Back when word first broke of some of the excesses of the Jack Abramoff scandal--particularly the trips he arranged and paid for in violation of House rules (lobbyists aren't supposed to pay for trips)--I can remember thinking that that aspect of it wasn't a particularly big deal. It didn't much matter whether the tickets were paid for with a credit card issued by Abramoff's lobbying shop or from the treasury of a nonprofit or a trade group or a corporation--the intent of the sponsors of the trips is what matters, and that intent is, generally speaking, to influence the policy views of a member of Congress by gaining access to a member or a staffer.
Continue reading“I Was Just F-ing Kidding!”:
I guess Jim Moran (D-VA) was just joking about "earmarking the s_it out of" Appropriations bills if he were to become chair of the Approps Committee:
The Congressman’s remarks were meant to be light-hearted and not a serious policy statement; he is in fact very concerned with the irresponsible spending taking place in Congress. The Congressman has a strong record of fiscal responsibility, having voted for a balanced budget, supported pay-as-you-go budget rules and opposed what he considers to be the misplaced spending priorities of the current administration. Democrats are the party of fiscal restraint and will make it a top priority if they retake the House in November.Continue reading
Morning News:
- The White House rejected a new EPA rule to "keep groundwater clean near oil drilling sites and other construction zones" after receiving complaints from oil and energy company executives. Ernest Angelo, a Texas oil man and a Republican activist, expressed his anger over the EPA rule by writing that many in the energy world "openly express doubt as to the merit of electing Republicans when we wind up with this type of stupidity." As always we like to remember that President Bush is the biggest recipient of campaign cash from the oil and gas industry in the entire history of elections in America.
- Anti-pork hardliner [sw: John Shadegg] (R-AZ) has fired the latest salvo in the Pork Wars between conservative Republican congressmen and [sw: Jerry Lewis]' (R-CA) Appropriations Committee by "circulating a newspaper story linking Rep. Jerry Lewis to 'the inherent risk of corruption at the heart of the congressional earmark process.'"
- Several weeks ago [sw: Jerry Lewis] (R-CA) retained a lawyer to handle to federal investigation into his and his aides' earmarking practices. One of Lewis' lawyers is Barbara Comstock who is currently representing I. Lewis Libby in the Plame case.
- In Scotland, the famous destination of Jack Abramoff and his merry band of travellers, no one knows about the lobbyist's well-documented golfing trips. Favorite quote: “'We have the same scandals,' said Neil Paton, the head professional in the town’s only certified pro shop, 'except our politicians go the beach in Spain or Italy.'"
- At least the corruption in this country doesn't fuel an insurgency. In Iraq, that appears to be a huge problem. Continue reading
Part of Safavian Charge Thrown-Out:
A judge threw out part of a charge against former Bush administration official David Safavian in the first trial related to the Jack Abramoff scandal:
The judge threw out language from the indictment that said Safavian lied by telling a GSA ethics officer Abramoff had no business with the GSA and was not seeking to do business with the agency. There was no evidence during the trial that Safavian ever made such statements to the GSA, Friedman said. The judge left intact the remainder of the count that Safavian concealed his assistance to Abramoff, and deletion of the language was expected to have little substantive impact.This move is "inconsequential" to the outcome of the case. Continue reading
Mo’ Money
At the end of last week the Sunlight Foundation made a number of new grants. We're really excited about the potential of each of them.
The work of ReadtheBill.org (which I've talked about before) is a hugely important effort. It could end the practice of ramming bills through Congress in the dark of night -- bills that are filled with favors for special interests, earmarks, and heaven only knows ((truly) what else. And think of what activists can cook up (particularly online) if they have 72 hours to read legislation and get citizens to weigh in. We think that ReadtheBill.org will make a huge difference in making Congress' work more transparent and in engaging citizens.
Continue readingWho Comes After Jerry Lewis?:
The guys at Muckraked! look to whom might be the next victim of an appropriations scandal. They come up with the Appropriations Committee's vice chair [sw: Ralph Regula] (R-OH):
Of course Regula’s own ties to contributors have raised some eyebrows, especially concerning Forest City Enterprises (the developers of that megaproject in downtown Brooklyn). The real-estate development firm is the congressman’s top campaign contributor in his political career, giving him $114,150. In June 2004, the appropriations committee approved a $9.2 billion package to privatize military housing. Three months later, a partnership led by Forest City won the 50-year, $358 million contract.Continue reading
Rom-It-Through The Loopholes:
Check out this Boston Globe article on how Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) is bypassing federal campaign finance regulations as he prepares for a 2008 Presidential bid.
Continue readingMid-Morning News:
- The Club for Growth Blog reports that Rep. [sw: Jim Moran] (D-VA) is really excited about earmarking. “When I become chairman [of a House appropriations subcommittee], I’m going to earmark the s—t out of it,” Moran buoyantly told a crowd of 450 attending the event.” Can we please get earmarking transparency -- QUICK!
- The David Safavian trial is about to be handed to the jury to decide the former Bush administration official's fate. Did Safavian abuse his position to help Jack Abramoff? Was it a mistake for the prosecution to not send Abramoff to testify? Will Safavian's bumbling testimony lead to a guilty verdict as Ken Lay's did? I'm putting my money on the latter.
- CongressDailyAM reports that the Democratic Caucus will vote on Thursday on the Steering Committee's recommendation that [sw: William Jefferson] be stripped of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.
- Also in CongressDailyAM, Speaker [sw: Dennis Hastert] (R-IL) plans on naming conferees to the lobbying and ethics reform conference committee. Don't expect much of the conference committee or the legislation that they create. Whatever comes out of that committee it will not be reform.
- The Washington Post's Jeff Birnbaum reports that Congress is about to make it infinitely more difficult to lobby members of Congress through email. If you wish to send an email to your representative you will now have to complete a math problem. I'm going to go with MoveOn's Eli Pariser's statement about this: "We should be living in the golden age of politics -- an age in which every member of Congress can easily have a two-way conversation with his or her most engaged constituents. Instead, we're seeing bunkerization." Exactly. And why don't we have instant, searchable Internet disclosure of all information reported in Congress? This is the 21st Century isn't it? Continue reading
You know it’s official when…
...your local newspaper has a special page dedicated to the investigation into your congressman. Check out the San Bernardino Sun's page on [sw: Jerry Lewis].
Continue readingShockey-ing!:
On Friday the New York Times reported that Jeffrey Shockey, aide to [sw: Jerry Lewis]' (R-CA) Appropriations Committee, received a $1.9 million buyout from his previous employer, the lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery, that was contingent on the future success of his former clients. The Times article reported that "the firm waited to see how much money the clients he signed paid the firm in 2005 to determine the full payment." So Shockey's severance package was to be determined by the success of his former clients in obtaining earmarks from the committee where Shockey was employed. Josh Marshall summed this up perfectly over the weekend:
In other words, Shockey didn't just have a continuing financial interest in Copeland Lowery to the extent he needed them to make enough money to honor their buy-out agreement. His income was still directly tied to how much his 'former' clients paid the firm in 2005 -- while he was working as a congressional staffer. ... Who took over Shockey's client list when he returned to government service? Well, when Shockey left Copeland Lowery, Copeland Lowery turned around and hired Shockey's wife Alexandra, who also used to work for Lewis. And in an email to Copley News Service's Jerry Kammer back in December, Alexandra "acknowledged that her client roster includes some of her husband's old clients."I continue to marvel at how these guys get their spouses involved in these schemes. Every single one of these scandals, whether it be the Jack Abramoff scandal or [sw: William Jefferson], involves spouses making money off of corrupt schemes. Continue reading
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