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http://www.judicialwatch.org/judici...on-s-ten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-2007
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.
~~~~
FACE
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.
~~~~
FACE
