J
John
Guest
Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt
Politicians" for 2007
Washington, DC -Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates
and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2007 list of
Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." The list, in
alphabetical order, includes:
1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): In addition to her long and
sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 -
and rightly so - for blocking the release her official White House records.
Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related
to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March
2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for
filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And
Hillary's top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a
fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilt to one count of grand
theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi
scheme.
2. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI): Conyers reportedly repeatedly violated the
law and House ethics rules, forcing his staff to serve as his personal
servants, babysitters, valets and campaign workers while on the government
payroll. While the House Ethics Committee investigated these allegations in
2006, and substantiated a number of the accusations against Conyers, the
committee blamed the staff and required additional administrative
record-keeping and employee training. Judicial Watch obtained documentation
in 2007 from a former Conyers staffer that sheds new light on the activities
and conduct on the part of the Michigan congressman, which appear to be at a
minimum inappropriate and likely unlawful. Judicial Watch called on the
Attorney General in 2007 to investigate the matter.
3. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID): In one of the most shocking scandals of
2007, Senator Craig was caught by police attempting to solicit sex in a
Minneapolis International Airport men's bathroom during the summer. Senator
Craig reportedly "sent signals" to a police officer in an adjacent stall
that he wanted to engage in sexual activity. When the police officer showed
Craig his police identification under the bathroom stall divider and pointed
toward the exit, the senator reportedly exclaimed 'No!'" When asked to
produce identification, Craig presented police his U.S. Senate business card
and said, "What do you think of that?" The power play didn't work. Craig
was arrested, charged and entered a guilty plea. Despite enormous pressure
from his Republican colleagues to resign from the Senate, Craig refused.
4. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA): As a member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on military construction, Feinstein
reviewed military construction government contracts, some of which were
ultimately awarded to URS Corporation and Perini, companies then owned by
Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum. While the Pentagon ultimately awards
military contracts, there is a reason for the review process. The Senate's
subcommittee on Military Construction's approval carries weight. Sen.
Feinstein, therefore, likely had influence over the decision making process.
Senator Feinstein also attempted to undermine ethics reform in 2007, arguing
in favor of a perk that allows members of Congress to book multiple airline
flights and then cancel them without financial penalty. Judicial Watch's
investigation into this matter is ongoing.
5. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY): Giuliani came under fire in
late 2007 after it was discovered the former New York mayor's office "billed
obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses
amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship
with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons." ABC News also reported
that Giuliani provided Nathan with a police vehicle and a city driver at
taxpayer expense. All of this news came on the heels of the federal
indictment on corruption charges of Giuliani's former Police Chief and
business partner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting a
$165,000 bribe in the form of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a
construction company attempting to land city contracts.
6. Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR): Governor Huckabee enjoyed a meteoric
rise in the polls in December 2007, which prompted a more thorough review of
his ethics record. According to The Associated Press: "[Huckabee's] career
has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions
about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use
of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of
state computer files on his way out of the governor's office." And what was
Governor Huckabee's response to these ethics allegations? Rather than
cooperating with investigators, Huckabee sued the state ethics commission
twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.
7. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby: Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice
President Dick Cheney, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined
$250,000 for lying and obstructing the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.
Libby was found guilty of four felonies -- two counts of perjury, one count
of making false statements to the FBI and one count of obstructing justice -
all serious crimes. Unfortunately, Libby was largely let off the hook. In
an appalling lack of judgment, President Bush issued "Executive Clemency" to
Libby and commuted the sentence.
8. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL): A "Dishonorable Mention" last year,
Senator Obama moves onto the "ten most wanted" list in 2007. In 2006, it
was discovered that Obama was involved in a suspicious real estate deal with
an indicted political fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko. In 2007, more
reports surfaced of deeper and suspicious business and political connections
It was reported that just two months after he joined the Senate, Obama
purchased $50,000 worth of stock in speculative companies whose major
investors were his biggest campaign contributors. One of the companies was
a biotech concern that benefited from legislation Obama pushed just two
weeks after the senator purchased $5,000 of the company's shares. Obama was
also nabbed conducting campaign business in his Senate office, a violation
of federal law.
9. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised a
new era of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, snuck a $25
million gift to her husband, Paul Pelosi, in a $15 billion Water Resources
Development Act recently passed by Congress. The pet project involved
renovating ports in Speaker Pelosi's home base of San Francisco. Pelosi
just happens to own apartment buildings near the areas targeted for
improvement, and will almost certainly experience a significant boost in
property value as a result of Pelosi's earmark. Earlier in the year, Pelosi
found herself in hot water for demanding access to a luxury Air Force jet to
ferry the Speaker and her entourage back and forth from San Francisco
non-stop, in unprecedented request which was wisely rejected by the
Pentagon. And under Pelosi's leadership, the House ethics process remains
essentially shut down - which protects members in both parties from
accountability.
10. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV): Over the last few years, Reid has been
embroiled in a series of scandals that cast serious doubt on his credibility
as a self-professed champion of government ethics, and 2007 was no
different. According to The Los Angeles Times, over the last four years,
Reid has used his influence in Washington to help a developer, Havey
Whittemore, clear obstacles for a profitable real estate deal. As the
project advanced, the Times reported, "Reid received tens of thousands of
dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore." Whittemore also hired
one of Reid's sons (Leif) as his personal lawyer and then promptly handed
the junior Reid the responsibility of negotiating the real estate deal with
federal officials. Leif Reid even called his father's office to talk about
how to obtain the proper EPA permits, a clear conflict of interest.
Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Judicial Watch
neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office. For more
information, visit www.judicialwatch.org.
