Anti-Obama texts linked to former state senate candidate

Updated 7:00 p.m. ET

A wave of anti-Obama text messages that spammed D.C.-area cell phones Tuesday night appears to be connected to a former Republican Virginia state senate candidate, according to an Internet protocol that traced the sender.

"Pres. Obama is taxing our future. Its time to cut his future as President," one message read. New York Times reporter Jonathan Weisman posted another on Twitter:

Txt to my 13-yr-old daughter: "Obama denies protection to babies who survive abortions. Obama is just wrong" from [e-mail]

-- Jonathan Weisman (@jonathanweisman) October 31, 2012

Hundreds of recipients - other political reporters included - in the 202 area code stormed Twitter and Facebook to complain about the messages, which were sent via email by domains such as [e-mail], [e-mail], and [e-mail]. 

WHOIS, an Internet protocol that provides the name of any website's owner unless he or she pays for anonymity, on Wednesday showed that voteett.com - suspended for "spam and abuse" - is registered to Jason Flanary and managed by a Centreville, Va., company called ccAdvertising. Flanary is the chief operating officer of ccAdvertising, which according to the company's website provides robo-calls to "commercial, Political, Congressional and non-profit clients." A resident of Fairfax County, Va., Flanary is also a candidate for the state senate.

It is unclear whether Flanary himself is behind these text messages or whether he's aware they're connected to his domain names. CBSNews.com reached out to Flanary via his personal cell phone, and ccAdvertising's main line. Messages left with both were not returned.

The Atlantic points out that whoever is behind these texts is "exploiting a legal loophole" - skirting the illegality of distributing automated, unsolicited texts by sending with an email address - and reports that of roughly 30 messages logged via an informal online survey, all have been from Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, and most are to registered voters.

Correction: An earlier version story suggested Flanary is currently running for the state senate in Virginia. He actually ran last year and was defeated in the general election.

A screenshot of WHOIS information taken from GoDaddy.com.

/ CBS/GoDaddy

[erron11]

Visit PocketSpammers.com to learn what you can do to help eliminate text spam.

[Spynnal]

Keep chasing away those last independent and moderate voters GOP. Kudos.

[brauman50]

I find it horrendous that CBS will devote time to a pathetic texting story and refuse to devote major time to a story of four (4) Americans killed in Benghazi. The CBS press has turned a blind eye to the Benghazi story as most Liberal leaning news media organizations have. The news media that refuses to give this story its true importance is doing an injustice to the American people. The American people have been lied to and deceived by the political hacks of this administration and it is not even covered by our socialist media. Wake up America it could be your child that isn't given support in a life or death situation. These news organizations should feel the wrath of the American people for the unfairness they have perpetrated on the people of this country.

[MomsTalking]

that's too bad...and it's legal too,huh??..well those spams from women looking for men and cruiselines are just as annoying...they don't make the major news site though..

[Fareed17]

This is clearly a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO Act) violation. No telling how deep it goes. These creatures just don't crawl from under a rock on their own.

[GossamerWings]

God I'm sick of the calls, email and Ads. He should be fired.

[flowersRose]

I will not vote him who sent spammed tests.

[flowersRose]

I will not vote him.

[flowersRose]

I will not vote him.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

Tell me it's not true, a republican doing something like this!!!!

[caljack430]

I find it adorable that CBS then proceeded to call this jack-as on his personal cell phone. Glad he may experience some small taste of his own obnoxious medicine.