AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
.
Klayman has authored the books Fatal Neglect and Whores: Why and How I Came to Fight the Establishment, and writes a weekly column for the conservative news website WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily is an American web site that publishes news and associated content from a U.S. conservative perspective. It was founded in May 1997 by Joseph Farah with the stated intent of "exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power" and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.-History:In...
.
On the NBC series The West Wing, John Diehl played a character patterned after Klayman called "Harry Klaypool."
In April 2011, Klayman filed a lawsuit against Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, accusing the social media website of "negligence" for not responding quickly enough to calls to take down an anti-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
"Third Intifada
Intifada
Intifada is an Arabic word which literally means "shaking off", though it is usually translated into English as "uprising" or "resistance" or "rebellion". , not to be confused with the Arabic plural ...
" page and demanding $1 billion in damages. Facebook representatives responded that the suit was "without merit".
As of July 1, 2011, Klayman's Pennsylvania law license was in "Administrative Suspension" status (usually indicative of a failure to pay bar fees and/or a failure to keep up with Continuing Legal Education
Continuing Legal Education
Continuing legal education is professional education of lawyers that takes place after their initial admission to the bar. In many states in the United States, CLE participation is required of attorneys to maintain their license to practice law...
requirements).
External links
- Ethics And The Law: Why Conservatives Must Lead A brief biography of Klayman, as well as the early history of Judicial Watch.
- Judicial Watch Official Judicial Watch website.
- Bill Moyers Interviews Larry Klayman Transcript of conversation from NOW.
- Worldnetdaily's Speakers Bureau
- Larry Klayman Joins Cleveland Firm
- The Conservative Ralph Nader
- Larry Klayman - The One Man TEA Party
- Klayman vs. Chertoff
- Worldnetdaily Archive of WND columns written by Larry Klayman.