Investigation:
New Jersey Senator’s Records Subpoenaed

ERIC HOLDER'S OFFICE SHOULD BE CALLED THE DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE

HOLDER SEEMS TO LOVE MUSLIMS AND MUSLIM TERRORISTS

HOLDER HAS 9 PROSECUTORS IN HIS DEPARTMENT RIGHT AT THE TOP WHO HAVE REPRESENTED GUANTANAMO TERRORISTS.

HE LAW FIRM HAS REPRESENTED 18 TERRORISTS

National Review Online (NRO)

May 6, 2009 1:30 P.M.

The Justice Department’s Torture Hypocrisy

Investigate Bush lawyers’ torture analysis one day, cite it favorably the next.

Excerpts:

The Obama Justice Department is engaged in the worst type of hypocrisy. Its Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is nearing completion of a 220-page report which will recommend that Attorney General Eric Holder refer former Bush administration lawyers to their state bar disciplinary committees over purported ethical lapses in the legal analysis those lawyers drafted to justify harsh interrogation techniques that critics — including President Obama himself — have labeled “torture.” The draft report, which is not public, was nevertheless reported on last night by the Washington Post and New York Times — apparently based on leaks from the Justice Department (in an ethics case, no less). Such bar referrals could result in profound professional and financial damage, potentially including disbarment — all due to actions the lawyers took in defense of the United States after the 9/11 attacks.

Yet, even as the OPR report is being finalized, even after Obama declared himself open to the possibility of criminal prosecution against the Bush officials, and even after Holder promised to conduct an investigation that would “follow the evidence wherever it takes us, follow the law wherever that takes us” (emphasis added), the Obama Justice Department is relying on the very same legal analysis in order to urge a federal appeals court to reject torture claims. In fact, as the Obama Justice Department argued to that appeals court a little over a week ago, the torture law analysis in question has already been adopted by another federal appeals court.

Full article Andrew C McCarthy NRO

POLITICO

Conyers' wife pleads guilty

GUILTY OF BRIBERY

Monica Conyers (wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers) pleads guilty Friday to federal bribery charges.

Excerpts:

Monica Conyers, the chairwoman of the Detroit City Counciland wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), pleaded guilty Friday to federal bribery charges, the latest blow to a city still reeling from the collapse of the U.S. auto industry and the jailing of its former mayor.

Monica Conyers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with a city sludge-hauling scandal. As a member of the Detroit City Council in 2007, Conyers cast the deciding vote in favor of awarding a $1.2 billion contract to Synagro Technologies Inc.

Monica Conyers’ attorney said Friday that she would be sentenced to between 30 and 37 months in federal prison.

Full article Politico

NEW YORK POST

RAHM'S 'RENT' IS JUST THE TIP OF ETHICS ICEBERG

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

Emanuel: "Oversaw" Freddie Mac's antics, then got donation from Freddie's PAC.

February 17, 2009

Full article DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN New York Post

Excerpts:

NEWS broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent- free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) - and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel's previously undislosed ethics problems.

One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro's husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel's days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last five years for free in the tony Capitol Hill townhouse owned by De Lauro and her husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg.

BALTIMORESUN.COM

Mayor Sheila Dixon indicted

Counts of perjury, theft, misconduct in office among 12-count indictment

By Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz annie.linskey@baltsun.com and julie.bykowicz@baltsun.com BALTIMORESUN.COM

January 9, 2009

Full article By Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz annie.linskey@baltsun.com and julie.bykowicz@baltsun.com

Excerpts:

Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today with 12 counts of felony theft, perjury, fraud and misconduct in office, becoming the city's first sitting mayor to be criminally indicted.

The case stems in part from at least $15,348 in gifts Dixon allegedly received from her former boyfriend, prominent city developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, while she was City Council president. She also is accused of using as much as $3,400 in gift cards, some donated to her office for distribution to "needy families," to purchase Best Buy electronics and other items for herself and her staff.

Lipscomb was not indicted in the Dixon case, but he and City Councilwoman Helen L. Holton were charged this week in a separate $12,500 bribery scheme. Both cases grew out of a nearly three-year probe by the state prosecutor into City Hall corruption

HOT AIR.COM

Minnesota Recount:

Franken’s Sore Loser Strategy

November 29, 2008

Ed Morrissey

Full article Ed Morrissey HOT AIR.Com

Excerpts:

The setback at the Canvassing Board has forced Al Franken to face the fact that he didn’t get enough valid votes to beat Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s Senate Race. With the rejection of his bid to get the panel to add in thousands of rejected absentee ballots, there seems little chance that the remaining 15% of ballots left in the recount will produce the kind of change that 85% has not. What’s a surly, self-absorbed DFL candidate to do?

Sue:

Minnesota’s U.S. Senate showdown is veering down a path toward the courts and possibly the Senate itself after a panel’s ruling on rejected absentee ballots dealt a blow to Democrat Al Franken’s chances.

For the first time, his campaign on Wednesday openly discussed mounting challenges after the hand recount involving Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman concludes. That includes the possibility of drawing the Senate into the fracas.

Culture of Corruption--The special case of Bob Menendez

NRO Weekend

October 31, 2006

By Stephen Spruiell

Full article Stephen Spruiell NRO WEEKEND

Excerpts:

For the past week, the mainstream media has run story after story about the nastiness of this year’s campaign ads — perhaps as a way to distract our attention from their own dirty tricks. Among the ads that have drawn critical coverage are those currently running in New Jersey against incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. Most of the local media have scolded the campaign of Republican candidate Tom Kean Jr. for the “down and dirty” ads, and a national commentator even called them racist. But there is nothing dirty or racist about pointing out that Menendez is the only U.S. senator whose dealings are the subject of a federal corruption probe.

Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat has been subpoenaed. The investigation centers on records of a rental deal between Mr. Menendez and a nonprofit agency in Union City.

This criminal investigation comes two weeks after the Newark Star-Ledger reported that while Menendez was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he collected more that $300,000 from the nonprofit agency.

During that time, the group received millions of dollars of federal funding, allegedly with the help of Mr. Menendez.

Two members of the U.S. House filed an ethics charge against Mr. Menendez. They accused him of a conflict of interest.

Independent Watch groups have made similar charges, claiming that a conflict existed from seeking federal funds for his tenant.

Mr. Menendez spokesman, Matt Miller believes there is no threat to the Senator, but did question the timing of the subpoena, with the election less than 8 weeks away.

"This transaction was already approved by the House Ethics Committee, and the U.S. attorney will find that Bob Menendez did nothing but support a well-respected agency in the exact same manner that he has supported other nonprofits in the state," Miller said.

"We're troubled by the timing of this subpoena in the middle of a political campaign, but the facts are that the NHCAC has received federal funds for over 35 years because they provide education and health care services to New Jerseyans who need it the most," he said.

Christopher Christie is the U.S. Attorney leading the investigation. Christie was appointed by President George W. Bush. Supposedly, Mr. Christie has pursued Democrats and Republicans and is respected by Congressmen on both sides of the aisle.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the following on September 9th

“Menendez has said that he got an informal approval from the House ethics committee before he went ahead with the lease.

His spokesman, said yesterday the ethics committee has no record of that conversation, which took place more than a decade ago.

The ethics committee does provide members with advisory opinions, both in writing and verbally.

But verbal opinions afford members little protection, and cannot be used to head off an ethics investigation if their conduct is called into question.

Written opinions, on the other hand, do afford members some level of defense. If the ethics committee issues an opinion approving a transaction, the member can cite the letter as grounds for preventing an ethics investigation.”

Investigation To Democrats