Sen. Mary Landrieu Accused of Swapping Influence for Campaign Cash

Fox News ^ | Jan 8, 2008 | Not Stated

[Islander7]

WASHINGTON — A Washington watchdog has filed a complaint against Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, suggesting she may have traded her influence on a specific earmark for $30,000 in campaign contributions.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on Tuesday demanded the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. district courts in Louisiana and Texas investigate whether Landrieu, who is in her second term, broke federal law back in 2001 by including a $2 million earmark in the District of Columbia appropriations bill for a company whose lobbyists had thrown her a fundraiser just days earlier.

That event, held four days before the earmarks was added, raised $30,000 in contributions for Landrieu from individuals associated with the company, according to the CREW complaint.

Landrieu has flatly denied the charges, saying in a statement Tuesday they are “frivolous” and “wholly without merit.”

The Washington Post reported in December that as ranking Democrat and chairwoman of the subcommittee in charge of Washington, D.C.'s appropriations, Landrieu ensured that Voyager Expanded Learning would receive $2 million in funding to promote its reading program in D.C. schools.

Over five years, according to the Post report, Voyager Expanded Learning -- which has ties to the Bush administration in Texas -- received more than $5 million in federal tax dollars and most of that was spent in D.C., where city officials were told they could use only the Voyager product.

[Islander7]

CREW, which filed requests for investigations with the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District for Louisiana, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Senate ethics officials, said the company’s lobbyists sought the senator’s assistance as a “sponsor,” after which her office asked the lobbyists to hold a fundraiser for her.

[Huck]

I’ll bet that’s not all she’s ever swapped for cash.

[SouthTexas]

Not in Louisiana, can’t be!

[OCC]

CREW going after a Rat? Thats something new. She must have stepped on someones toes.

[bw17]

Landrieu is in a Senate race she’s probably going to lose, and the Republicans will pick up the seat.

If CREW is backing this lawsuit, my guess is that CREW wants her out of the race so the Dems can replace her with someone else so that they have a chance of holding the seat in November.

CREW is a left-wing group headed by John Conyer’s former adviser, Melanie Sloan. They don’t go after Democrats unless there’s a way for the attack to help the DNC.

[golfisnr1]

You beat me!

[unspun]

[Cali Redneck]

Louisiana? SAY IT AIN’T SO!

[RichInOC]

I know. I’m shocked, SHOCKED, I say, that a New Orleans politician might be accused of corruption.

[Just mythoughts]

This just cannot be. Alll dirty money has been legally cleansed from political campaigns. The MSM now has power to advertise which politician is given favor.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

$30,000 ? She went cheap.

[Calvin Locke]

Let me guess: School Bus Nagin wants to rise to the level of his real incompetence?

Or has William Jefferson decided he could do better in the Senate, and Nagin will settle for a House?

[SouthTexas]

I know it’s really not funny, but I couldn’t resist. :)

[Mitt Romney]

Well this is some good news in a night of not so good news.

[Pontiac]

Randy Best, who founded Voyager and is known as a top fundraiser for President Bush, has said the fundraiser was not tied to getting the earmark and chalked the event up to political networking in order to promote the company’s product.

Landrieu committed two sins;

One she was making nice with a Bush supporter.

Two she was supporting a private corporation in the scared cow of public education. Taking jobs that might be done by Teacher’s Union employees.

[Huck]

Landrieu has flatly denied the charges, saying in a statement Tuesday they are “frivolous” and “wholly without merit.”

How's your hackneyed boilerplate denials?

[fieldmarshaldj]

There isn’t a rodent in LA that would have a chance of holding the seat as well as her, aside from perhaps her own brother.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

If she does it again, somebody slap her.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

isn’t this standard procedure in congress? I’m amazed when people express alarm at these reports.

As long as people are in congress, and put there by big money, they will always be beholden.

Just like cheating in recruiting and boosters in NCAA football. everybody does it, it depends if you get caught.

[Libloather]

Pre-Katrina, post-Katrina. Louisiana remains a swamp...

[Chode]

do I really have to say it???

[Pawnbkryid]

Why didn’t she consult with Congressman Jefferson on where she might get a good freezer? She could have got much more.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I’m convinced. You ?

[MarkL]

Say it ain’t so! A senator swapping influence for cash?!?!?! No Way! Especially not a politician from Louisiana! Never!

Mark

[Zuben Elgenubi]

This is going to upset Limbaugh. Rush has a soft spot for Mary Landrieu

[Iron Munro]

Stop and think it over
Try and put yourself in my unique position
It’s a family tradition!

[org.whodat]

Tell me what congress person are senator hasn’t done the same thing. Look at the amnesty vote, every vote was bought and paid for by the chamber of commerce. And how much money has tyson chicken given huckster.

[Redbob]

Like father, like daughter.

Eh, Moon?

