R
Raymond
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
"I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning
religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the
monkey's."
- Mark Twain in Eruption
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
"I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning
religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the
monkey's."
- Mark Twain in Eruption
