Solved: The Congressional Staffer Behind "WTF 44"

— By Daniel Schulman


Mon May. 16, 2011 3:00 AM PDT
Mystery solved.

Recently, an observant Capitol Hill staffer alerted Mother Jones to a 2007 Lincoln Navigator in a congressional parking lot that was sporting eyebrow-raising license plates. The Texas tags read: "WTF 44." The staffer helpfully snapped a photo (see above) and sent it along.

WTF, we surmised, stands for—well, you know. And 44 is a likely reference to President Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. Put them together and you've got a mobile middle finger to the commander-in-chief. Clever, right? It's possible that the plates—one of which had a Texas Tech sticker on it, indicating that the driver might be an alum—could stand for "Win the Future," Obama's State of the Union catchphrase. Then again, probably not.

Based on where the SUV was spotted, in the parking lot of the Longworth House Office Building, it seemed likely that the vehicle belonged to a congressional staffer, or perhaps a House member. So who was sending Obama this not-very-bipartisan message? Members of Mother Jones' Washington bureau sent out tweets asking if anyone could ID this angry Texan. The Houston Chronicle made a similar request via its web site, even offering a prize to the first person who could unmask the Navigator's owner. Nada. But there were additional sightings of the car.

...
It took several weeks, and further back and forth with the Texas DMV, but I finally obtained the title and registration information connected to WTF 44. "Release of personal information restricted," the document notes. But this record does provide the basics. It notes there's a lien on the vehicle (indicating a loan) from the Congressional Federal Credit Union, a banking institution largely used by House employees. The document specifies that WTF 44 is a "special plate"—that is, not one that was randomly assigned. And it lists the owner of the Navigator: Scott Graves of Bronte, Texas.

more
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/05/solved-congressional-staffer-behind-wtf-44
Graves is the legislative director for Rep. K. Michael Conaway, a Texas Republican who represents a district in the western part of the state and who serves as a deputy Republican whip.

:hi: