Free Republic

“Equality before the law” may be the state motto for Nebraska, but some Nebraskans are asking for sister states to sue the Cornhusker state. “Is there anyone out there that will sue the State of Nebraska and/or Senators Ben Nelson and Harry Reid?” asks Patricia Rief-Heskett of Omaha. .. “The deal the senator made for Nebraska is against the law and against the Constitution,” says Rief-Heskett... And the Omahans has crossed all of her ‘ts’ and dotted all of her ‘i’s. “Our Constitution states in Article 1, Section 9: `No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or...

"I worked with him on many issues across party lines. There has never a major reform accomplished in the history of this country that hasn't been bipartisan, and he certainly, uh...all of the negotiations and efforts that I made with him, we never engaged in this kind of unsavory process of offering people different deals, which in the end cost people from other states lots of money and put burdens on them."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave his challenger in the 2008 presidential election a stiff review Sunday as President Barack Obama nears completion of his first year in office. "[Obama] said there would be a change in the climate in Washington," McCain said. "There's been a change. It's more partisan. It's more bitterly divided than it's been." (snip) "At least under 'Hillarycare' they tried seriously to negotiate with Republicans," McCain said."There's been -- there has been no effort that I know of that -- serious across-the-table negotiations, such as I have engaged in with Democrats and with other administrations. And that...

The Bexar County Democratic Party is missing $200,000. Carla Vela, outgoing party chairwoman, said at a hastily called press conference Wednesday that more than $200,000 of the party's money is missing from at least two accounts. Vela said that she first found out about the missing money on Monday afternoon, nearly five months after she first heard rumors that a $100,000 check she wrote in July as a partial payment of the 2008 primary had bounced... Vela said that she never looked into the issue further after treasurer Dwayne Adams repeatedly reassured her that it was a mistake... Vela said...

HARRISBURG — State Revenue Secretary Stephen Stetler resigned from office this morning, hours before prosecutors were expected to announce more charges in their ongoing public corruption investigation. He is the third Revenue secretary to resign in the Rendell adminstration.

Concerns that the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee may have used a credit card bill to woo donations from credit card companies has prompted the chamber's ethics panel to open an investigation. The Washington Post first reported on Friday that staffers to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) suspected foul play as early as this summer, after the committee unexpectedly took up a tough bill that would have implemented new fees to protect against credit card identity theft. According to the Post, Thompson collected about $15,000 in donations from the industry shortly after those hearings began, but no bill was...

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ office confirmed late Friday night that the Montana Democrat was carrying on an extramarital affair with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, when he nominated her to be U.S. attorney in Montana. According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, formally separated in April. The Senator has since divorced his wife. Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year. Hanes, who is divorced and now lives with Baucus in the...

Embattled Athens County, Ohio Democratic Chairwoman Susan Gwinn was indicted Monday on two counts of election-related bribery, special prosecutors announced today. Gwinn, who last month was charged with six felonies for campaign finance crimes and money-laundering, became the subject of a voter fraud investigation after an email from College Democrats Vice President Kellie Galan surfaced in which students were promised a cash bounty for every voter brought to the polls. "Remember, if you bring a friend from 4th ward they are more then [sic] a friend, they're 5 bucks!" Galan wrote to fellow College Democrats in the email. Athens' 4th...

Leader of Athens Democratic Party indicted on bribery charges Monday, November 30, 2009 6:10 PM By Randy Ludlow THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The embattled chairwoman of the Athens County Democratic Party was indicted today on charges she sought to buy the votes of some Ohio University students. A grand jury charged Susan Gwinn with two counts of election-related bribery, said Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost, the special prosecutor in the case. No one else, including members of the OU College Democrats, was indicted after grand jurors heard testimony and evidence today, Yost said. The indictment comes after authorities investigated a charge...

The abandoned corpses, in white body bags with number tags tied to each toe, lie one above the other on steel racks inside a giant freezer in Detroit’s central mortuary, like discarded shoes in the back of a wardrobe. Some have lain here for years, but in recent months the number of unclaimed bodies has reached a record high. For in this city that once symbolised the American Dream many cannot even afford to bury their dead. “I have not seen this many unclaimed bodies in 13 years on the job,” said Albert Samuels, chief investigator at the mortuary. “It...

<p>West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd became the longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history Wednesday, a milestone to be marked with a morning of Senate tributes and a special resolution.</p> <p>It was unclear whether Byrd would be able to attend Wednesday's session.</p>

ST. LOUIS — A day before she clinched the nomination to fill a vacancy in the Missouri House of Representatives on Saturday, St. Louis Democrat Hope Whitehead paid a visit to City Hall. Not to mobilize supporters, but to pay hundreds of dollars in outstanding taxes.

A first-term congressman drew a salary from his campaign for office last fall, his office said. Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) pocketed about $15,000 in campaign funds, the Buffalo News reported Sunday, while his wife was paid $18,000 for her work as campaign treasurer. "Eric did draw a meager salary at the end of the 2008 campaign to cover expenses after campaigning full-time for four years," Massa's spokesman told the News. "There aren't many people who have spent more time or effort working for the privilege of serving the families of their congressional district's than Rep. Massa."

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer and was later convicted of federal bribery charges on Friday was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett. A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon. Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment. The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp....

A document from the House ethics committee lists an examination into whether the chamber's rules were violated when Rep. Linda T. Sanchez put three legislative aides to her fellow-congresswoman sister on her payroll after an embezzlement scheme had left Rep. Loretta Sanchez's office short of funds. The document, a July tracking report obtained by The Washington Post, says that the sisters, both California Democrats, "shared transferred staff from one office to another after embezzlement," and that a meeting between lawyers for the ethics committee and the congresswomen had taken place June 1. The document also says that lawyers for the...

Note: Notice how AP does not mention Larry Langford is a Democrat!TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker. As a convicted felon, Langford was automatically removed from the office he won in a landslide in 2007. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before returning their sweeping verdict on all 60 counts. It came after six days of testimony in which they heard Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving...

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA--Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial. Langford was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, today, finally got around to publishing a in-depth report regarding the Luzerne County youth court scandal. "How? Why?" they ask in the headline.

Jon Corzine this afternoon released records from his charitable foundation, including details on more than $3 million donations made last year. Corzine spread his wealth around the state and beyond, including contributions to organizations connected to Newark power broker Steve Adubato and his son. The North Ward Center, founded by Adubato, received $15,000, on top of the more than $1 million Corzine has given the organization in the last 10 years. Caucus Educational Corp. run by Adubato's son, television personality Steve Adubato Jr. received $1,000. The foundation's finances returned to the headlines this week after The Star-Ledger reported that Corzine...

Two undercover videographers released another videotape Wednesday of their interaction with an ACORN worker, contending that it reveals help they received from the community group's Philadelphia office when they posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking a home. Unlike previous videotapes, the heavily edited footage includes audio of the two conservatives but none of the ACORN Housing Corp. worker's responses to their questions. But James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles said the tape rebuts statements by an ACORN official that a worker from its housing affiliate, Katherine Conway-Russell, had quickly kicked them out. "ACORN has lied every step of the...

Ala. Mayor Accused Of Taking Rolex, Bribes Jury selection to begin in corruption trial against Mayor Larry Langford BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Mayor Larry Langford, who could be tossed out of office and go to prison if convicted of federal bribery charges, recently offered some advice to a new Birmingham City Council member. "The illusion of power is the most dangerous drug on the planet," Langford said. "A little bit of power — nothing intoxicates like it." Last week's comment may sound a lot like the government's opening argument against Langford, 61, the most recent in a long line of prominent...

GOP Thwarted; Rangel Escapes With His JobBut Damage Is Done To Congressman As Dems Powerless To Stop Laundry List Of Allegations Made For 30 Minutes Rep. Carter Lays Into Democrats Over Double Standard On Tax Charges Reporting Marcia Kramer Oct 7, 2009 5:19 pm US/Eastern WASHINGTON (CBS) - It was a showdown in Congress. Business came to a standstill on Wednesday as House Democrats and Republicans battled it out over whether to remove embattled Congressman Charles Rangel from his post of a powerful tax committee. Rangel is the fourth most senior member of the House, so it must have been...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Herman Thomas was a rising star in Alabama politics with an enviable track record at the polls: a black Democrat who kept getting elected in a county overwhelmingly white and increasingly Republican. He seemed to have it all. Respect as a circuit judge and at one time the Democratic Party's choice to be the first black federal judge in south Alabama. Then his career on the bench collapsed -- first under allegations that he was bringing inmates into his office and spanking them with a paddle, then with an indictment that accuses him of having sex with...

Americans expect to show a photo ID when they board a plane, enter many office buildings, cash a check or even rent a video -- but rarely in voting or applying for government benefits such as Medicaid. Many Democrats seem to view asking citizens for proof of identity as an invasion of privacy -- though what's really being protected is the right to commit identity fraud. Exhibit A is Tuesday's 13 to 10 party-line vote in the Senate Finance Committee rejecting a proposal to require that immigrants prove their identity when signing up for federal health care programs. Chuck Grassley,...

Focus on Rangel, a Chairman Under InvestigationBy CARL HULSE Published: October 2, 2009 WASHINGTON — Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York is increasingly in the spotlight these days and not just because he is in the thick of the health care debate as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Just as the health care fight heads to the floors of the House and Senate, Republicans are intensifying efforts to make Mr. Rangel a symbol of Democratic misconduct and institutional arrogance because of his belated disclosure of personal assets and other financial missteps. Despite some unease, Democrats say...

