Free Republic

Complete title: Judicial Watch Statement on Court Ruling in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit against Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton today issued a statement in response to a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Judicial Watch’s sexual harassment lawsuit filed on behalf of Winsome Packer, a female federal employee who alleges that she was repeatedly subjected to “unwelcome sexual advances,” “unwelcome touching” and retaliation from Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) ( Packer v. US Comm. On Security & Cooperation in Europe, and Hastings and Turner (CV No. 11-00485)). On February...

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called on Newt Gingrich to tell the Justice Department to release its records of the House Ethics Committee's investigaiton of his conduct. From a news release: "The committee inquiry centered on Mr. Gingrich’s use of tax-exempt organizations for political purposes and he was ultimately sanctioned for making false statements to Congress. The ethics committee forwarded its files to DOJ and the IRS for further action in 1997. Last month, CREW sent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to both federal agencies requesting the records. This week, DOJ denied CREW’s...

With the broad and deep attack on our values and Constitution by the Administration and its handlers, we must restore our armor against the snares of the evil that swirls through our halls of government. Oaths to uphold and protect the Constitution are laughed at and Judeo-Christian values vilified. More than politics, it’s spiritual warfare! Here are a few simple observations that a few of us might grasp and try to understand: 1. The Declaration of Independence sets the spiritual, moral and philosophical base of the Constitution. It also warns of “pretended legislation” and the “sending out of agents to...

Fellow Christians! In the pastoral letter of the German bishops of June 26, 1941, which was read out in all the Catholic churches in Germany on July 6, 1941, it states among other things: It is true that there are definite commandments in Catholic moral doctrine which are no longer applicable if their fulfillment involves too many difficulties. However, there are sacred obligations of conscience from which no one has the power to release us and which we must fulfil even if it costs us our lives. Never under any circumstances may a human being kill an innocent person apart...

Pelosi might have skirted House ethics rules on campaign solicitationsBy Russell Berman - 02/09/12 05:06 PM ET House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) might have briefly run afoul of congressional ethics rules at a Capitol press conference on Thursday when she made a statement that could be construed as a solicitation for campaign contributions. The Democratic leader was holding a briefing to promote a campaign finance disclosure bill when she said she was “asking people to contribute to us, if they want to elect more reformers to Congress.” House ethics rules prohibit members of Congress from soliciting campaign donations in...

This is the first I’ve heard of this, but if true, it’s troubling because it’s one more reason that experience in business really doesn’t translate to governance. Right Across the Atlantic is reporting that Romney went on a trip while governing Massachusetts, paid by Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, that ultimately looked like a sort of crony capitalism deal, but Romney side-stepped it by going on vacation so that his Lt. Governor would sign the bill, relieving him of any ethics investigation worries. In fact, the whole manner of the episode is troubling, and you should check out the article in...

In politics, what goes around comes around — especially if you’re running for president. In 1988, then-Congressman Newt Gingrich’s success in bringing down Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright on ethics charges helped propel the Georgian into the House GOP leadership. But in 1994, then-Speaker Gingrich became the subject of his own lengthy ethics investigation. Although he was not found guilty on any of the 84 charges, the probe resulted in a reprimand from the House Ethics Committee, a $300,000 fine, dwindling support from the Republican caucus and his eventual resignation from Congress. “I’m willing to lead,” Gingrich said, announcing his...

In a recent interview with the "City and State" website, which covers New York politics, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said that he wants "to go after" our not-for-profit status. The threat was part of a more general attack on the New York Post, which has published a series of articles based on information we have provided. We have also provided information to the New York Times and New York Daily News . All the headlines have led to a House Ethics Committee investigation, and reportedly, a grand jury investigation of Meeks' finances. We are not exactly quaking in our...

Some investments listed in Mitt and Ann Romney's 2010 tax returns – including a now-closed Swiss bank account and other funds located overseas – were not explicitly disclosed in the personal financial statement the GOP presidential hopeful filed in August as part of his White House bid. The Romney campaign described the discrepancies as "trivial" but acknowledged Thursday afternoon that they are undergoing an internal review of how the investments were reported and will make "some minor technical amendments" to Romney's financial disclosure that will not alter the overall picture of his finances.... Among the assets omitted is a Swiss...

