Which party has a "culture of corruption?"

Of course there are bad apples in any organization.  But the Democratic Party for years has accused the Republican Party of fostering a "culture of corruption."  It has been a recurring campaign theme.  But upon closer examination, it appears that the political left is where there is a problem with corruption.

Even more examples are available if you look for the word "corruption" on this page.

The word "suspicious" doesn't even begin to describe the stuff on this page.

All the news and commentary about Yung Yuen "Norman" Hsu has been moved to this page.

News and commentary about Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit is now in a subsection at the bottom of this page.


Bye-bye, "culture of corruption".  You may want to look fast, but the Democratic National Committee's website still has a "Republican Culture of Corruption" page, implying that by installing the Democrats back in the congressional majority, we'll have a virtual monastery of ethical restraint in Washington — with leaders like Patrick Kennedy setting the example.

House Democrats Accused of Corruption, Too.  Democrats, quick to invoke the alleged "Republican culture of corruption," have a few members of their own party to worry about.

The Democrats' Culture of Corruption:  Did you notice the stories about Illinois Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky's husband being sentenced to prison for a check-kiting scheme involving millions of dollars?  Probably not.  It got little attention.

Pelosi's Bill Could Benefit Husband's Stock Holding.  On July 27, 2007, 28 executives of the Thousand Oaks, Calif., pharmaceutical firm Amgen contributed more than $20,000 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) campaign.  On Aug. 2, Pelosi (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Early Treatment for HIV Act, a bill that could boost Medicaid coverage of HIV-related drugs, including Procrit, which is manufactured by Amgen and marketed by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, a firm in which Pelosi's husband owns at least $250,000 in stock, according to Pelosi's disclosure forms.

Pennsylvania Democrats charged with stealing public funds.  A state lawmaker, a former legislative leader and 10 other people connected to the state House Democratic caucus were charged Thursday over allegations that millions of taxpayer dollars were illegally siphoned to underwrite political campaigns.

Bill Clinton's $700,000 stock windfall:  The spring before his wife began her White House campaign, former President Bill Clinton earned $700,000 for his foundation by selling stock that he had been given from an Internet search company that was co-founded by a convicted felon and backed by the Chinese government, public records show.

Bill's Mystery Millions:  Another day, another reason for Democratic primary voters to demand complete financial transparency from Bill and Hillary Clinton.  And, it seems, another reason for the Clintons to shudder at the prospect.

Beg Your Pardon?  If a Democrat is elected President of the United States, former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat, might be pardoned.  There might even be pressure on a President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton to appoint this former Alabama Attorney General as a federal judge or a U.S. Attorney.  In 2005, jurors in Montgomery found Siegelman guilty on seven counts of bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

Obama's Iraqi Oil for Food connection.  Rezko's relationship with Barack Obama goes back to at least 1990, when Obama's law firm did work relating to a Rezko housing development.  Rezko was a key early-money fund raiser in Obama's state Senate campaigns and his failed run at the US Congress.  In June 2005, when the mansion was purchased, Rezko was widely known to be under federal investigation.  Rezko also is a key fundraiser for Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Four Stumps in the Water for Obama:  [Scroll down]  The Rezko trial highlights another problem for Obama, potentially a devastating one, though it is unlikely to arise for several months or more.  Antoin "Tony" Rezko is on trial for taking large bribes in return for political favors.  The feds allege that he was able to steer state contracts and policy decisions, such as authorization to build hospitals in specific locations, because he was so close to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (for whom he was a top fundraiser) and because he was willing to share the graft with his cronies.

Illinois Governor's $1 Million Grant Under Investigation.  "The Chicago Tribune … uncovered 235 donations of exactly $25,000 apiece (for a total of $5,865,000) to the governor.  Three-fourths of those donations came from persons who received financial benefits from the Blagojevich administration."

Is Rezko working with the feds?  As his sentencing nears, pressure is mounting on Tony Rezko to cooperate with federal investigations into some of the highest-profile politicians in the state — including Gov. Blagojevich.  Two more trials — one in Chicago next spring, one in Las Vegas — hover over the Wilmette businessman and onetime prolific political fund-raiser for the governor and Barack Obama.

'Find Out Where His Kids Go to School'.  "Former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel was caught on tape last week telling a crowd in Washington, D.C., that they should harass a federal prosecutor who helped bring criminal contempt charges against a Palestinian activist," Fox News reports.  The "Palestinian activist" in question, Sami Al-Arian, had been charged with aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a theocratic terror group.

Alabama County Is On the Brink of Bankruptcy.  Alabama's largest county appears headed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a $3.2 billion mess created by the nation's credit crunch and a colossal, corruption-riddled sewer project.

A Criminal Case Possible Under the Mann Act.  Governor Spitzer, in the wake of the disclosure that he patronized a prostitute last month, now risks criminal prosecution, legal experts say.  For now, federal prosecutors are likely launching a wide investigation into Mr. Spitzer's finances to determine whether any public funds, property, or employees were used during any encounter between Mr. Spitzer and a prostitute, several former prosecutors say.

Dirty money trail that exposed Mr Clean:  The paper trail that led detectives to the door of a New Jersey-based prostitution service began when they noticed a stream of strange bank payments flowing from the accounts of the governor of New York state, Eliot Spitzer.  Tax officials raised the alarm after noticing odd transactions during what they told the New York Times were routine inspections.  Their initial suspicion was that the governor may have been involved in some form of corruption, bribery perhaps or manipulation of political funds.

Scandal Confirms Gov's Astonishing and Endless Hypocrisy.  A disgraced Gov. Spitzer has been publicly and privately described for more than a year by New York's top political figures as a ruth less, sanctimonious, amoral man whose righteous public persona was regularly contradicted by the realities of how he conducted his political life.

Records reveal lucrative dealings for Memphis mayor's friend.  When it comes to landing City Hall subcontracting jobs, Reginald French has a golden touch — a $1.4 million touch.  A close friend of Mayor Willie Herenton, French has been paid at least that much, and possibly much more, for a variety of jobs, including a particularly fortuitous deal to install fiber-optic cable at two city police stations.  Newly disclosed records tell how French, a onetime prison guard, landed the $68,000 cabling job in 2006 despite lacking experience or equipment for the work.  Undaunted, French then hired a cable installation firm — for $30,000 — to perform the work.

State raids mayor's home.  Maryland state prosecutors raided the home of Mayor Sheila Dixon yesterday [6/17/2008] as part of an investigation into past spending practices at City Hall, the most aggressive move so far in the years-long probe. … Investigators have been examining spending irregularities at City Hall since a March 2006 series of articles in The Sun that detailed questions about the role of Dixon — then council president — in approving contracts that benefited her sister's employer.

Georgia Rep. Ron Sailor Resigns After Pleading Guilty to Money Laundering.  A Georgia lawmaker who said deep debts caused him to violate federal law agreed Tuesday [3/18/2008] to resign as part of a guilty plea to federal money laundering charges.  Meanwhile, federal officials said the case against state Rep. Ron Sailor Jr. has opened up a broader public corruption probe in Georgia, and warned other public officials who have broken the law to turn themselves in rather than be arrested.

Former state Sen. Ford is guilty again.  In the end, former state Sen. John Ford's disclosures, the ones he revealed and the ones he tried to hide, led to the downfall of the once-powerful Memphis Democrat, who was convicted Friday [7/18/2008] on federal corruption charges.  A federal jury convicted Ford on two counts of wire fraud and four counts of concealing material facts stemming from the secret payments he took from two TennCare contractors while he was in the Tennessee Senate.

Officials Investigate Three Alabama Counties in Voter Fraud Accusations.  Federal and state authorities are looking into accusations of voting fraud in three largely black counties of Alabama, including Perry and Lowndes Counties, which played a historic role in the struggle for black voting rights in the 1960s.  In May, a local citizens group gathered affidavits detailing several cases in which at least one Democratic county official paid citizens for their votes, or encouraged them to vote multiple times.

Prominent Democrat is charged with voter fraud.  Todd Stuart McGuire, a longtime Jefferson County Democratic Party supporter, was charged July 2 with voter fraud.  He's accused of either repeating a vote or impersonating his wife, Rebekah, by casting her ballot in a Feb. 6, 2007, special election.  Both charges are Class C felonies and carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail and/or a $10,000 fine, according to charging documents.

A Culture of Greed.  The Senate Ethics Committee intends to open an investigation into the relationship of several Democrat Senators, senior executives, and lobbyists for Fannie Mae, and Countrywide Financial, the home mortgage company, which was purchased at bail-out price by Bank of America.

Congress and the Countrywide Scandal:  Countrywide Financial Corp.'s "friends of Angelo" program provided sweetheart loans to key banking players in Washington, D.C.  They included former Fannie Mae chief executive Jim Johnson, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.).  The growing scandal surrounding the "friends of Angelo" loans (so-called by company employees, referring to Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo) should serve as a political wake-up call.

Gov. Paterson says he may have used campaign cash for hotel hookup.  Gov. Paterson admitted Wednesday [3/19/2008] he may have improperly billed his campaign for at least one hotel tryst with a girlfriend.  The hotel tryst was apparently listed as "constituent services."

Hot-Sheets Gov Puts $$ Back 'Inn'.  Gov. Paterson is reimbursing his state Senate campaign for stays at a Manhattan hotel, as his aides revealed he'd also improperly used the account to buy suits, furniture and a dinner with his dad. … It is also a violation of state election law to falsely label the reason for the campaign expenditure.

Paterson Billed Taxpayers for Albany Hotels.  State records seem to conflict with Governor Paterson's claim that a busy schedule as lieutenant governor required him on more than a dozen occasions to spend the night at expensive hotels in Albany on the taxpayer's dime rather than at his home in the suburbs.

Durham Democratic Party official accused in rituals.  Allegations that a local Democratic official and her husband were involved in satanic rituals that included shackling people to beds, caging them and depriving them of food and water have horrified county party leaders.  Joy Johnson, 30, a third vice-chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice chairwoman of the Young Democrats, was charged Friday [6/27/2008] with two counts of aiding and abetting.

Host Indicted, Clinton Fund-Raiser Canceled.  A Dec. 15 fund-raising event for Hillary Clinton at the home of prominent Mississippi trial laywer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is off, now that Scruggs has been indicted for bribery.

A Clinton Goldmine.  New York Times sources say that if Sen. Hillary Clinton loses the Democratic nomination or a general election for President, it will largely be due to the efforts of their investigative and political reporter Jo Becker, who yesterday reported on the ties between former President Bill Clinton and Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra, who has committed almost a quarter billion dollars to Clinton's foundation, largely after Clinton appeared to pave the way for Giustra's company to get a sweet uranium mining deal in Kazakhstan.

Clinton's Filthy Lucre.  Is it just us, or is there something off about ex-president Bill Clinton using his influence overseas to enrich a pal and then accepting the pal's big donation to his foundation?  This looks like a bribery racket.  Strong words, yes, but a New York Times report details a 2005 incident of Clinton and a minor Canadian mining financier jetting into Kazakhstan, where the two met with the local strongman.

Four indicted on voter fraud.  Four Duval County residents were charged Thursday with illegally handling ballot applications and mail-in ballots that belonged to other voters during the 2006 primary election.

Jefferson Saga Continues to Vex Democrats.  Since the news broke in 2005 that FBI agents found $90,000 in cash in the freezer of Rep. William J. Jefferson's home, House Democrats have not known quite what to do about the Louisiana lawmaker.  The latest embarrassment arose Wednesday, when Democrats delayed action on placing Jefferson on the Homeland Security Committee after Republicans said they would demand a recorded vote.

Editor's note:
 Much more material about Congressman Jefferson's case can be found here.

Disgraced judge has his criminal record expunged.  C. Hunter King, the disgraced Orleans Parish Civil District Court judge who in 2001 forced his employees to sell $250 fundraising tickets or risk losing their jobs, now has a clean record.  Having admitted in May to conspiracy to commit public payroll fraud, King was granted expungement of his criminal arrest and conviction after successfully completing six months of probation.

South Texas Democrat, businessman indicted.  A major contributor to Democratic causes and political races was indicted Friday [11/16/2007] on charges of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant.  Mauricio Celis, a Corpus Christi businessman, has a controlling interest in the CGT Law Group of Corpus Christi even though he is not a lawyer.  Now, he's being accused of practicing law without a license.

Agents raid Texas Democrat's offices.  Authorities raided the offices of an influential Democratic donor on Friday [1/4/2008], prompting accusations by the donor's attorneys that the raid was politically motivated.  The state attorney general's office said it was assisting the Nueces County district attorney in the criminal investigation of Mauricio Celis, 36, who has given money to major Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and is the subject of numerous ongoing lawsuits and charges.

Feds indict friend of governor.  Christopher Kelly, one of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D-Ill.) closest advisers and the chief fundraiser on his two campaigns, was indicted Thursday [12/13/2007] on tax fraud charges alleging he improperly used corporate funds to cover gambling debts he had run up in Las Vegas and with a local bookie.

Gambling expansion stalls in wake of indictments.  The political fallout from the indictment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's friend and gambling adviser began today as a potential vote next week on a massive state gambling expansion was canceled. ... On Thursday federal prosecutors indicted Chris Kelly, a South suburban roofing contractor and close personal friend of the governor, on charges stemming from alleged illegal betting and breaking the law to conceal gambling debts.

Indicted insider has story, home to sell.  Christopher Kelly — our unreform governor's gambling point man — was indicted Thursday on federal tax evasion charges involving huge gambling losses with Chicago bookies and Las Vegas casinos.  And I was busy enjoying an online tour of his sumptuous castle, a Burr Ridge estate with a $3.3 million asking price.  It was put up for sale weeks ago as if Kelly knew this could happen.

Obama giving away indicted donor's cash.  Barack Obama is getting rid of an old $5,000 campaign donation that was given to him by an Illinois businessman who was indicted this week.  The money was donated to Obama's U.S. Senate campaign in 2003 by Abdelhamid "Al" Chaib of LaGrange Park, Ill.  Chaib was indicted Thursday on federal charges of taking part in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $3.4 million loan.

Are Democratic Convention Superdelegates Up for Sale?  The Democratic presidential nomination could be decided by the so-called "superdelegates."  Now one study is revealing that elected officials who serve in that capacity have received at least $890,000 in campaign contributions from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the last three years.

Probe is closer to governor.  A federal corruption probe moved closer to Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday [12/21/2007] as prosecutors issued a document in which the governor allegedly boasted to a key witness that he "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking" to boost campaign fundraising.  Blagojevich is not quoted by name but is referred to as "Public Official A" in the 78 pages that prosecutors filed….

Obama staffer arrested on Illinois warrant.  An intern working for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign was arrested Friday at the Des Moines airport after authorities flagged an outstanding arrest warrant for aggravated battery in Illinois.  Derrick Lamon Johnson, 20, of Glen Carbon, Ill., was also charged with fleeing from justice.

It's hard to imagine a two-year-old opening a checking account.
 As Campaigns Chafe at Limits, Donors Might Be in Diapers.  Elrick Williams's toddler niece Carlyn may be one of the youngest contributors to this year's presidential campaign.  The 2-year-old gave $2,300 to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).  So did her sister and brother, Imara, 13, and Ishmael, 9, and her cousins Chan and Alexis, both 13.  Altogether, according to newly released campaign finance reports, the extended family of Williams, a wealthy Chicago financier, handed over nearly a dozen checks in March for the maximum allowed under federal law to Obama.

Hillary Clinton:  Shill for the pill.  Last year, just as Andrew von Eschenbach's name was being floated for FDA director, Barr CEO Bruce Downey cut a $1,000 check to Clinton's campaign. A couple of weeks later, Hillary announced her hold on Eschenbach's nomination and introduced her Plan B subsidy bill.  This year, the day after Clinton introduced her Plan B awareness bill, Barr Executive Vice President Frederick J. Killion donated $1,000 to her campaign.  Although the timing is interesting, those paltry contributions from Barr hardly give Clinton a reason to push Plan B.  Boosting Planned Parenthood?s bottom line, however, certainly serves Hillary's purposes.

New House rules don't stop travel.  [Scroll down] The Michigan Democrat stayed overnight at the Gaylord Palms Resort near Orlando.  Her trip was one of 30 trips taken by lawmakers this year under an exemption in the new House travel rules that allows for one- or two-night stays sponsored by companies that employ lobbyists.  Most of the trips were to resort areas, including eight to Florida and three to Las Vegas.  In all, 22 House Democrats and three Republicans accepted nearly $40,000 in travel under that exemption, according to reports filed with the House ethics committee.

FEC Fines Group Allied With Democrats.  A union-financed advocacy group that played a major role in the 2004 elections has agreed to pay a $580,000 fine after the Federal Election Commission concluded it illegally ran advertising against President Bush and in favor of Democrat John Kerry.

The Democratic Mega-Money Mega-Scam.  On Wednesday [8/29/2007], the Federal Election Commission slapped America Coming Together with a $775,000 fine — the third-largest such penalty in history — for violating campaign-finance laws in the 2004 election.  Now largely defunct, America Coming Together was the biggest of the so-called "527" groups that took in millions from donors like George Soros for the purpose of defeating George W. Bush.

Soros-linked group hit with huge fine.  The Federal Election Commission has fined one of the last cycle's biggest liberal political action committees $775,000 for using unregulated soft money to boost John Kerry and other Democratic candidates during the 2004 elections.  America Coming Together (ACT) raised $137 million for its get-out-the-vote effort in 2004, but the FEC found most of that cash came through contributions that violated federal limits.

FEC Fines Political Group From 2004 Race.  An independent political group allied with Democrats has agreed to pay $775,000 in penalties to the Federal Election Commission for violating campaign laws during the 2004 presidential campaign.  The penalty, announced Wednesday, is the third largest fine ever levied by the FEC.  The group, America Coming Together, was an influential player in the 2004 election cycle, spending millions of dollars to mobilize voters in support of Democrats in key states.