[LasVegasMac]

Not in Louisiana, can’t be!

Hey there, my name is William Clinton Jefferson...or maybe that's Clinton William Jefferson....

[LibLieSlayer]

Huey Long would be PROUD!

LLS

[SouthTexas]

I wonder when they are really going to look at all the money we poured into New Orleans.

[LasVegasMac]

I wonder when they are really going to look at all the money we poured into New Orleans.

I'm thinking that that would be a "third rail" type issue....no one wants to go there.

I'm sure Nagin and whats-her-face will spend our money wisely..........

[BlueNgold]

Check the freezer!

[Arthur McGowan]

Surprise! Surprise! A pro-abortion “Catholic” turns out to be a DISHONEST person.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

There isn’t a rodent in LA that would have a chance of holding the seat as well as her, aside from perhaps her own brother.

Well, former Rep. Chris John probably could, but only in theory. He doesn't antagonize pro-life Catholics the way Landrieu does (He supposedly is pro-life, but what Congressional Democrat nowadays can say that with much certainity when they vote for pro-abort leaders). His smooth, good old' boy image would help him in Cajun country and other rural areas. He's basically John Breaux Jr., just without the name regonition. We were very fortunate to have a single GOP candidate running at the same time Bush got 57% in the state, so there was no GOP split to force a runoff, which we seem to do badly with. And, our nominee to be, John Kennedy, practically kneecapped John by getting into the open primary and dooming his chances to fight Vitter one on one. If Chris John had won, prying him out of that seat would have been almost impossible.

Still, even if they tried to pull a Toricelli and get Chris John in there, he still doesn't have the name regonition or popularity to assure a victory. And if Obama or Hillary is on the ballot, forget it. Coattails would kill him again. We'll probably break 60%, especially if Thompson or Huckabee is the nominee (Huck is our neighbor, and LA went strong for "Bubba" in 1992 and 1996, so it wouldn't surprise me. Plus his economic populism wouldn't be a problem with Cajun voters, and north LA is Bible Belt country, they'd like voting for a Baptist minister). Suburban growth is working in our favor. Now it's just as important that the Democrat not get killed in the belt of parishes that run from St. Tammany to Jefferson up 1-10 to Ascension to Livingston to East Baton Rouge as it is to rack up big numbers in New Orleans. John Kennedy, I think, could win big in the suburban belt and keep John from getting a foothold.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I tended to count out Chris John, because if he couldn’t make any headway pre-Katrina, it’s unlikely he could now, especially 4 years out of the spotlight.

[tcrlaf]

BUMP for mornin’

[ME-262]

It sound’s like she needs Boss Hogg’s help covering this up again.

[ViLaLuz]

It’s about time they started pressuring Baby Fat. Now when is Cold Cash Jefferson going to jail? Let’s clean up Louisiana.

[Paladin2]

Politician accused of being a politician (in LA no less).

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.

[SouthTexas]

I’m sure of that too, NOT.

[Badeye]

(chuckle)

Indeed, some guys like chubby chicks.

[Huck]

[Badeye]

Tell me you didn’t get that from ‘Blacks on Blondes’ website....(chuckle)

[AuH2ORepublican]

I don’t think that Chris John can blame his 2004 defeat on John N. Kennedy entering the race-—if anything, Kennedy helped reduce Vitter’s vote percentage by taking some votes away from him and (even more importantly) increasing the denominator and thus the number of votes Vitter needed to get a majority in November. Had Kennedy not entered the race, Vitter would have gotten a lot more than 51.03%.

Of course, now that Lousiana no longer has a jungle primary for federal races, the Democrats have to try to defeat our nominee, John N. Kennedy, with a single candidate in November, when conservative turnout will be high thanks to the presidential election. I don’t know whether Mary Landrieu or Chris John would make a stronger candidate, but I don’t think either one can beat Kennedy.

[gimme1ibertee]

A rose by any other name would smell like...Bill & Hill.
Same game,different players. It’s a RAT genetic trait.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Presuming we pick that seat up. If we end up with a RINO Presidential nominee, it will depress turnout greatly. Huckster might carry LA, but probably by an underwhelming margin, and he’ll surely lose the national election regardless. With one of those on the ticket, even if we pick up Landrieu’s seat, we may drop 7 others for a fiasco worse than ‘06 (including AK, CO, MN, NH, NM, OR & VA) and as many as 30 House seats, too (even with the near single-digit approval ratings for PelosiReid Congress).

[SouthTexas]

found this tonight:

Of roughly 489,000 total claims, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has received 247 for at least $1 billion apiece, including the one for $3 quadrillion.

"That's the mother of all high numbers," said Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge-based economist.

For the sake of perspective: A mere $1 quadrillion would dwarf the U.S. gross domestic product, which Scott said was $13.2 trillion in 2007. A stack of one quadrillion pennies would reach Saturn.