Associates of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are stepping forward to rebut accusations from Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney that he resigned in “disgrace” and paid an ethics “fine.” Gingrich insisted during a candidates debate Monday that reports he was fined $300,000 for House ethics violations are inaccurate and records back up his claim the payment was not a fine. A Newsmax examination of the House Ethics Committee report, and the record of the House debate in January 1997 as recorded in the Congressional Record, supports Gingrich’s contention that the $300,000 he paid was a “reimbursement” or “sanction” related to...

Associates of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are stepping forward to rebut accusations by GOP rival Mitt Romney that he resigned in “disgrace” and paid an ethics “fine.” Gingrich insisted in Monday’s debate that reports he was fined $300,000 for House ethics violations are inaccurate and records back up his claim the payment was not a fine. A Newsmax examination of the House Ethics Committee report, and the record of the House debate in January 1997 as recorded in the Congressional Record, supports Gingrich’s contention that the $300,000 he paid was a “reimbursement” or “sanction” related to legal fees, but...

"Given all the attention to the ethics matter, it's worth asking what actually happened back in 1995, 1996, and 1997. The Gingrich case was extraordinarily complex, intensely partisan, and driven in no small way by a personal vendetta on the part of one of Gingrich's former political opponents. It received saturation coverage in the press; a database search of major media outlets revealed more than 10,000 references to Gingrich's ethics problems during the six months leading to his reprimand. It ended with a special counsel hired by the House Ethics Committee holding Gingrich to an astonishingly strict standard of behavior,...

If You Spot Bigfoot, Should You Shoot Him? In the new Animal Planet reality TV show optimistically titled "Finding Bigfoot," a team of experts examines video of an alleged Sasquatch spotted in the Canadian Rockies. The video, shot by a man named Todd Standing, shows something large and dark, standing atop a wooded ridge and then ducking back behind a bush. It could pretty much be anything, and when the experts concluded that the subject was probably not a Bigfoot, Standing expressed his frustration: "No video is ever going to be evidence, ever. It's never going to be good enough…"...

CNN reported back in 1999 that Newt’s college course that the Democrats tried to make hay out of in saying it was a major ethics violation was vindicated and proved legitimate by the IRS:

He promised there wouldn’t be lobbyists. Not a one. But less than a week into Barack Obama’s presidency (a week!), the White House had hired at least a dozen of them. They granted exceptions for some, and for others they exploited loopholes in the administration’s own self-written, self-imposed rules. Anyone taken by surprise by the more recent White House scandals—Solyndra, Operation Fast and Furious, the downfall of Obama’s “Wall Street Guy” Jon Corzine—really shouldn’t have been surprised at all. That early ethical backpedalling was excellent, if not unfortunate, foreshadowing of what was to come. Over the last three years, Barack...

NEWT EX-WIFE UNLOADS ON CAMERA; NETWORK DEBATES 'ETHICS' OF AIRING BEFORE SC PRIMARY **Exclusive** Wed Jan 18 2012 18:47:14 ET Marianne Gingrich has said she could end her ex-husband's career with a single interview. Earlier this week, she sat before ABCNEWS cameras, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. She spoke to ABCNEWS reporter Brian Ross for two hours, and her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail. But now a "civil war" has erupted inside of the network, an insider claims, on exactly when the confession will air! MORE ABCNEWS suits determined it would be "unethical" to run the Marianne...

NLPC has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the sale of a home by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), alleging that it was sold at an inflated price and that the purported buyers could not have qualified for a mortgage. The 2006 transaction was handled by an attorney named Alexander Kaplan, who was subsequently convicted of 18 counts of mortgage fraud and is currently serving a 46-month prison sentence. The sale of the home at 660 Grassmere Terrace in Far Rockaway, New York appears to have allowed Meeks to purchase his present Queens home in late 2006 that New York City...

Pelosi Fires Back at Gingrich By Nell Henderson House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi fired back at fellow former Speaker Newt Gingrich Sunday morning for his disavowal of a TV ad calling for action on climate change that the pair filmed together. Mr. Gingrich, chasing the Republican presidential nomination, has called the 2008 ad “probably the dumbest single thing I’ve done in recent years.” Ms. Pelosi, of California, asked about the comments on CNN’s State of the Union, had a tart riposte: “He has been fined $300,000 dollars by the ethics committee, you’d think he’d consider that a big mistake.” CNN...

