I just can't quite give it up.
Even on vacation, a story about disclosure catches my eye, In the New Mexican on Saturday, it's noted that the Santa Fe City Council wants earlier and more complete campaign finance disclosure. If the Santa Fe City Council adopts recommendations made earlier this week by the city Ethics and Campaign Review Board, candidates would have to report earlier than ever before. Many believe it would help educate the early voters. And yes, another recommendation adopted by the City Council is to encourage electronic filing.
Continue readingA Question for Hastert
Speaker Hastert's contention that this land dealings were not in the least bit impacted by the Prairie Parkway strikes me as a little bizarre. Consider this, from the Courier News:
The speaker told a Washington reporter Thursday that the land he sold is more than five miles away from the proposed 36-mile outer beltway. "So, it has nothing to do with the Prairie Parkway," Hastert said.So, if being five miles away (actually three, as the same story later indicates) means a prospective homeowner and commuter will reap no benefit whatsoever from the parkway, why are taxpayers spending $207 million to build it? Continue reading
Open Letter To Speaker Hastert’s Lawyer
I just emailed the following to Randall Evans, counsel to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert: J. Randolph Evans McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP 1900 K Street NW Washington DC, 20006-1108 Dear Mr. Evans: A full two days have passed since you accused us, in publishing details of Speaker Hastert's use of an undisclosed trust to transact land deals in Plano, Ill., of "intentional and wilful (sic) conduct" "designed to injure the reputation of Speaker Hastert," demanded that our "false, libelous and defamatory matter be immediately withdrawn and corrected," and added that "[a]ll available remedies will be pursued for such conduct."
Continue readingBloggers Pick Up Hastert Land Deal Story:
Bill Allison’s story on Dennis Hastert’s land deal has shot off of the pages of Sunlight and out into the blogosphere. Needless to say we’re jumping out of our socks at Sunlight. We know there are thousands of investigators out there, and so much of what we want to do is provide the foothold for them to soar from, creating transparency whether Congress does it voluntarily or not. The blogosphere has picked up the story and is running with it, adding new information, graphic illustrations, and hearty debate. But first don’t forget to read Bill’s original piece and his numerous follow-ups.
Continue readingJefferson Booted Off of Committee:
The full House voted unanimously to strip Rep. [sw: William Jefferson] (D-Louis.) of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.
Continue readingDaylight AM:
- Yesterday the House Homeland Security Committee held hearings on a contract that was awarded to Shirlington Limousine, the limo service allegedly used to ferry prostitutes to [sw: Duke Cunningham] and others, and discoverd that Cunningham had pressed the Department of Homeland Security to ink a contract with the company and that Shirlington had offered its services to DHS prior to receiving a contract. Homeland Security states that they can not find the letter of recommendation from Cunningham. Paul Kiel at TPM Muckraker reports that a grand jury is looking into Shirlington's DHS contract. Ken Silverstein connects the multiple appropriations scandals in one sentance: "Recall also that Jerome Foster, one of the company's directors, is another defense contractor who was represented by the same lobby shop as Brent Wilkes—the firm of former congressman Bill Lowery (who, coincidentally, is very close to Congressman Jerry Lewis, currently under federal investigation, as I have previously discussed)."
- The Democratic caucus voted 99-58 to strip Rep. [sw: William Jefferson] (D-Lou.) of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee, a move prompted by revelations that he allegedly solicited bribes in a wide-ranging conspiracy to use his position in Congress to illegally broker deals with African countries. The "no" votes were comprised primarily of the Congressional Black Caucus with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus joining to vote against the Minority Leader's push to remove Jefferson. Minority Leader [sw: Nancy Pelosi] (D-Calif.) stated: "This isn't about proof in a court of law. It's about an ethical standard ... what is acceptable public behavior for a public servant."
- The City of Redlands, California is considering dropping Copeland Lowery as their lobbying firm after having their records subpoenaed in the federal investigation into the practices of the lobbying firm and the practices of Appropriations Chairman [sw: Jerry Lewis] (R-Calif.). Meanwhile, the City of San Bernardino is mum on whether they have been served a subpoena in the investigation. So far, eight subpoenas have been confirmed by cities, municipalities, and a university.
Hastert’s Inadequate Disclosure
Let's assume, for a moment, that the line that House Speaker Dennis Hastert has taken, on display here for example, that his land deals in Kendall County are entirely unconnected with the Prairie Parkway (a point we certainly don't concede), and see whether it's a sufficient defense. Our story about Hastert revealed that he was conducting land transactions through a trust which he did not reveal on his annual financial disclosure form. We pointed out that the information he provided about his land investments was insufficient to locate the property. (The House Ethics manual states, "Disclosure of real property should include a description sufficient to permit its identification (e.g., street address or plat and map location)." We suggested that this inadequate disclosure prevented his constituents from knowing that he was selling land to real estate developers. And finally, we noted that Hastert has justified the Prairie Parkway to constituents by casting it as a solution to the problems created by growth.
Continue readingHow Many Miles Separate Hastert’s Earmark and Investment?
Over at Think Progress, commenter Pale Rider (who's apparently much more technically sophisticated than I) uses technology to arrive at pretty much the same measurement I got (about 2.6 miles) using my thumb, index finger, and squinty eye and paper maps to determine the distance from the site of Hastert's investment property and the point where the proposed Prairie Parkway corridor would bisect Galena Road:
Continue readingDaylight PM:
- Rep. [sw: William Jefferson] (D-LA) has a lot of friends and Ken Silverstein at the Harper's.org blog has brought them all together in one place. His friends in the Capitol may be dwindling as the Democratic Caucus is voting right now to decide whether Jefferson will be removed from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee. Two of the most powerful members of the Congressional Black Caucus, [sw: Charlie Rangel] (D-NY) and [sw: John Lewis] (D-GA), have broken ranks with the CBC, staunch backers of Jefferson, and will vote to remove the troubled congressman from the tax-writing committee.
- The Hill documents the powerful defense industry lobby and their congressional connections. The PMA Group stands out for honorable mention as one of those lobby shops that is filled with former congressional staffers. Don't forget this little piece about [sw: Pete Visclosky]'s ties to PMA.
- What you say on the campaign trail, stays on the campaign trail. That seems to be the motto for the newest Congress critter, [sw: Brian Bilbray] (R-CA). According to the Club for Growth blog, Bilbray, who holds the infamous Duke Cunningham seat, denounced earmarking on the campaign trail and called for greater transparency. But yesterday Bilbray voted against all of Jeff Flake's challenges to earmarks in the Transportation-HHS Appropriations bill.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt likes to fly. Mike Leavitt likes to fly on luxury jets that are only intended to be used for emergency purposes. Did I mention Mike Leavitt likes to fly?
How We Did It
Yesterday, Sunlight's Bill Allison revealed what House Speaker Dennis Hastert didn't (but should have). Hastert has used a secret trust to sell land to real estate developers, adding to the growth and sprawl he's cited as justifying the Prairie Parkway for which he's secured a $207 million earmark.
Hastert's spokesmen are now claiming that his disclosure forms went above and beyond the requirements of lawmakers, and that he identified the location of the properties.
Here's what Allison had to go through to find out where Hastert's land was. See for yourself whether he "...include[d] a description sufficient to permit its identification (e.g., street address or plat and map location)," as the House Ethics Manual requires.
Continue reading
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