This article is about the 527 Group in Florida.

For other uses, see American Democracy Project.

American Democracy Project is a 527 group headed by Bernie Friedman and based in Broward County, Florida. For other uses, see American Democracy Project (527 group in Florida). ... 527 group, a type of tax-exempt organization, named after a section of the United States tax code, created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. ... Bernie Friedman is an attorney in Hollywood, Florida, and a major political figure in South Florida, often called the sixth commissioner of Hollywood. ... Broward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ...

ADP was founded during the 2004 Senate election "to investigate the reasons that the University of South Florida became known as 'Jihad University' in the 1990s during the tenure of then-USF President Betty Castor," then a candidate for the Democratic nomination. [1] Its investigations have centered around Castor's response to USF professors Sami Al-Arian and Ramadan Abdullah Shallah in the mid-1990's. Results -- light red represents Republican holds, dark red Republican pickups, light blue Democratic holds, dark blue Democratic pickups. ... The University of South Florida (USF) is a public university system located in Tampa, Florida, USA, with an autonomous campus in St. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Djehad, Jawwad, or Cihad, (Arabic: ‎ ) is an Islamic term, from the Arabic root (to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle), which connotes a wide range of meanings: anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a political or military struggle. ... Betty Castor (born Elizabeth Bowe in Glassboro, New Jersey on May 11, 1941) is an American politician and educator who has served as Florida Education Commissioner and President of the University of South Florida. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... Sami Al-Arian. ...

Friedman, a long-time friend of Castor's rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, has been accused of using the ADP as a "front group" to stage attacks on Castor on behalf of the Deutsch campaign. [2]. Deutsch has denied this accusation [3]. This article deals with politician Peter R. Deutsch. ...

ADP launched a website in July, castortruth.com, outlining several documents and details that were uncovered after ADP filed their request for documents in Betty Castor's possession. [4] Betty Castor (born Elizabeth Bowe in Glassboro, New Jersey on May 11, 1941) is an American politician and educator who has served as Florida Education Commissioner and President of the University of South Florida. ...

On the same day, Castor's campaign launched a second website, castorfacts.com, containing documents supporting Castor's claim that she did everything possible to deal appropriately with Al-Arian, while simultaneously debunking Friedman and one of castortruth.com's contributors, John Loftus. Also, castorfacts.com pointed out that Al-Arian had a relationship with George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign, and for some time leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks: the point was to "show that Republicans can't exploit this issue" in the general election. [5] John Joseph Loftus (born February 12, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American author, former US government prosecutor and former Army intelligence officer. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...

Controversy over ADP's tactics

Whether ADP is connected to the Deutsch campaign

527 groups such as ADP are legally barred from coordinating with political campaigns. However, it has been reported that Bernie Friedman and Peter Deutsch are close friends who attend the same synagogue and often have lunch together. The Tampa Tribune went as far as to criticize Deutsch for "trying to hide behind a phony political action group." [6] 527 group, a type of tax-exempt organization, named after a section of the United States tax code, created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul; Ladino אסנוגה esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...

Deutsch and Friedman have both maintained that they are not coordinating with each other. On July 14th, Deutsch stated that he did not approve of the ADP's tactics, but that he could not make ADP stop its attacks because such a request would constitute illegal coordination. [7] Despite Deutsch's statements, several major newspapers in Florida treat ADP as a wing of the Deutsch campaign, and have blamed Deutsch for ADP's actions.

Whether ADP's claims are justified

Several publications and officials have defended Castor:

• On June 29, Senator Bob Graham, who had previously remained outside of the Castor-Deutsch infighting, released a statement that "Betty Castor acted appropriately as President of the University of South Florida to deal with Sami Al-Arian."
• On July 1, the Jewish Journal published an editorial titled "Shame on Deutsch - Castor smeared." [8]
• Also on July 1, the Tallahassee Democrat wrote that "Deutsch is indulging in low-down hindsight politics." [9]
• On July 2, the Daytona Beach News-Journal called the charges against Castor "groundless" and a "cheap shot," comparing ADP's practices to red-baiting. [10]
• On July 11, former FBI Tampa bureau chief Al Robinson was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as saying that Castor "asked for more information but was not told anything." [11]

However, others have stated that the ADP's allegations are true: Daniel Robert Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American politician. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

• On July 4, the Boca Raton News wrote that "these charges are justified and Deutsch need make no apology for bringing this ugly situation to the forefront of this campaign. Castor should be held accountable for not reacting to the Al-Arian terrorist links with the fervor it deserved. Standing by and watching while the public university you lead becomes a bastion for terrorist activities is not acceptable." [12]
• On July 11, the Boca Raton News wrote that Jewish Journal publisher Bruce Warshal, "has become a joke – and his upcoming endorsement of Castor in spite of this ugly affair and comments she has made regarding Israel will be laughed at by readers of his publication." [13]
• Former federal prosecutor John Loftus states that Castor "...had the full resources of the University to help her. She chose to avoid her duty as a public officer. In an act of moral cowardice, she wrote her staff 'I am deeply concerned by implications that the University should 'investigate' entities or people and be the arbiter of what political, social or religious ideology is "good" or "evil."' Her Vice President agreed that Al Arian's organization was an 'important cultural group' that was 'part of the USF diversity commitment.'" [14]