Ready, aim fire. That’s apparently Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s idea of relaxation before returning to the campaign trail this weekend. Ahead of Saturday night’s ABC News-Yahoo-WMUR debate in New Hampshire Perry took a few moments to himself at an Austin-area shooting range. “Just relaxing a bit @ Red’s Range before we leave for New Hampshire!” @governorperry tweeted Friday along with a photo of himself wearing a green sweatshirt and a baseball cap with a firearm in hand. On the campaign trail, Perry, a staunch defender of second amendment rights, has not been shy about talking about his “long love affair”...

Rick Santorum's powerful finish in the Iowa caucus is bringing fresh attention to his tenure in Congress, including ethics questions that dogged him about a preferred mortgage he received from a bank run by campaign donors, and federal funds that went to a real estate developer who backed his charity. One of the top donors to Santorum's charity was also the beneficiary of an $8 million Santorum-sponsored federal earmark, according to published reports. Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who filed an ethics complaint against Santorum in 2006 on behalf of a watchdog group, said her organization's website received a...

It appears that four current members of the United States House of Representatives received loans via the VIP program of Countrywide Financial Corporation. Once again the motives of the former giant mortgage institution have been brought into question. Where they trying to peddle influence with these loans? Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and he has been investigating the VIP program for a number years. Issa reportedly learned about the four loans after issuing a subpoena to Bank of America. Countrywide was purchased by Bank of America in 2008 and...

The House Ethics Committee said Friday it has extended for seven months a contract with an outside counsel hired to investigate allegations against Rep. Maxine Waters and the committee handling of that investigation. The ethics panel said the new contract with Washington attorney Billy Martin would continue through July 31, 2012. .. The investigation centers on whether Waters tried to aid a troubled bank, Boston-based OneUnited, where her husband owned stock. The focus is on a meeting the California Democrat requested between Treasury Department officials and representatives of an association representing minority-owned banks, including OneUnited. OneUnited received $12 million in...

Yesterday, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for, among other things, attempting to "sell" the US Senate seat that was once held by President Barack Obama. Blagojevich's punishment comes on the heels of the U.S. House Ethics Committee's decision to continue its investigation into Congressman Jesse Jackson's role in the same scheme. On December 2, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was continuing its investigation of Jackson for his alleged public campaign to "buy" the Senate seat in question. It is alleged by investigators that Jackson may have made unlawful use of...

Politics: One former speaker of the House warns another that she will unleash privileged information if the architect of the ’94 GOP tsunami gets his party’s nomination. Culture of corruption, Nancy? Look in the mirror. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose legislative excesses helped spawn the Tea Party movement that made her the ex-speaker, has fired a shot across the bow of former Speaker Newt Gingrich: Win the GOP nomination for president and I will unpack your baggage in public. Except that she can't and she should know it. "One of these days we'll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich," Pelosi...

The National Climate Ethics Campaign is pleased to announce that the "Statement of Our Nation’s Moral Obligation to Address Climate Change" will be released Wednesday, November 30 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building (The Environment and Public Works Hearing Room). There are now over 1200 signers on the climate ethics statement. Please send the message pasted below to organizations, listservs, and people that might endorse it.

Taking a broad swipe at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s practice of allowing companies to settle cases without admitting that they had done anything wrong, a federal judge on Monday rejected a $285 million settlement between Citigroup and the agency. The judge, Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court in Manhattan, said that he could not determine whether the agency’s settlement with Citigroup was “fair, reasonable, adequate and in the public interest,” as required by law, because the agency had claimed, but had not proved, that Citigroup committed fraud. As it has in recent cases involving Bank of America,...

A new audio added to my mix of videos in regards to evolutionary ethics and rape. Richard Dawkins in an honest moment.

Complete title: House dismisses Meeks loan probe Ethics Committee sees no violation but will look into another $40,000 borrowingThe U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee said it will not look into a nearly $60,000 home equity loan received in 2010 by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) after the Office of Congressional Ethics determined there was no reason to believe the congressman violated House rules. But the committee said it will pursue a claim Meeks failed to disclose a $40,000 personal loan in 2007 from Richmond Hill developer Edul Ahmad in a timely manner. “Several months ago, the House Ethics Committee dismissed...

Tune in the evening news and you’d think America is a scandal-plagued nation. Scandals to the right of us, scandals to the left of us. There’s the media assault on GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, the deadly Fast and Furious federal gun-running case, the Solyndra solar loan fiasco or the collapse of MF Global, led by former Democratic N.J. Gov. Jon Corzine. But the real scandal isn’t any one of those. It’s how journalists pick and choose which controversies to play up and which to play down. They are so inconsistent, you’d think they studied ethics at Penn State under...