Hillary's Ironic Use of the Word 'Unscrupulous'.  Hillary Clinton is now pitching her multi-billion dollar bailout plan for the "victims" of "unscrupulous" mortgage brokers who act "dishonestly and try to take advantage of people".  And what will fix the problem of "unscrupulous" business people?  Why, more government bureaucracy and our money, of course.  It's as if Madame Hillary thinks we taxpayers won't mind one little bit just eating cake, while she gives away a billion here and another few billion there; after all it's not her money.

Another Clinton supporter facing criminal charges.  Another prominent Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter is facing serious criminal charges.  Passaic, N.J., Mayor Samuel "Sammy" Rivera, recently named to Clinton's national Hispanic outreach team, was one of 11 Garden State politicians snared in a federal sting yesterday involving school contracts.

Is Hillary Clinton's star fading?  [Scroll down] Other news surfaced this week that was not good for Clinton, but this had more to do with her husband.  The Wall Street Journal had a piece detailing former President Bill Clinton's involvement in a "messy" investment deal involving his personal aide Douglas Band, Yucaipa Cos., an investment firm Clinton has served as "a partner and senior advisor," and Raffaello Follieri, a glitzy 20-something Italian businessman who likes to turn his personal contacts into cash.

Big Source of Clinton's Cash Is an Unlikely Address.  One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San Francisco International Airport.  Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee.

A Bundle of Trouble:  Take the Paw family of Daly City, Calif., which is headed by a mail carrier who makes $49,000 a year.  Members of the family have given almost $300,000 to politicians, including Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, since 2004, often on or about the same days that Mr. Hsu gave money.  The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether any Hsu donors were illegally reimbursed for their contributions.

Did someone mention Norman HSU?


Note:  Instead of creating a subsection about Yung Yuen "Norman" Hsu, I have moved all of the news and commentary about Hsu to this page.


Clinton Supporter Arrested in N.J. Corruption Sting.  It was the latest legal embarrassment involving an ally of the Clinton campaign, coming only one day after a wealthy Clinton donor, Norman Hsu, missed his court date in a California fraud case and apparently disappeared.

The phantom mayor:  Four of the last eight mayors [of Atlantic City, NJ] have been arrested.  One-third of last year's nine-member City Council is in prison or under house arrest.  Former Council President Craig Callaway is in federal prison for taking bribes in office.

Mayors, legislators arrested in New Jersey corruption probe.  Two mayors and two state legislators are among 11 public officials arrested in New Jersey as part of a corruption investigation, the U.S. attorney's office in Trenton announced Thursday [9/6/2007].  Prosecutors say the state officials accepted cash bribes — ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 at a time — from insurance brokerage and roofing companies and in return awarded the companies with public contracts.

Kenosha County executive indicted.  Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee on charges that he accepted $15,000 to $20,000 in bribes from millionaire Dennis Troha, according to court documents.  Disguised as campaign contributions, the cash was designed to reward Kehl's efforts to land an Indian casino in Kenosha, and other actions he took as the county's top elected official, the indictment charges.

Donors Stir 'Bundling' Questions.  When Hillary Rodham Clinton held an intimate fund-raising event at her Washington home in late March, Pamela Layton donated $4,600, the maximum allowed by law, to Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign.  But the 37-year-old Ms. Layton says she and her husband were reimbursed by her husband's boss for the donations.

State says food stamp boss looted $1.5 million.  A state food stamps supervisor in Plantation was arrested Friday afternoon [12/7/2007] on charges she diverted about $1.5 million in state welfare dollars — some of which was spent on a Lexus sport utility vehicle and a Lexus sedan or was spent gambling at local casinos, police say.  Violet Jones, 41, of Miramar, was charged Friday by agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with first-degree grand theft of more than $100,000, participating in an organized scheme to defraud, identity theft, official misconduct, unlawful compensation….

James Indicted on 25 Counts.  Sharpe James, who for two decades reigned as the mayor and indelible face of Newark, was charged yesterday [7/12/2007] with fraudulently billing the city for lavish vacations he took with female companions and arranging for one to buy valuable municipal land at a steep discount.  In an 86-page indictment, prosecutors and the FBI portrayed James as an elected official who considered no personal expense too great or too small for his city-issued credit cards, charging everything from movie tickets and meals at McDonald's to airfare and luxury hotels in five countries.

That wasn't bling on his wrists and ankles.  Mayor Sharpe James stepped into the courtroom carefully yesterday because his legs were in irons.  When he sat at the defense table, he put his hands on his lap, hiding his handcuffs from the overflow crowd that could hardly believe what they were witnessing.

Sweetheart deals for mayor's friend are key to charges.  Tamika Riley, a woman with a flair for fashion and an appetite for finery, appeared to be flat broke.  Her Newark clothing boutique had gone belly up.  She needed public assistance to help pay the rent on her Jersey City apartment.  She wanted a Mercedes, but her credit was so bad a friend had to sign the lease for her.  Then, in the late 1990s, she met Newark Mayor Sharpe James, and her fortunes turned.

Former N.J. mayor pleads not guilty.  Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James pleaded not guilty Monday to federal corruption charges stemming from the last few years of his two decades running city hall.  James, 71, faces multiple fraud counts accusing him of using city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal trips and expenses.

Sharpe James is due in federal court.  Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James is scheduled to appear in federal court today [2/26/2008] for the first of two federal corruption trials.

Judge upholds convictions of ex-Newark mayor.  A federal judge on Wednesday upheld the corruption convictions of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James and his one-time mistress, but indicated that James probably will get less than the 15- to 20-year prison sentence prosecutors are seeking.

Update:
 Former Newark Mayor Is Sentenced to 27 Months.  A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Sharpe James, Newark's towering yet controversial former mayor, to prison for 27 months at a simmering five-hour hearing in which he rebuked the prosecution for "heartlessly" adhering to a bureaucratic form of justice.

Culture of corruption continues in D.C..  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, for instance, is planning a lavish golf trip to a resort in Puerto Rico.  More than 100 rooms have been booked for the event, according to a report by American Public Media's "Marketplace."  Hoyer will be surrounded by lobbyists as they experience what the resort promises will be a "sensual awakening." ... Democrats were supposed to rein in the "culture of corruption," not hide it behind a curtain.

Puerto Rico Governor Charged in Probe.  A law enforcement official says Puerto Rico's governor has been charged in a long-running public corruption probe in the U.S. island territory.  A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday [3/27/2008] that Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment.

Finance filings show jet-setting on private groups' dime.  U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee traveled to Africa and Haiti last year on private groups' dime while a fellow Houston-area congressman, Ted Poe, stayed stateside. … Jackson Lee headed to Haiti in October as part of what the sponsor, The Institute of the Black World 21st Century, billed as a pilgrimage to bring economic revival to Milot, a town located at the base of a mountaintop fortress.

Detroit Mayor Loses Fight Over Secret Papers.  The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday [2/27/2008] ordered the release of a trove of documents that revealed how Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick of Detroit and city lawyers tried to cover up Mr. Kilpatrick's extramarital affair with his chief of staff, as well as text messages that could expose the mayor to perjury charges.

NJ Clean Energy Program Under Investigation.  New Jersey's Clean Energy Program (CEP), responsible for promoting energy conservation and the use of renewable energy in the state, is coming under heavy criticism for accounting irregularities, apparent cronyism, and gross mismanagement.  The latest salvo was fired on October 16 [2006] when Bob Ingle, the Trenton bureau chief for Gannett New Jersey newspapers, called for a stepped-up investigation of financial irregularities associated with the program.

Expanding probe hits office of governor.  The federal investigation of the state's secretive budget process reached into the governor's office yesterday, as prosecutors subpoenaed three years of records involving nearly $1 billion in special interest grants.  The subpoenas, covering the administrations of three governors, sought budget records, computer files, reports and letters to determine what the state's top elected officials knew about the so-called "Christmas tree" awards.

Bill's Ugly Buddy:  Payments from Scandal-tied Firm.  Every year since he left the White House, former President Bill Clinton has been paid by InfoUSA — an Omaha, Neb., company now identified as a key provider of databases that enable criminals to defraud the unsuspecting elderly.

Top Clinton Donor Helps Defraud Elderly.  The mainstream media coverage of a company being federally investigated for selling databases of sick and unsuspecting elderly to scam artists conveniently fails to mention that the firm's owner has given Bill and Hillary Clinton millions of dollars over the years.  The wealthy Nebraska entrepreneur, Vinod Gupta, owns the Omaha-based marketing database company called infoUSA Inc. which happens to be one of the nation's largest compilers of consumer information that is later sold to marketing firms.

Getting Out the Vote, Democrat Style.  It doesn't seem to matter to Democrats if the voters turn out to be fraudulent.  The history of the Democrat party in this regard is scandalous.  As far back as before the John F. Kennedy run for the presidency, the city of Chicago was known for its fraud.  The city was run by Democrats and used a reward system for voting Democrat.

Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleads guilty.  Former Ald. Arenda Troutman pleaded guilty to two federal counts this afternoon [8/6/2008], including admitting to taking bribes as an alderman.  Troutman could face up to 56 months in prison.

Ex-alderman pleads guilty to fraud charges.  After she was charged with corruption in early 2007, Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) defiantly denied wrongdoing and suggested she had been targeted for political reasons. … But on Wednesday [8/6/2008], a subdued Troutman admitted that prosecutors had been right after all and that for several years she had solicited cash from developers to back projects in her ward.

Felony charges filed against 7 in state's biggest case of voter-registration fraud.  King and Pierce County prosecutors filed felony charges today against seven people who allegedly committed the biggest voter-registration fraud in state history.  The defendants, who were paid employees and supervisors of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, concocted the scheme as an easy way to get paid, not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said.

ACORN falls again:  The worst case of voter-registration fraud in Washington state history.  Guess which left-wing group is at the center of the worst case of voter-registration fraud in Washington state history?  Yep, you guessed it:  ACORN.  The same ACORN tied to massive voter fraud in Missouri.  And Ohio.  And 12 other states.

Voter fraud charges deserve investigation.  They very well may be innocent coincidences, but voter confidence in the integrity of elections is too important to allow the Palm Beach County Republican Party's allegations of double-voting go without a thorough investigation.  Local party leaders say they found 60 instances in which people with the exact same name and birth date voted both in Palm Beach County and in New York in the November elections.

Ex-Mayor Avoids Jail Time Over Tax Case.  A federal judge rejected a request by prosecutors to send former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry to jail for violating his probation in a criminal tax case. … Barry, 71 and now on the District of Columbia Council, pleaded guilty in 2005 to misdemeanor charges for failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004.  As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to file future federal and local tax returns annually.

Judge ordered to consider effort to imprison Barry.  The District's chief federal judge yesterday [4/26/2007] overturned an earlier court ruling and ordered a magistrate judge to consider sending D.C. Council member Marion Barry to prison for failing to file his taxes.

New Mexico Governor Gets More Tainted Money.  Returning tainted campaign cash — only after being exposed by the media — has become an annual ritual for a Democratic governor who hopes to become the nation's next president.  New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who raised $6 million in the first quarter of his presidential campaign, gave about $24,000 to charities last year after it was made public that the money was donated by a shady securities broker implicated in a state kickback scheme.

Panel calls for suspension of Judge Nettles-Nickerson.  Ingham County Circuit Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson should be immediately suspended from the bench, a state panel says.  The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission on Wednesday [5/16/2007] released a 40-page complaint with a laundry list of charges of both official and unofficial misconduct.  It says Nettles-Nickerson did too little work, committed fraud in filing for divorce outside of Ingham County, had improper communications with attorneys with cases before her and showed a willingness to "play the race card" to her advantage.

Attorney Firing Precedent.  Democrats should be wary of pressing Bush too far because there is ample precedent on their own side of Democratic presidents who fired U.S. attorneys and other high-ranking officials just to halt investigations of their political allies.  For example, two Democratic presidents — Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman — worked for years to protect a notorious racketeer named Thomas Pendergast because he ran a Democratic machine in Missouri.

Hands Off My Fridge, Meathead.  This is not the commission's only questionable contract.  First 5 [an unelected commission to promote children's health that he's headed for six years] has received to date $800 million — about 20% — of the tobacco proceeds that Mr. Reiner convinced California voters to impose on themselves in a 1998 referendum.  Of this, the commission has awarded contracts totaling about $230 million to firms or individuals known to Mr. Reiner — some of them without competitive bidding.

Philadelphia Senator Vincent Fumo Indicted For Stealing From Charity.  The charges mark the third time that Vincent Fumo, a Democrat state senator from Philadelphia, is indicted in his storied political career.  In 1973 he was indicted for voter fraud and in 1980 for putting ghost employees on the state payroll, for which he was convicted.  In anticipation of his third indictment, Fumo resigned from a key senate committee post earlier this week.

Pennsylvania Senator Indicted on 139 Counts.  State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, one of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania politics, was indicted Tuesday [2/6/2007] on 139 federal counts alleging he used a nonprofit group for personal and political gain and defrauded the state Senate out of $1 million.  Many of the charges stem from Fumo's ties to a nonprofit agency in his South Philadelphia district. … The Philadelphia Democrat, who has beaten two previous indictments, promised to clear his name.

Ex-Party Boss in Brooklyn Guilty of Corruption.  Clarence Norman Jr., the deposed Democratic assemblyman and party leader from Brooklyn, was convicted today on charges that he shook down judicial candidates seeking party support, in his fourth corruption trial in two years.  In the latest case, Mr. Norman was found guilty of attempted grand larceny in the fourth degree by extortion; grand larceny in the third degree by extortion and coercion in the second degree.

Transcript of 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' on CNN:  The Democrats vow to take on the culture of corruption in Washington, but are they just part of it?  The Democratic congressman likely to head the committee that overseas the FBI budget is himself under investigation by the FBI.  And the congressman who was found with $90,000 in his freezer [is] headed for another term after being re-elected to the House.

Rep. Wright turns himself in following criminal indictment.  State Rep. Thomas Wright (D-NC) appeared before a Wake County magistrate Friday on six felony charges for illegally obtaining or misusing more than $350,000.

Identity of Edwards Home's Buyers Veiled.  When former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally succeeded last month in selling his imposing Georgetown mansion for $5.2 million after it had languished on the market, the names of the buyers were not publicly disclosed.  At the time, Edwards's spokeswoman told reporters that the house had been sold to an unidentified corporation.  In reality, the buyers were Paul and Terry Klaassen, according to several sources and confirmed by Edwards's spokeswoman yesterday [1/18/2007].

FBI Probing Edwards Senate Campaign Donor.  The FBI is investigating five-year-old contributions by the family of a Mississippi trial lawyer to former Democratic Sen. John Edwards.  The investigation into lawyer Paul Minor — part of a long-running and controversial federal case — has come to Washington in recent weeks, where four former fundraising aides to Edwards have spoken voluntarily to FBI agents.

Former Tennessee state senator found guilty of bribery.  A once-influential state senator arrested in a statewide corruption scandal that led to an overhaul of Tennessee ethics laws was convicted of taking bribes Friday and will likely serve time in federal prison.  Former Sen. John Ford, 64, was convicted of taking $55,000 in cash from what appeared to be a computer recycling outfit but was actually an FBI front company.

Memphis Democrat Roscoe Dixon convicted of extortion and payoffs.  A former state senator was convicted [June 2006] of extortion for taking payoffs from a fake company set up by the FBI to catch corrupt lawmakers.  Roscoe Dixon, a Memphis Democrat, was the first of five lawmakers charged in the case to go to trial.

Frankel misused money, grand jury finds.  A newly released section of a grand jury report says Mayor Lois Frankel misused city money to send a "personal political message" when she included an anti-Iraq war message in a city newsletter mailed to residents with their utility bills in September.

Former Arkansas governor hit with ethics complaint over destroyed hard drives.  Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ordered the destruction of a number of computer hard drives before leaving office last month, is now the subject of the ethics complaint because of his actions.  Hard drives in 83 computers and four servers were destroyed, according to Claire Bailey, director of the Arkansas Department of Information Systems (DIS).  She said that her office backed up information from the servers, but not the computers, and gave the backup tapes to Huckabee's former chief of staff.  The DIS apparently did not retain a copy of the data on the backup tapes.

You may not know this, but deleted computer files can be recovered.

Congressman Recuses Himself.  Rep. Alan Mollohan, under Justice Department investigation about whether he has benefited from directing federal funds to nonprofit groups he helped start, recused himself Wednesday [1/10/2007] from working on the department's budget.  The move came on the day Mollohan, D-W.Va., was named chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the department's budget.  At issue is at least $202 million of federal funding that Mollohan has steered to five nonprofit groups in his district -- with much of the money going to organizations run by people who contribute to the lawmaker's campaigns.

A sweet deal for 'official' felons.  James A. Traficant Jr., the former Democratic congressman convicted of racketeering and taking bribes, is wiling away prison time painting colorful pictures but also able to collect a congressional pension of nearly $40,000 a year.  He is one of about 20 former senators and congressmen with felony rap sheets who can receive the taxpayer-financed benefit.

Spouses who are lobbyists remain issue.  When Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., rose to the Senate floor last summer and passionately argued for keeping the federal estate tax, he left one person with an interest in retaining the tax unmentioned.  The multibillion-dollar life-insurance industry, which was fighting to preserve the tax because life insurers have a lucrative business selling policies and annuities to Americans for estate planning, has employed Dorgan's wife as a lobbyist since 1999.

Ex-attorney general Morales at S.A. halfway house.  Former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales has come home to San Antonio to serve out the remainder of a four-year sentence for his federal case related to the state's record settlement with the tobacco industry.  Morales was transferred last month from a federal prison in Texarkana to a halfway house in San Antonio, according to his brother, Michael Morales.

