Tom Fitton
Tom Fitton Occupation Activist Thomas J. "Tom" Fitton is an American activist. He is the President of Judicial Watch, a self-described "conservative, educational foundation." He has worked for America's Voice and National Empowerment Television, the International Policy Forum, the Leadership Institute, and Accuracy in Media. He also used to be a talk radio and television host. Fitton has been President of Judicial Watch since August 1998. According to Judicial Watch's mission statement, the organization seeks to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in government and fidelity to the rule of law. The organization fulfills its mission primarily by seeking access to government records, filing Freedom of Information Act and other public records act lawsuits, engaging in other forms of civil litigation, and pursuing various other actions designed to generate public pressure on government agencies and public officials. In 2006, Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch's former Chairman, attempted to reclaim control of Judicial Watch by suing Fitton, the organization, and the organization's other officers and directors. Most of Klayman's claims, including all of the claims against Fitton and Judicial Watch's other officers and directors, were dismissed in 2009. In July 2013, Fitton gained widespread attention for judicial watch in conservative media after a jury declared George Zimmerman innocent for the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, when Fitton appeared in numerous interviews to claim that the Obama administration's Department of Justice had sent representatives to Sanford in the wake of Martin’s death "to help organize and manage rallies and protests against George Zimmerman." Politicfact Florida, a fact-checking project sponsored by the "Tampa Bay Times," rated Fitton's claim "mostly false." In July 2013, Fitton was identified as a key member of Groundswell, a secretive coalition of right wing activists and journalists attempting to make radical political change behind the scenes, whose members met in the offices of Judicial Watch. As head of Judicial Watch, Fitton has launched a federal lawsuit against the administration on behalf of Dr. Larry Kawa and his orthodontics practice. The case has been dismissed by federal district court and is under appeal in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.