The Society of Professional Journalism’s code of ethics is apparently unknown to, and easily dismissed by, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. On “Andrea Mitchell Reports” Monday, the anchor introduced Politico’s Jonathan Martin after playing a clip of former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain suggesting some reporters at an event in Texas check the Society of Professional Journalism’s “code of ethics.” “Jonathan Martin is the senior reporter for Politico and broke the original story,” she said. “I assume you read the journalistic code of ethics, whatever that is.” Martin replied by saying he had his copy “well-thumbed.”

On October 28, NLPC filed a formal Complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), his campaign, and his "leadership" political action committee called Build America PAC. The Complaint alleges that Stanford Financial Group made illegal, in-kind contributions to Meeks' campaign for a 2008 fundraiser in the Virgin Islands. The event was hosted by R. Allen Stanford, who is currently in prison awaiting trial for charges related to his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The Complaint also alleges that Meeks appears to have disguised a personal gambling junket to Las Vegas as a leadership PAC fundraiser. In...

Rep. Laura Richardson tries to head off ethics probeBy JOHN BRESNAHAN | 11/2/11 11:42 PM EDT Rep. Laura Richardson is lobbying members of the House Ethics Committee in a last-ditch bid to avoid a formal investigation into allegations that she pressured her staff to engage in banned political activities while on her congressional payroll. The California Democrat sent a private letter to all 10 members of the secretive panel Tuesday, stating that she would agree to a minor sanction such as a public reprimand over the alleged violations. But Richardson urged her House colleagues not to move forward with a...

I have tax reform guidelines, and they’re not for dummies. My guidelines are for smart people who think rationally. Irrational folks like Warren Buffet may need to eat a bag of Halloween candy before they’re alert enough to understand my conception of ethical taxation. Tax reform is one of the hottest topics in the news. Americans are feverishly debating tax proposals like Cain’s “999” plan, Perry’s “20/20” plan, Romney’s “flat, simpler and fairer” plan and Ron Paul’s plan to cut taxes by slashing well over $1 trillion in expenses and foreign aid and bringing spending to the pre-recession days of...

On Friday, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party. The firm, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes. Steven J. Baum is, in fact, the largest such firm in New York; it represents virtually all the giant mortgage lenders, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The party is the firm’s big annual bash. Employees wear Halloween costumes to the office, where they party...

D.C. ethics board: Laws on behavior of government officials ‘not sufficient’By Tim Craig, Published: October 26 The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics said Wednesday that local laws governing the behavior of government officials “are not sufficient,” but D.C. Council members remain split over how to reform the system. With D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (D) pledging that an ethics bills will pass this year, more than 30 people testified at a hearing Wednesday, offering suggestions for enacting more oversight over the city’s elected leaders. Until now, the authority for policing local elected officials has largely rested with three-member...

The New York Times reports that President Barack Obama has found a way around his pledge to not accept money from lobbyists. While not officially registered with the Senate as lobbyists, at least 15 Obama bundlers (supporters who contribute their own money to his campaign and solicit it from others) are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies and have raised over five million dollars for the president's re-election campaign so far. This is really three stories in one. One, the president seems to have violated at least the spirit a campaign promise. Two, the president has...

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) on Wednesday called for the redistribution of America's riches and hammered the wealthy for benefitting from a war effort fought by the poor and middle class. Citing statistics that show 1 percent of Americans now own 42 percent of the nation's wealth, the lawmaker representing Harlem said: "There is something wrong with that formula." Rangel offered no specific remedy for adjusting those figures during his comments on the House floor, but argued further that the wealthiest one percent have the added benefit of not needing to get involved in military service. "Why is it that we...

Democratic ethics attack on Clarence Thomas backfiresHouse Democrats thought they had caught Supreme CourtJustice Clarence Thomas pulling a fast one. Last month, a group of 20 congressmen blasted the conservative jurist for making a simple mistake on his ethics disclosure forms. Summoning the highest possible level of feigned outrage, the members signed a letter demanding an investigation involving “possible criminal or civil legal sanctions.” They’re going to regret their hyperbole. Justice Thomas‘ lapse came to light in January when he filed an amendment to his annual financial disclosure forms noting that he had failed to mention his wife’s employment at...