Katrina Activist Gets Probation.  An activist who has been a leader in efforts to rebuild a New Orleans neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Katrina was sentenced Wednesday [2/27/2008] to five years of probation for his role in a loan fraud scheme.

Nonprofit Connects Murtha, Lobbyists.  "It's a real tangled web between the congressman, the nonprofit, the defense contractors and the lobbyists," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group.  "It's hard to say where one stops and the others start."  Murtha declined to respond to numerous phone calls and e-mails from The Washington Post requesting comment.

"King Corruption" Reigns.  Republicans returning to the House floor on Friday morning Aug. 3 after their walkout the night before were surprised to find as presiding officer the Democrat they call "King Corruption":  Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, master of earmarks and backroom deals.

Earmarks and Congressional Corruption:  Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, recently reported that every private entity [Representative John] Murtha (D-PA) favored with an earmark in this year's defense bill has given money to his campaign in the last two years.  Political Action Committees (PACs) and employees of the 26 groups in Murtha's district that received Federal monies have contributed $413,250 to him, $100,750 of which was donated in the two weeks leading up to March 16, the original deadline for lawmakers to file their earmark requests.  Murtha rewarded these groups for their political contributions by allocating $114.5 million to them.

Murtha Intervenes for Company That Broke Export Law.  Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat known for delivering federal money to defense contractors in his district, is now going to bat for a constituent's company that was convicted last year of illegally exporting components of military equipment.

Ex-candidate to surrender law licenses.  Donovan Riley, a disgraced state Senate candidate, is paying a steep price for voting twice in the same election in 2000.  Riley, Democrat, agreed on Thursday [12/21/2006] to pay a $10,000 fine, surrender his law licenses in Wisconsin and Illinois and not practice law.  He must also return campaign contributions to supporters who request refunds in the next 30 days even if it means paying them from his personal funds.  He has 45 days to meet those conditions.

Senator's Indictment Causes Concern Among Democrats.  Although state Senator Efrain Gonzalez Jr. has represented the Bronx in the Legislature for 17 years, his name did not become widely known until Friday [8/25/2006] — and it was not for a legislative initiative, because there have been none, but for his indictment by the federal government.  Mr. Gonzalez, 58, is accused of looting a Bronx not-for-profit corporation, the West Bronx Neighborhood Association, for his personal benefit.  He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Bronx Would Make Plunkitt Proud.  George Washington Plunkitt, the state senator and Democratic Party leader of a century ago, would be proud.  Today's Bronx politicos have taken his concept of "honest graft" and kicked it up a notch.  As the Bronx continues to deteriorate, seemingly stuck in a permanent mode of decay and depression, political leaders find new ways to line their pockets as their constituents suffer.

Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. goes under the "pork" microscope.  The often discussed culture of corruption that engulfs Albany's body politic reared its very ugly head last week, when for the second time in less than a year Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., was indicted on corruption charges.  To be specific, Gonzalez has been charged, along with three others, with funneling more than $400,000 worth of taxpayer money through a network of not-for-profit organizations and then back to his own pocket.

Oregon lawmaker admits fast profit on land deal was 'mistake'.  State Sen. Betsy Johnson says she failed to disclose the sale of 36 acres of farmland near an airport in her home town of Scappoose just before she proposed a bill to promote special airport access.  Johnson bought the farm land for $635,000 in 2004.  Three months later, she sold the land to a developer for a $119,000 profit.

Florida Democrats rally around senator who is convicted felon.  Democrats in the Florida Senate are raising money to help re-elect fellow Democratic Sen. Gary Siplin, the Orlando legislator convicted earlier this year of felony grand theft.  Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller of Hallandale Beach and seven other Democratic senators are named as hosts on invitations that have been sent out to lobbyists and others for an evening fundraiser on Siplin's behalf.  The event will be at a bar a block from the Capitol when legislators return to Tallahassee next month for committee meetings.

Lawmaker:  Give Felons Voting Rights.  An unlikely lawmaker is taking the lead to change Florida law to restore voting rights to convicted felons.  Orlando state Sen. Gary Siplin [Democrat], a convicted felon himself, has sponsored Senate Bill 466, which automatically restores voting rights a year after the felon's sentence is completed. … State Sen. Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale, has sponsored identical legislation.

Nancy Pelosi May Not Be Only Democrat "Tuna Helper".  The largest employer in American Samoa is Del Monte Foods' StarKist Tuna, home to over 75% of the island's workforce.  Del Monte Foods, as it turns out, is headquartered in the District of the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  Smelling a whiff of impropriety, House Republicans have thrown up some serious questions about the exemption and who inserted it into the bill.

Senate's wage bill still exempts Samoa.  The Democrat-controlled Senate took up a bill yesterday [1/22/2007] that would raise the minimum wage across the United States and its territories but exempt American Samoa, where tuna canneries pay workers $3.26 an hour.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters less than two weeks ago that she would close the loophole after coming under criticism from Republicans for what they termed a "fishy favor" to StarKist Tuna.  StarKist has lobbied for years against raising the minimum wage in American Samoa, and its parent, Del Monte Corp., is based in Mrs. Pelosi's San Francisco district.

FNC Reports Speaker Pelosi's Star-Kist Gap in the Minimum Wage Hike.  Over at The Corner, Kathryn Jean Lopez reported GOP Reps. Eric Cantor and Patrick McHenry have found there's a loophole in the new minimum-wage increase:  no hike for American Samoa.  Why?  Star-Kist Tuna is a major employer there, with its headquarters in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district.  Will the media notice?

In '88, Pelosi Voted to Impeach Hastings — Will She Support Him Now?.  On August 3, 1988, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution, co-sponsored by Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers, to impeach Alcee Hastings, the federal judge in Florida accused of conspiring to take a bribe. … And now, because incoming Speaker Pelosi has apparently ruled out the appointment of next-in-line Rep. Jane Harman to chair the House Intelligence Committee, Hastings appears to be headed toward the top position on that panel — one of the most sensitive and responsible posts on Capitol Hill.

John Conyers's Glass House:  If it's not the Bush White House, it's the FBI; if it's not the NSA, it's the Justice Department.  Interrogation, surveillance, the Patriot Act — you name it, he's against it, and he's investigating it.  All this, and still he must find time to manage ethics investigations against … himself.

Speaker Pelosi's Ethics.  Ethics in politics is not the same as ethics in real life.  Ethics in politics is a martial art.  The biggest mistake you can make is thinking that the ethics package proposed by new Speaker Nancy Pelosi is mainly about "cleaning up" politics.  Maybe.  But it's first of all about cleaning the clocks of the Republicans.

Conyers accepts responsibility for possible ethics violations.  Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has "accepted responsibility" for possibly violating House rules by requiring his official staff to perform campaign-related work, according to a statement quietly released by the House ethics committee late Friday evening [12/29/2006].

Has Michigan passed its tipping point?  Case in point:  The president of Detroit City Council is quoted as telling WXYZ-Channel 7:  "I do not believe that the majority of the council members that I work with on a daily basis are criminals."  That's reassuring.  Another:  Kenneth Cockrel Jr.'s chief of staff is allegedly videotaped taking bribes.  The council's president pro tem — Monica Conyers, wife of the House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Detroit — is said to be under investigation by the FBI in connection with the probe.

Murtha Scandal Time Arrives.  Months before the midterm elections, this new media-anointed hero announced he would run for the post of House Majority Leader under a potential Speaker Pelosi.  During that time, Democrats were hammering a so-called Republican "culture of corruption," with Pelosi pledging to "drain the swamp" of the majority's ruinous ways in Washington.  But the national media didn't exactly wonder how Pelosi would square fighting corruption with installing someone thoroughly tainted with that odor of corruption — John Murtha.

Pelosi's message to voters?  Ethics, shmethics.  All of the exit polls in this month's election showed that there was one overwhelming issue on the minds of the voters who returned the Democrats to power in the House and Senate:  ethics — specifically, the Democratic charge of a Republican culture of corruption. … If the Pelosi-led House Democrats name [Alcee] Hastings as House Intelligence chairman — especially after Pelosi championed [John] Murtha for majority leader — the 2006 election victors will be torching the voters' mandate.

All Rise For Her Ethicalness.  "We are going to have the most ethical Congress in the nation's history."  So said House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi in the afterglow of the Democrats' Congressional election victory.  As it turns out, ethics are malleable.  They are in the eye of the beholder.  She pulled out all the stops last week to get the Democratic caucus to elect Rep. John Murtha as Majority Leader of the House.  Stories surfaced about Murtha's involvement in the Abscam caper of 1980.

Clinton Pardoned Hastings's Co-Conspirator.   — The convicted felon who went to jail rather than testify against Alcee Hastings.

Harry Reid Can't Bleed.  Democrats across America are measuring the drapes for the majority in the House and the Senate, preparing to swear in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  One of their major talking points this year has been the Republican majority's "culture of corruption." … The Democratic National Committee even had a page on their website devoted to the "Republican Culture of Corruption."  But that "Culture of Corruption" page on the DNC home page has disappeared.  Something funny happened on the way to the polls this year.  The Democrats have shown they have their own contemporary ethical problems.