Politicians" for 2007
Washington, DC -Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates
and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2007 list of
Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." The list, in
alphabetical order, includes:
1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): In addition to her long and
sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 -
and rightly so - for blocking the release her official White House records.
Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related
to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March
2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for
filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And
Hillary's top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a
fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilt to one count of grand
theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi
scheme.
2. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI): Conyers reportedly repeatedly violated the
law and House ethics rules, forcing his staff to serve as his personal
servants, babysitters, valets and campaign workers while on the government
payroll. While the House Ethics Committee investigated these allegations in
2006, and substantiated a number of the accusations against Conyers, the
committee blamed the staff and required additional administrative
record-keeping and employee training. Judicial Watch obtained documentation
in 2007 from a former Conyers staffer that sheds new light on the activities
and conduct on the part of the Michigan congressman, which appear to be at a
minimum inappropriate and likely unlawful. Judicial Watch called on the
Attorney General in 2007 to investigate the matter.
3. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID): In one of the most shocking scandals of
2007, Senator Craig was caught by police attempting to solicit sex in a
Minneapolis International Airport men's bathroom during the summer. Senator
Craig reportedly "sent signals" to a police officer in an adjacent stall
that he wanted to engage in sexual activity. When the police officer showed
Craig his police identification under the bathroom stall divider and pointed
toward the exit, the senator reportedly exclaimed 'No!'" When asked to
produce identification, Craig presented police his U.S. Senate business card
and said, "What do you think of that?" The power play didn't work. Craig
was arrested, charged and entered a guilty plea. Despite enormous pressure
from his Republican colleagues to resign from the Senate, Craig refused.
4. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA): As a member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on military construction, Feinstein
reviewed military construction government contracts, some of which were
ultimately awarded to URS Corporation and Perini, companies then owned by
Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum. While the Pentagon ultimately awards
military contracts, there is a reason for the review process. The Senate's
subcommittee on Military Construction's approval carries weight. Sen.
Feinstein, therefore, likely had influence over the decision making process.
Senator Feinstein also attempted to undermine ethics reform in 2007, arguing
in favor of a perk that allows members of Congress to book multiple airline
flights and then cancel them without financial penalty. Judicial Watch's
investigation into this matter is ongoing.
5. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY): Giuliani came under fire in
late 2007 after it was discovered the former New York mayor's office "billed
obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses
amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship
with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons." ABC News also reported
that Giuliani provided Nathan with a police vehicle and a city driver at
taxpayer expense. All of this news came on the heels of the federal
indictment on corruption charges of Giuliani's former Police Chief and
business partner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting a
$165,000 bribe in the form of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a
construction company attempting to land city contracts.
6. Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR): Governor Huckabee enjoyed a meteoric
rise in the polls in December 2007, which prompted a more thorough review of
his ethics record. According to The Associated Press: "[Huckabee's] career
has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions
about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use
of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of
state computer files on his way out of the governor's office." And what was
Governor Huckabee's response to these ethics allegations? Rather than
cooperating with investigators, Huckabee sued the state ethics commission
twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.
7. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby: Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice
President Dick Cheney, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined
$250,000 for lying and obstructing the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.
Libby was found guilty of four felonies -- two counts of perjury, one count
of making false statements to the FBI and one count of obstructing justice -
all serious crimes. Unfortunately, Libby was largely let off the hook. In
an appalling lack of judgment, President Bush issued "Executive Clemency" to
Libby and commuted the sentence.
8. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL): A "Dishonorable Mention" last year,
Senator Obama moves onto the "ten most wanted" list in 2007. In 2006, it
was discovered that Obama was involved in a suspicious real estate deal with
an indicted political fundraiser, Antoin "Tony" Rezko. In 2007, more
reports surfaced of deeper and suspicious business and political connections
It was reported that just two months after he joined the Senate, Obama
purchased $50,000 worth of stock in speculative companies whose major
investors were his biggest campaign contributors. One of the companies was
a biotech concern that benefited from legislation Obama pushed just two
weeks after the senator purchased $5,000 of the company's shares. Obama was
also nabbed conducting campaign business in his Senate office, a violation
of federal law.
9. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised a
new era of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, snuck a $25
million gift to her husband, Paul Pelosi, in a $15 billion Water Resources
Development Act recently passed by Congress. The pet project involved
renovating ports in Speaker Pelosi's home base of San Francisco. Pelosi
just happens to own apartment buildings near the areas targeted for
improvement, and will almost certainly experience a significant boost in
property value as a result of Pelosi's earmark. Earlier in the year, Pelosi
found herself in hot water for demanding access to a luxury Air Force jet to
ferry the Speaker and her entourage back and forth from San Francisco
non-stop, in unprecedented request which was wisely rejected by the
Pentagon. And under Pelosi's leadership, the House ethics process remains
essentially shut down - which protects members in both parties from
accountability.
10. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV): Over the last few years, Reid has been
embroiled in a series of scandals that cast serious doubt on his credibility
as a self-professed champion of government ethics, and 2007 was no
different. According to The Los Angeles Times, over the last four years,
Reid has used his influence in Washington to help a developer, Havey
Whittemore, clear obstacles for a profitable real estate deal. As the
project advanced, the Times reported, "Reid received tens of thousands of
dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore." Whittemore also hired
one of Reid's sons (Leif) as his personal lawyer and then promptly handed
the junior Reid the responsibility of negotiating the real estate deal with
federal officials. Leif Reid even called his father's office to talk about
how to obtain the proper EPA permits, a clear conflict of interest.
Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Judicial Watch
neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office. For more
information, visit www.judicialwatch.org.