Antisocial personality traits predict utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas A study conducted by Daniel Bartels, Columbia Business School, Marketing, and David Pizarro, Cornell University, Psychology found that people who endorse actions consistent with an ethic of utilitarianism—the view that what is the morally right thing to do is whatever produces the best overall consequences—tend to possess psychopathic and Machiavellian personality traits.

Obama: 'I Don't Think Ethics' Was My Favorite Subject By Terence P. Jeffrey September 29, 2011 (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama told an audience of high school students in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that he was “not always the very best student” and that ethics “would not have made it on the list” of his favorite subjects. “I was not always the very best student that I could be when I was in high school, and certainly not when I was in middle school,” Obama said, speaking at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School. “I did not love every class I...

It’s as if Solyndra never happened. The Obama Administration is giving $737 million to a Tonopah Solar, a subsidiary of California-based SolarReserve. PCG is an investment partner with SolarReserve. Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law happens to be the number two man at PCG.Team Obama is spending $737 million to create 45 permanent jobs. The Hill reported, via Free Republic: The Energy Department announced Wednesday that is has finalized a $737 million loan guarantee for a Nevada solar project. The decision comes several weeks after a California-based solar manufacturer that received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration in 2009 filed...

A non-profit group has managed to enrage an entire kingdom, put an army of lawyers to work, and make the front page of newspapers across Canada. All thanks to a television ad which states facts, and posits a choice between one product produced “ethically” and the other “unethically”. The ethical product is Canadian oil sands crude, while the unethical stuff flows from the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. As the ad points out, Saudi doesn’t allow women to drive, leave their homes without a male guardian present, and values their court testimony at half that of a man. As a...

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) will submit a new ethics complaint against Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, The Daily Caller has learned. The complaint, which will be filed on Thursday with the Office of Congressional Ethics, takes issue with DNC ads that appear to violate House rules. Thursday’s complaint will be the second the RNLA has leveled at Wasserman Schultz. (Snip) The letter that will be sent Thursday doubles down on the original complaint, targeting newly-released Spanish-language ads in Tampa, Denver, Miami and Las Vegas. The ads proclaim in Spanish: “In the face of

Last week, David Brooks of The New York Times wrote a column on an academic study concerning the nearly complete lack of a moral vocabulary among most American young people. Below are some excerpts from Brooks' summary of the study of Americans aged 18 to 23. (It was led by "the eminent Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith.") "Smith and company asked about the young people's moral lives, and the results are depressing … "When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn't answer the question or described problems that are not moral...

Many years ago, I was assigned to cover a story about a certain sperm donor, a newly graduated doctor in Kansas who had donated on such a frequent and regular basis that he was suspected of being the biological father to 500 children. You read that right, 500 children! My research led me to learn that professors and medical mentors had often urged their male med school residents to donate sperm as a way to: a) Put a little money in their pockets and b) Help propagate future generations of intelligent children. The belief was that if the sperm came...

Air Force leaders discovered Christian-based themes in the ethics course for nuclear officers. Top officer has issued a stern reminder to leaders about religion… Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz (to), leaders at all levels… review of all ethics and character development training.

.Failed criminal investigations of politicians and judges by America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff were put under a microscope in a disciplinary hearing launched Monday ....

Rep. Issa hit with ethics allegationsBy Alexander Bolton - 09/13/11 05:00 AM ET A liberal advocacy group is filing an ethics complaint against Rep. Darrell Issa, alleging that the California Republican has repeatedly used his public office for personal gain. The group, American Family Voices, is planning to file the complaint with the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) on Tuesday. The five-page complaint, which was obtained by The Hill, accuses Issa of using his position as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to add to his multimillion-dollar fortune. An Issa spokesman on Monday said the allegations...

FRiends, I'm looking for references to what kinds of gifts or freebies a mayor in NYS may recieve. Digging thru legal pages, .Gov pages, but can't find I'm looking for. Some friends having trouble with their Mayor , drinking at different bars every day, not paying. Thank you for any help in this.

An inquirer asks, ‘How do you know Obama is lying?’ to which I replied, ‘When his lips are moving.’ OK, that’s a bad old joke; but strangely, it fits so well with that foreign operator who plays with our money out of our White House. The problem today is to even remotely know when he is telling the truth. I don’t think even he knows when that rare occurrence happens. His entire existence is based on lies, misconceptions and outright deception. He has spent millions of dollars, perhaps even government funds, otherwise known as our tax dollars, to deceive the...