Senator's expenses questioned.  Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has been using campaign funds instead of his personal money to pay Christmas bonuses for the support staff at the Ritz-Carlton, where he lives in an upscale condominium.  Federal election law bars candidates from converting political donations for personal use.

Reid Decides to Amend Ethics Reports.  Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid announced Monday [10/16/2006] he is amending his ethics reports to Congress to more fully account for a land deal that allowed him to collect $1.1 million for property he hadn't personally owned for three years.  Reid acted several days after The Associated Press reported the senator didn't disclose to Congress that he first sold the land to a friend's company back in 2001 and took an ownership stake in the company.

Reid of the Ritz.  Senator Reid, the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate, will reimburse his campaign fund for $3,300 that it spent on Christmas bonuses for workers at the Ritz-Carlton luxury condominium where he lives in Washington, the Associated Press reported yesterday.  Which raises the question:  The Ritz-Carlton?  The Democrats, who tout themselves as the party of the common man, are rapidly turning into the party of the plutocrats.

Head of Nation's Largest Municipal Labor Council Arrested in NYC.  A seven-term Democratic state assemblyman who also is president of the nation's largest municipal labor council was arrested on federal racketeering charges Tuesday, accused of stealing more than $2 million from the state, labor unions and even a Little League fund.

Small potatoes...
 Graham pleads guilty in DWI case.  Sen. Chuck Graham (D-Columbia, MO) pleaded guilty today in Fulton to driving while intoxicated and was fined $500.

Swift Boat Vets, Moveon.org, Conservation Group Fined $630,000.  Three groups that played a prominent role in the 2004 presidential election agreed to pay almost $630,000 in fines for campaign finance violations, the Federal Election Commission announced today [12/13/2006].  Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will pay $299,500, the League of Conservation Voter Fund $180,000 and Moveon.org Voter Fund $150,000.  They failed to register as political action committees as required for those campaigning for or against a particular candidate and thus should have been barred from accepting contributions greater than $5,000, the FEC said.

Democrats need to act on Black.  If state House Democrats look the other way in the latest Jim Black scandal, every single one of them should be voted out of office.  The Raleigh News & Observer uncovered the latest news about the House Speaker, and it's typical Black sleaze.  The newspaper reported Friday that Ann Lassiter, Black's coordinator for teenage House pages, was having some pages room with her son, a felon with a history of drug and alcohol problems.

Panel:  Leaked Gingrich call broke rules.  Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., violated ethics standards by giving reporters access to an illegally taped telephone call involving Republican leaders a decade ago, the House ethics committee said Monday [12/11/2006].  McDermott, who at the time was the panel's senior Democrat, failed to meet his obligations as a committee leader, said a report released two days after Congress adjourned for the year.  The panel took no action other than the report.

Marion Barry takes another crack.  Barry has continued to provide both drama and comedy in a seemingly endless (and loopy) loop.  Recently, it came to light that this big-government politician, who spends other people's money so easily, sort of forgot to pay most of his federal and city income taxes for the last six years.  Oops!  Barry is now free on bond pending his sentencing next month on the tax evasion charges.

The Democrats' Bad, Bad Boy:  Democrat Jim Moran's troubled and troubling career in government has gone largely unnoticed outside the Beltway.  The six-term congressman, up for re-election this fall, ought to be one of the media's top poster boys for abuse of power.

John Conyers And The Muslim Caucus.  The likely new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he's just fighting bigotry in leading a Democrat jihad to deny law enforcement key terror-fighting tools.  But he is in the pocket of Islamists.  John Conyers, son of a leftist Detroit union activist, represents the largest Arab population in the country.  His district includes Dearborn, Mich., nicknamed "Dearbornistan" by locals fed up with cultural encroachment and terror fears from a steady influx of Mideast immigrants.

Housing Authority sues ex-execs, alleging fraud.  The city Housing Authority filed a lawsuit Monday against its former executive director, Donald Smith, and a former assistant director, Lucille A. Loyce, alleging fraud and conspiracy stemming from contracts improperly steered to Loyce's friend Dwayne E. Williams II.  The problem was discovered by a federal audit in 2005.  Charles E. Slyngstad, an attorney for the agency, said the lawsuit seeks to recover an unspecified amount of improperly spent money that "is at least in the millions."

Senate hopes to hinge on corruption charges in N.J..  The same Democratic leaders who have long hoped to regain control of Congress by blasting a Republican "culture of corruption" are in danger of losing their shot at the Senate because of accusations of corruption against Sen. Robert Menendez.  What was expected to be an easy win for Democrats has become one of the nation's most hotly contested Senate races.

Reid Land Deal Not Sexy Enough for Front Page.  The news that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) failed to disclose a land deal that earned him $700,000 — three years after he sold the land to a friend's company — isn't "sexy" enough for front page news, according to one political analyst.

Reid Accepted Free Boxing Tickets While a Related Bill Was Pending.  Senate Democratic Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) accepted free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission to three professional boxing matches while that state agency was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing. … In an interview Thursday [5/25/2006] in his Capitol office, Reid defended his decisions to accept the tickets and to take several actions benefiting former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's clients and partners as they donated to him.

Update:
 Reid says he won't accept free tickets.  Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid learned that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas after all.

Donkeys misbehavin'.  A refreshing book, low in rhetoric and high in historical fact (with over 600 footnotes), Donkey Cons chronicles crime after crime committed by the Left and how its representatives are seemingly immune to judgment, never held accountable, and actually rewarded for their crimes by moving to some of the most powerful positions in the party (eg. Teddy Kennedy, Hill and Bill Clinton).

Hillary Clinton's Former Campaign Finance Director Indicted.  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's former finance director has been indicted on charges of filing fictitious reports that misstated contributions for a Hollywood fund-raising gala for the senator, the Justice Department said Friday [7/6/2007].  The indictment, rare for a political campaign, was unsealed in Los Angeles charging David Rosen with four counts of filing false reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Trustee:  Sen. Clinton's brother owes debts to carnival operators.  Tony Rodham, the brother of Democratic presidential contender Sen. Hillary Clinton, is being asked again to appear in court on debts owed to a Tennessee carnival operator whose owners received presidential pardons from President Bill Clinton.

Pardon Scandal Still Looms for Sen. Clinton's Brother.  A court-appointed bankruptcy trustee asked a federal judge this week to schedule a new court date in a case against Tony Rodham, the brother of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., accused of failing to repay $109,000 in loans from a carnival company whose owners received controversial pardons issued by President Bill Clinton in the last hours of his presidency.

Update:
 Clinton's Brother Near Legal Settlement.  A lawyer for the brother of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said he's confident he can avoid a trial next week and settle a lawsuit that accuses Tony Rodham of failing to repay debts to a Tennessee carnival operator.  That should be a relief to Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign since the case could have revived stories about how her brothers accepted money from people pardoned by her husband, President Bill Clinton.

How Hillary Became New York Senator.  Rabbi Twersky has never publicly commented about the sins of his community members and repeatedly turned down interviews to explain the scandal.  That visit launched a series of events that culminated in a controversial last-minute clemency action on behalf of New Square by outgoing President Clinton.  The decision by President Clinton to commute the sentences of four prominent New Square men who stole tens of millions from the federal government in a phony yeshiva scheme enraged law enforcement officials.

'Hooligans' nail O'Donnell's HQ.  Vandals hit Republican Rick O'Donnell's campaign headquarters sometime Tuesday night [10/03/2006], defacing a sign and littering the parking lot with nails.

GOP Congressman's N.J. Office Vandalized.  Authorities say Congressman Chris Smith's Hamilton offices were vandalized, possibly by a group who barged in to protest the Iraq war.  Some computers were damaged and others had wires disconnected.

Global Warming Hypocrites.  I've come to the conclusion that many of these people are mentally ill.  They won't accept any rational opposition, scientific or otherwise, that refutes the global warming theory.  Drew Johnson reported that after his organization first revealed Al Gore's electric bill to the general public, his group received a number of death threats.  Their computers were hacked.  Phoned obscenities were common.

Vandals spray paint GOP headquarters in Naples, Florida.  The Collier County Republican headquarters in downtown Naples was vandalized over the weekend with anti-war and anti-Bush slogans painted on the building's exterior. … "Democracy failed" was painted on the sidewalk directly outside the main entrance to the office and an anarchy symbol — a letter A in a circle — was painted on the door.

Woman acquitted of illegal poop use.  A former Democratic Party activist who left dog feces on the doorstep of U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's Greeley office during last year's 4th Congressional District campaign was found not guilty Wednesday of criminal use of a noxious substance.  A Weld County jury deliberated about two hours before acquitting Kathleen Ensz of the misdemeanor count.

Hillary's Texas Money Bundler.  [George Berham] Parr's most ominous pistolero was his six-gun totting enforcer, Luis Salas.  Days after the polls closed, Salas added 200 votes for [Lyndon] Johnson to Ballot Box 13 in Jim Webb County.  The fact that all the votes were recorded in the same handwriting was a clue.  But the box was never examined by those who adjudicated the election results; it had disappeared by then.  Revised returns gave Johnson a 3,000 vote margin of victory in Hidalgo County. … It all makes the chads and dimples show of South Florida look like child's play.