For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has publicly admitted that politics has trumped science. The agency acknowledged yesterday that it approved a device to help with knee-replacement surgeries—a device the agency’s own scientists said often failed—only after it received pressure from a cohort of Democratic congressmen from New Jersey, where the device’s manufacturer is located. The $3000 device was known as the Menaflex, a “collagen scaffold” that supported a damaged meniscus in the knee. It failed its initial reviews but received approval in December of last year anyway, during the waning days of the Bush Administration....

The chief of staff to D.C. Councilman Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) was arrested on bribery charges Thursday morning, according to law enforcement sources. Ted G. Loza, 44, was taken into custody at his home in the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW and is scheduled to make an appearance Thursday in the District's federal court. A dozen federal agents raided Loza's offices at city hall just hours after arresting him. The charges stem from alleged bribes Loza took from an unidentified person in the taxi cab industry, court papers show.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI have scheduled a press conference for noon today to announce the results of an investigation into corruption in South Florida, but details and reports of arrests are already making their way onto the Web. Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion Jr. and former Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman were both arrested early this morning by FBI agents.

It now looks very much like there was a lot more truth to the criticisms about ACORN—the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now—than its leadership, its allies on Capitol Hill and its supporters in the media were willing to acknowledge.... This latest round of problems for ACORN may be the best documented, but they are not the first nor, for that matter, are they the most serious. A report issued last summer by the Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, according to Sunday's Washington Times, "presented evidence that ACORN had engaged in criminal misconduct." Among the...

RALEIGH, N.C. — State Rep. Ty Harrell, D-Wake, who is under investigation over campaign expenditures, has resigned, according to Bill Holmes, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney. "With the recent turbulence in my personal life and continued speculation about my campaign expenditures, I do not feel that I can provide the high standard of representation that my constituents expect and deserve," Harrell said in his resignation letter submitted to Hackney on Sunday. Harrell's spending in recent months has been called into question. Harrell and his wife have also separated amidst allegations he has engaged in extramarital affairs, according to...

A Democratic legislator from Orlando tried to get $50,000 in state funding for the controversial group ACORN in the 2007 legislative session, the same time his wife was working as a lobbyist for the organization, records show. Rep. Scott Randolph was seeking money for the Central Florida ACORN Institute Financial Justice Center, which provides tax preparation services for the poor.

MISSION – Embattled state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010. Citing recent indictments handed down against him, the legislator said in a statement that he must concentrate on clearing his name and spending time with his family. “I worked effectively, fought hard and delivered for South Texas,” he said. “I will not apologize for standing up for our region.” In July, a Travis County grand jury charged Flores with 16 counts of tampering with government documents and three counts of perjury, alleging he hid more than $847,000 in...

A judge has ruled that a former Pennsylvania legislative power broker and his one-time aide should stand trial on corruption charges. Harrisburg District Judge William Wenner's ruling Friday was a serious setback for Mike Veon, the former Democratic House whip, and co-defendant Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. A previous judge had dismissed the charges but prosecutors refiled some of them. In the current charges, prosecutors allege that Veon and Perretta-Rosepink illegally diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit that Veon controlled — the Beaver Initiative for Growth — to hire consultants who did little or no work, rented office space that the...

Harlem Congressman Gave Campaign Contributions To 3 Dems On Ethics Committee Charged With Investigating Him

Yet another Democrat tax cheat, this time Charles Rangel, is reeling under an investigation from the IRS. Amazingly, Rangel has suddenly "found" nearly a million dollars in assets that somehow escaped his attention when he originally filed his tax return. Of course, like virtually every left-wing crook, from Timothy Geithner, to Barney Frank, to Sandy Berger, there will almost certainly be zero accountability for Mr. Rangel. Meanwhile, any Republican who is even accused of anything, no matter how blatantly erroneous, is railroaded out of office with non-stop

A 24-year-old arrested this morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at Colorado Democratic Party headquarters tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions. Maurice Schwenkler wore a shirt over his face, a hooded sweat shirt and latex gloves before he and another man fled the scene on bicycles, police said. Schwenkler was apprehended after a short chase. The other suspect remains at large. While Schwenkler does not appear in the state's voter registration database, a person by that name in November 2008 received $500 from a political 527 committee called Colorado Citizens Coalition...

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. attorney in New York on Tuesday charged a New York investor and major Democratic fund-raiser with a $74 million scheme to defraud Citigroup Inc (C.N). Hassan Nemazee, 59, was charged with one count of bank fraud, and faces up to 30 years in prison plus a fine. His lawyer Marc Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Nemazee was a national finance chair of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and a supporter of John Kerry's run for the White House in 2004....

Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Democratic Party consultant Armando Gutierrez and lobbyists Elizabeth and Joseph Carl Kupfer were indicted Wednesday on 50 counts each of conspiracy, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering over $100,000 and other charges for alleged acts occurring from 2004 through 2006. The four, who are named in separate indictments filed Wednesday afternoon in Bernalillo County District court, also are charged with making or permitting false public vouchers, making or taking kickbacks and tampering with evidence.

TRENTON—Former New Jersey State Senator Wayne R. Bryant was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison today for unlawfully using his power and influence to obtain a paid, low-show job at UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in exchange for lobbying and bringing millions of dollars in extra funding to the school, and using that job and others to fraudulently nearly triple his state pension, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Bryant’s co-defendant, former dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) in Stratford, R. Michael Gallagher, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his convictions for capitalizing...

N.J. politicians, rabbis arrested in federal money laundering sweep.

HOUSTON — A former Houston congressman accused of firing a gun at two teens in a car avoided going to trial Monday after working out a deal with prosecutors that would result in the charge against him being dropped at a later date. Craig Washington agreed to settle his case through something known as pretrial diversion, which is similar to probation but does not involve him having to change his not guilty plea. Under pretrial diversion, the case is postponed for two years and if he meets conditions set by the court, including finishing 60 hours of community service, the...

WATERLOO - On Friday the Republican Party of Iowa called for Democratic Waterloo Representative Kerry Burt to resign. Just one day after the state released a study saying Burt lied about his address in order to pay less for his kids' private school tuition, opponents say he shouldn't be representing the people of Waterloo at the Capitol. Burt's home address is listed int he state's on-line directory, as 150 Hawthorne Ave, Waterloo. But his kids go to a prestigious school in Cedar Falls, and because he doesn't live in the district, he is supposed to pay a fee. However, the...

RALEIGH - The prosecution of former state House Speaker Jim Black wound to a close Thursday, when he received the minimum 11- to 14- month state sentence for bribery after having paid a $1 million fine. But Black, who is already serving a 63-month sentence in federal prison, will serve his state sentence concurrently and will therefore likely not spend any additional time in a prison cell. "He is an old man who is sick and who will stay in prison, perhaps the rest of his life," said Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens, in explaining his leniency. "I...

Miguel Martinez, a member of the New York City Council whose once-promising political career ended when he abruptly resigned this week, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to three felony counts involving the misuse of public money intended for nonprofit organizations. Each of the charges carries up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, but under a plea agreement with the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, prosecutors have recommended that he serve 51 to 72 months. The sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 31.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has sentenced former Pennsylvania Sen. Vince Fumo to 55 months in prison for corruption convictions. Federal prosecutors say the wealthy Fumo stole not because he needed money but because "he was drunk with power." They had sought a sentence of more than 15 years. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter departed down from the guideline range of about 10 to 20 years, citing Fumo's public service. Fumo also must pay about $2 million in restitution.

LISTS IRISH HIDEAWAY'S WORTH AS MERE $638G Sen Dodd (D-Conn) may have low-balled value of Ireland vacation property. Dodd's financial disclosures claim $638,000 for his 3-bedroom cottage on 10 acres with breathtaking views of the Atlantic......Dodd's next-door neighbor was selling for $1.2M. "Dodd continues to mislead about the property's value," charged DC-based ethics watchdog, Judicial Watch. Dodd purchased 1/3 interest for $160,000 with William Kessinger, Kansas, who was a business partner of disgraced Bear Stearns principal Edward Downe Jr, Dodd's longtime friend. Downe pleaded guilty to insider trading and securities fraud in 1993 but was pardoned, at Dodd's urging, by...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A former state representative and once Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor told Indianapolis police that he was immune from arrest during an alleged drunken incident outside a gas station downtown early Friday morning. Dennie Oxley, 38, of Taswell, Ind., was with a 21-year-old female Indiana House intern in the parking lot of the Citgo gas station in the 400 block of East Ohio Street after 1 a.m., 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers appeared in Federal Court to plead guilty to felony charges that could put her behind bars for up to 5 years. Documents say she knowingly conspired to accept bribes or things of value while an agent of the City of Detroit. She also faces fines of up to $200,000. Action News has obtained the court documents that charge Conyers with 'Conspiracy to Commit Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds.' A cloud of suspicion has lingered over the councilwoman, concerning her role in the Synagro Sludge scandal. Charging documents from the U.S. Attorney's office allege she...

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that former New York State Assemblyman ANTHONY SEMINERIO pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to defrauding the public of his honest services. SEMINERIO, who represented New York's 38th Assembly district in Queens until his resignation yesterday, admitted to using a consulting firm he controlled to receive corrupt payments from various entities with business before the State of New York. SEMINERIO entered his guilty plea to the charge contained in a one-count Superseding Indictment before United States District Judge NAOMI REICE BUCHWALD. According to...