Report:  N.J. senator had no-work job.  The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey paid state Sen. Wayne Bryant, [Democrat] chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, $35,000 a year "to lobby himself in his capacity of state senator," according to the report of a federal monitor who had investigated the school's finances.

Geddings convicted of mail fraud.  Former North Carolina lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings, charged with failing to disclose his work for a leading supplier of scratch-off tickets and lottery systems, was convicted Thursday [10/12/2006] on federal mail fraud charges.

Moral corruption in Illinois:  Declaring the imposition of the death penalty to be "arbitrary, capricious — and immoral," Illinois' exiting, scandal-plagued Gov. George Ryan commuted the death sentence of every rapist-murderer and child-killer in the state.

Illinois Governor Condemns Ryan for Freeing Killers:  Gov. Rod Blagojevich said his disgraced predecessor, Republican George Ryan, was guilty of "gross injustice" for granting blanket clemency or pardons to all the prisoners on death row before he left office.

Jury Finds Former Ill. Gov. Ryan Guilty.  Former Gov. George Ryan was convicted of corruption Monday [4/17/2006] in the scandal that ended his political career in 2003 at the same time he was winning international acclaim for commuting the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row.

Ex-Governor, Now in Prison, Sees Case End.  The United States Supreme Court announced Tuesday [5/27/2008] that it would not hear an appeal by former Gov. George Ryan of Illinois of his 2006 racketeering and fraud conviction.  The decision ended the judicial process for Mr. Ryan, and hours later his lawyer said he would probably seek a commutation from President Bush of what is left of his more-than-six-year federal prison sentence.

House Democrat Committed 250 Ethics Violations, Group Says.  The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed a complaint with the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia on Feb. 28, alleging that [U.S. Rep. Alan] Mollohan failed to disclose and grossly underreported his assets, loans and interests in certain companies.

Shadow Warriors:  [Harold] Ickes watched with astonishment as the compassionate conservative became what he considers an extremist.  He was also stirred by a new campaign-finance law, passed by Congress in 2002, that banned the parties from raising "soft money" — i.e., huge contributions of up to a million dollars or more at a time.  Most Democrats supported the theory behind the lawÑnamely, that such donations (say, a million dollars from Denise Rich) risked a corrupting influence on officeholders (say, a Bill Clinton pardon for Marc Rich).

Patti's $47K Rezko deal.  [Illinois] Governor Blagojevich's wife got nearly $50,000 from a real estate deal in late 2002 involving Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a developer and former top Blagojevich political fund-raiser now under federal indictment.  In the following two months, the governor began giving friends of Rezko seats on influential state boards and began hiring former Rezko employees to upper-level state jobs.

Former Daley aide sentenced to 46 months in hiring fraud.  A former high-ranking aide to Mayor Richard M. Daley was sentenced Monday [11/20/2006] to almost four years in prison for engineering a fraud scheme to cover up political patronage hiring at City Hall.  Robert Sorich, 43, showed no emotion as federal Judge David H. Coar also fined him $10,000 and delivered a sharp tongue-lashing before imposing the minimum 46-month sentence federal guidelines prescribe.  "The offense is corruption — corruption with a capital C," Coar said.

NJ Clean Energy Program Under Investigation.  New Jersey's Clean Energy Program (CEP), responsible for promoting energy conservation and the use of renewable energy in the state, is coming under heavy criticism for accounting irregularities, apparent cronyism, and gross mismanagement.  The latest salvo was fired on October 16 when Bob Ingle, the Trenton bureau chief for Gannett New Jersey newspapers, called for a stepped-up investigation of financial irregularities associated with the program.

The Clinton Presidency:  The Most Corrupt in American History.  History does repeat itself.  On November 5, [1996] the American people re-elected Bill Clinton to a second term in the face of allegations of serious abuses of power by the President and members of his administration. … Partly — indeed, largely — due to the successful efforts of Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media to "stonewall" the issue, which they misleadingly called a question merely of "character."

Clinton Fund-Raiser Pleads Guilty to Felony Mail Fraud.  A top fund-raiser for Senator Clinton's 2000 campaign and self-described "dear friend" of President Clinton pleaded guilty to a felony mail fraud charge in federal court in Chicago yesterday [12/6/2006].  James Levin, 47, admitted to involvement in a scheme to convince contracting officials at the Chicago Public Schools that his fencing companies ... were subcontracting work to businesses owned by minorities or women when, in fact, Levin was simply paying those firms for use of their names.

Hillary Clinton's Culture of Corruption:  The Scandal Queen.  To see the shocking Scandal Index of the Clinton years, as compiled by the liberal Progressive Review is to appreciate the Clinton's 24/7/365 belief that any progress in their leftist domestic and foreign affairs agenda could only be realized through the most nefarious activity — much of which fit neatly into the criminal category.  Under the listing of "Records Set'" by the Clinton administration (read: co-presidency), Progressive Review cites the following, of which I will only list a sampling:
    ▪ Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates.
    ▪ Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation.
    ▪ Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify.
    ▪ Most number of witnesses to die suddenly.
    ▪ First president sued for sexual harassment.
    ▪ First president accused of rape.
    ▪ First president to be held in contempt of court.
    ▪ First president to be impeached for personal malfeasance.
    ▪ First first lady to come under criminal investigation.
    ▪ Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign-contribution case.
    ▪ Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions.

Virtual Fence = Virtual Corruption?  Speaker Pelosi's post-Hastings fallback choice to head the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, voted against building the 700 mile border fence.  He prefers a system of video surveillance cameras, apparently.  And gee, it seems that his daughter works for a firm that won a government contract to provide such surveillance services!

Father of Chelsea's Boyfriend in Prison for Fraud, Scams.  Ed Mezvinsky, a former Democratic Congressman from Iowa, is serving a seven-year sentence for fraud after getting caught up in a series of Nigerian e-mail scams. … Prosecutors say Mezvinsky used his connections to the Clintons and his son's social relationship with Chelsea to persuade people to give him money to participate in the scams.

Publish the Barrett report now.  At issue was the publication of a report by David Barrett, an independent counsel who has spent the better part of a decade looking into some of the most hair-raising allegations of presidential malfeasance in American history. ... [Barrett] was assigned the duty of looking into whether former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros committed tax fraud in trying to cover up payments to a former mistress.

Flashback to 2001:
 Survey shows 96% of respondents want IRS Commissioner Rossotti brought to justice.  An overwhelming number of respondents believe that IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti should be criminally prosecuted for conducting politically-motivated audits for the Clinton Administration.  IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti conducted several audits of Clinton's opponents, including women associated with [Clinton] and several non-profit conservative organizations.


The Sandy Berger subsection

Sandy's socks:  Surely it was an innocent mistake, former Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger's stuffing classified documents into his pants, jacket and perhaps even his socks before leaving the National Archives building last fall.  After all, what could he possibly have been trying to hide?

Sandy Berger gets off easy.  Recently the Bush Justice Department entered into a plea bargain with Sandy Berger, the now infamous former National Security Advisor to President Clinton, who admitted to stealing top secret documents from the National Archives, but only after he was caught red-handed.

Report Says Berger Hid Archive Documents.  Former national security adviser Sandy Berger removed classified documents from the National Archives in 2003 and hid them under a construction trailer, the Archives inspector general reported Wednesday [12/20/2006].  The report was issued more than a year after Berger pleaded guilty and received a criminal sentence for removal of the documents.

The latest:
 Clinton aide forfeits law license in Justice probe.  Samuel R. Berger, the Clinton White House national security adviser who was caught taking highly classified documents from the National Archives, has agreed to forfeit his license to practice law.

Bergergate, &c.  Call me a right-wing paranoid — it's been done before! — but I think that, if Sandy Berger were a conservative Republican, the story of his criminality would be a really, really big deal.  Bear in mind that the man was national security adviser. … If Berger were a Republican, the word "Nixonian" would be making a big, big comeback — at a minimum.

Berger took papers to a hiding place.  The National Archives Office of Inspector General said that during a 2003 visit to the facility, Mr. Berger left the building unescorted for a break, during which time he "placed the documents under a trailer in an accessible construction area outside Archives 1 (the main Archives building)."  The report said Mr. Berger acknowledged that he later retrieved the documents from the construction area and brought them to his office.

Report should be cure for nostalgia for Clinton crew.  Although Democrats enjoy impugning the integrity of the current president and his administration, the ethical lows achieved by his predecessor, Bill Clinton, and his motley crew of senior advisers still cast the current administration, for all its foibles, in a favorable light.  [And now] along comes former national security adviser Sandy Berger to remind us of how "ethically challenged" they were.

Davis won't give up probe into Berger-Archives case.  The outgoing chairman of the House Government Reform Committee says questions remain about former National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger's removal of classified documents from the National Archives and pledged yesterday [12/21/2006] to get the answers. … Describing the material removed as "code-word documents," meaning only a limited number of people had access to them, Mr. Davis said Mr. Berger's conduct in hiding the papers "exposed this country to more serious national security breaches than previously thought."

Networks Spike Revelations About Berger's Pilfering of Secret Papers.  Despite the colorful details about how Sandy Berger cut the documents, about the Clinton administration's reaction to terrorist threats in 1999, into small pieces, the broadcast networks weren't interested Thursday morning or evening [12/21/2006] even though the report discredits Berger's claims he simply accidentally mishandled the documents.

[There are more examples of suppressed news items on this page.]

Classified Info.  With the release of an internal investigation last week, we now know that former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger not only knowingly flouted laws for handling classified documents, but he went to incredible lengths to cover his tracks and thwart investigators.  While Mr. Berger's "punishment" was a pittance of a fine, former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin has been financially ruined and sentenced to 12½ years for passing along far less-classified information to unauthorized third parties.

What did Berger destroy?  If you forgot to make a New Year's resolution, or are still trying to decide on one, let me suggest that you resolve to devote a little time this year to solving the mystery of Sandy Berger and the Destroyed Documents.  Pressure on Berger is what is needed, and the united voices of several thousand outraged Americans would provide it.

Thanks a lot, Bill.
 Bill Clinton authorized Sandy Berger's access.  President Bill Clinton signed a letter authorizing former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger's access to classified documents that later came up missing, according to a newly released investigation report by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Damage from Berger's theft understated, Davis says.  Samuel R. Berger's theft of documents from the National Archives compromised national security "much more than originally disclosed" and resulted in "incomplete and misleading" information being given to the September 11 commission, says the former chairman of the House Government Reform Committee.  "It is now also clear that Mr. Berger was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to compromise national security, apparently for his own convenience," Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, Virginia Republican, said yesterday [1/9/2007].

The Berger Files:  The more we learn about Sandy Berger's brilliant career as a document thief, the clearer it becomes that there is plenty we still don't know and may never learn.  On Tuesday [1/9/2007], the House Government Reform Committee released its report on Mr. Berger's pilfering of classified documents from the National Archives.  The committee's 60-page report makes it clear that Mr. Berger knew exactly what he was doing and knew that what he was doing was wrong.

Why Does Trousergate Go Ignored?  A House Oversight Committee report details the real and potential damage to national security of Sandy Berger's theft and destruction of classified documents.  And we may never know what was in them.  The report released this week by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee shows, as ranking Republican member Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia put it, how former Clinton National Security Adviser Berger "compromised national security much more than originally disclosed."

Bad News for Berger.  There have been many distinguished former government officials who lived to write their version of the history they participated in.  Sandy Berger is the rare government official who has lived to erase history.  A polygraph test might reveal how much history he erased.  Berger's lawyer, a veteran Clinton smog artist, Lanny Breuer, insists there is no "evidence" that his client did anything wrong.  That is classic Clinton obfuscation.  Berger was caught stealing classified documents from the National Archives.  For a former national security adviser to do such a thing is without precedent.

The Secret Sandy Risked His All For.  If not the most skillful of embezzlers, Samuel "Sandy" Berger is a far more formidable character than the media would have us believe.  When he made his now storied sorties into the National Archives, he risked his career and his reputation in so doing, and he knew it.  Rest assured, he would not have done so were the secrets to be preserved not worth the risk of pilfering them.  True to form, the major media refuse to even ask the most fundamental question:  just what secrets would justify so much personal exposure.

Berger Should Take Promised Polygraph.  Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform mailed a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week asking the Department of Justice to administer a polygraph test to former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger.  Berger agreed to a polygraph in 2005 when he pleaded guilty to removing highly classified documents from the National Archives.  Justice department lawyers should take advantage of the plea deal because questions remain about what other documents he may have removed.

Socks, Scissors, Paper:  The Sandy Berger Caper.  Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., is charging a cover-up by the Justice Department in connection with the 2003 theft and destruction of top secret documents by Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger.  Davis also told FOX News that he is not convinced that Berger was not acting under direction from the Clinton Administration.

Another Pants Check.  Last we heard of Sandy Berger, Bill Clinton's national security adviser, he was being fined and placed on probation for stealing top-secret documents.  Is there more to this tale of purloined papers?  Rep. Tom Davis thinks there is.

The End of the Line for the Sandy Berger Investigation.  Berger's voluntary disbarment has nothing to do with the Justice Department or Capitol Hill.  It is entirely the result of Berger's desire to head off an investigation by the District of Columbia Bar.  By giving up his license voluntarily, before an investigation was set to begin, Berger effectively closed another probe into his activities.

Document(ed) Thief.  By voluntarily surrendering his law license, Clinton White House aide Sandy Berger has avoided cross-examination in Trouser-gate.  This is the behavior of a man who's still hiding something.

Sandy Berger gives up law license.  Sandy Berger, who served as national security adviser during the Clinton administration, has given up his license to practice law in the District of Columbia, two years after admitting he illegally sneaked classified documents out of the National Archives. … Berger had only copies of documents; all the originals remain in the government's possession.

The Editor says...
 Oh, really?  Previous reports indicated that he had destroyed original documents, and suggested that we may never know what he took.

Update:  Mr. Berger is still one of Hillary Clinton's advisors.


Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Mayor Kilpatrick, chief of staff lied under oath, text messages show.  Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff lied about their relationship last summer at a police whistle-blower trial that has cost the cash-strapped city more than $9 million, according to records obtained by the Free Press.  The false testimony potentially exposes them to felony perjury charges, legal experts say.

Detroit Mayor Decries Media "Lynch Mob".  Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick lashed out at his opponents and the news media Tuesday night [3/11/2008], accusing them of showing a "lynch mob mentality" in the aftermath of the scandal over his exchange of sexually explicit text messages with a former top aide.

Detroit mayor swamped with calls for resignation.  The walls are crumbling for embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is under increasing pressure to resign over his role in a police whistleblower settlement scandal that many say is paralyzing the already struggling city.  High-profile critics have been lining up to call for Mr. Kilpatrick's resignation.

Stalemate in Detroit:  City Council Asks Mayor to Resign, but He Refuses to Go.  The City Council on Tuesday asked Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick to resign in light of evidence that he had lied under oath and plotted to cover up an extramarital affair with his former chief of staff.  The 7-to-1 Council vote is not binding, and Mr. Kilpatrick has vowed to remain in office.

Detroit Mayor Charged With Perjury.  Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star and Detroit's youngest elected leader, was charged Monday [3/24/2008] with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages contradicted his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.  Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also charged the popular yet polarizing 37-year-old mayor with obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.

Texts, Lies and the Mayor of Detroit.  It's been an unusual season of political sex scandals, but Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's is particularly lurid:  there are allegations of parties featuring strippers at the mayoral mansion and explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and his alleged mistress who was, until recently, his chief of staff.

Backers Act to Aid Detroit Mayor.  Supporters of Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who was charged Monday with obstruction of justice, perjury and other felonies, have begun soliciting donations to help him pay for a defense team that promises to be expensive. … "Just because people accuse you of things and charge you with things doesn't mean you're guilty," [Rev. Horace L.] Sheffield said.

The Editor says...
 I beg to differ, "Reverend," but very few felony trials end in acquittal. [1] [2]  It's much more likely that he'll enter into a plea bargain.

His Arrogance, Not His Honor.  As the saga of felony-indicted Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit continues, it comes as no surprise that he's utterly unwilling to even consider resigning for the good of the city and the surrounding, economically depressed region.  But what has now added insult to injury is that some of Kilpatrick's well-heeled friends have "stepped up" to establish a defense fund for the embattled and indefensible mayor.

Indicted mayor refused by Detroit council.  The City Council delivered a stinging rebuke to embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Monday, telling the mayor it would not accept his budget recommendation.  It was the first time Kilpatrick had come before the City Council since it voted 7-1 last month to ask him to resign….

Kilpatrick:  Ousting me would be danger to city.  Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said today [4/18/2008] that he should remain in office because the alternative would put a city and state in economic turmoil even more at risk.

A moment of truth for Detroit.  Federal agents appear quite deep into an investigation of unknown scope that has already reached the point of informants passing money on hidden video, and at least one high-ranking staffer resigning under a cloud of suspicion.  And, of course, the city labors under the rule of a renegade executive too arrogant and immature to step down in the wake of serial misconduct on his part.

Jailed Kilpatrick faces more charges for allegedly shoving cop.  Shortly after Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wakes up in jail Friday morning [8/8/2008] — still reeling from becoming the first sitting mayor in Detroit's 307-year history to spend a night behind bars — Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is expected to charge him with felony assault.

Judge:  Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to Stand Trial in Assault Case.  A judge ruled Friday [8/15/2008] there is enough evidence for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to stand trial on two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation with two investigators.  The investigators testified that an angry Kilpatrick shoved one of them into the other and made racial remarks while they were trying to deliver a subpoena in the mayor's perjury case to a Kilpatrick friend last month.


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