Tag: Scandals

Robert Novak Out at CNN

Jon Ponder

Buh-bye: CNN has (finally!) separated itself from Robert Novak, whom Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” dubbed the “douchebag of liberty.” Novak is, of course, the Republican propagandist who gleefully outed a CIA secret agent who was working under cover tracking black market trafficking in weapons of mass destruction overseas.

Recently, Media Matters for America took action to encourage CNN to oust Novak:

Media Matters for America delivered nearly 5,000 letters to CNN’s Washington Bureau today urging the network not to renew its contract with syndicated columnist and CNN contributor Robert D. Novak. Novak’s contract with CNN is reportedly set to expire in early 2006, but the controversial conservative pundit has not appeared on the channel since August 2005, when he was suspended after uttering an obscenity and storming off the set. In the two years since he exposed Valerie Plame, wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, as a CIA operative, Novak has made several contradictory statements regarding crucial issues in the case; the ongoing leak investigation has so far led to the indictment of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

“While Mr. Novak remains suspended by CNN for uttering an obscenity on live TV and storming off the set, I hope they take the next appropriate step of not renewing his contract,” said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America. “In addition to Novak’s long history of spreading conservative misinformation on CNN, his credibility as one of the network’s contributors has been severely compromised by his contradictory statements and accounts, as well as by his complete lack of candor, on the issue of his involvement in the outing of Valerie Plame.”

Scandals Collide: DeLay & the Dukester

Jon Ponder

Go Ronnie: Brent Wilkes is the guy who gave Schwarzenegger $70k and received a cushy post on the board of the Del Mar racetrack. Looks like he may have also bribed Tom DeLay – allegedly:

A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of a California congressman as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued subpoenas late Monday afternoon for California businessmen Brent Wilkes and Max Gelwix, records of Perfect Wave Technologies LLC, Wilkes Corp. and ADCS Inc. in connection with a contribution to a fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to DeLay’s indictment on money laundering charges.

Perfect Wave contributed $15,000 in September 20, 2002 to Texans for a Republican Majority, a fundraising committee founded by DeLay, R-Texas.

Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham resigned in late November after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to companies.

On Tuesday, Earle subpoenaed written testimony DeLay and two others gave in a 1994 lawsuit brought by DeLay’s former pest control business partner. Ex-partner Robert Blankenship alleged in the suit that he was unjustly cut out of the business by DeLay and another man. The lawsuit ended in a confidential settlement in 1995.

Groups Demand Investigation into $4.2 Mil That Ralph Reed Took from Abramoff

Jon Ponder

Ralph & the Devil: Former Christian Coalition president Ralph Reed is known for his choir boy looks and a propensity for believing his own press. What other than blinding hubris could have led him to take $4.2 million from a sleazebag like Jack Abramoff? And you gotta hand it to him – he almost doubled disgraced GOP congressman Randy Cunningham, whose bribes from military contractors only totaled $2.4 million:

Texans for Public Justice, Common Cause of Texas and Public Citizen filed their complaint with Travis County Attorney David Escamilla.

They said Reed failed to register as a Texas lobbyist in 2001 and 2002, when he received a reported $4.2 million from Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon to push for the closure of casinos operated by the Tigua tribe of El Paso and the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston in East Texas…

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Liberal Gop Rep: House Leaders Don’t Get It

Jon Ponder

If the pundit prognisticators are correct, the Capitol will be awash in the Abramoff scandals in a very few months. Some are predicting that the political damage to Republicans in the House of Representatives could lead to huge losses in the November elections that puts the GOP majority in jeopardy.

“I am very uneasy that my leadership doesn’t get it now. They’re going to get it in November if they don’t get it now.”
– Rep. Chris Shays

One subspecies of Republicans who could be in particular peril is the small group of northeastern liberal Republicans. One of these turkeys with his head on the chopping block is Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut:

The growing ethics scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff could explode in the coming months and put at risk Republican control of the House, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., warned today. “There will be bad stories that come out that are embarrassing to Republicans and will cause them trouble,” Shays said at a briefing. “I’m holding my breath.” Shays, a moderate often at odds with the more conservative leadership, said GOP leaders do not yet understand the magnitude of the ethics problems swirling around the House — including Abramoff’s relationship with Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the former majority leader. “If I were leadership, I would be very concerned about the next few months and try to understand what’s going on,” Shays said. “I am very uneasy that my leadership doesn’t get it now. They’re going to get it in November if they don’t get it now.”
— Rep. Chris Shays

Christianists Used Nazi-esque ‘Science’ to Convince Ford to End Gay Ads

Jon Ponder

Gullible in Detroit: AmericaBlog is leading the fight against Ford Motor Co.’s decision to stop advertising to gays and lesbians because of pressure from the ultra-crazy American Family Association (AFA) and other fundamentalist extremists. Now they have uncovered evidence that the AFA based its case against gays on psuedo-scientific data created by an organization listed as a “hate group” by the Southern Law and Poverty Center (SLPC).

“It is tragic that Ford ‘values’ a lifestyle which is harmful to so many, and leads to an early death. The average lifetime for a practicing homosexual is in the lower 40’s. Ford equates homosexual relationships with marriage.”
-AFA, citing fake data on longevity of gay people

What is worse than the AFA using such shoddy, discredited propaganda is the fact that executives at Ford were either complicit with the AFA, or they were incredibly gullible and naive (which might explain the downward slide of American auto manufacturing over the past 30 years).

Readers of AmericaBlog found an action alert about homosexuality from the AFA that was based on false data developed by Paul Cameron, head of the hate group, the Family Research Institute. Now the question is, did Ford use the AFA data – which the SLPC says “echoes Nazi Germany” – in its use the fake data to influence decision to pull its advertising from gay magazines and events:

1. FORD MUST COME CLEAN ABOUT NAZI-ESQUE SCIENCE

We now know the AFA used Nazi-esque “science” in 2002 to try influence Ford, and may very well have used that Nazi-esque science in its ongoing communications with Ford this year. Ford must immediately come clean as to whether any Nazi-esque anti-gay science was discussed in any of its secret meetings, phone calls and communications with the AFA. And more importantly, Ford must immediately disclose whether its decision to drop the gay ads and events was in any way based on its consideration of this hate group’s science that “echoes Nazi Germany.”

Specifically, the AFA is using Paul Cameron’s fake “study” in which he determines that gay men die by the age of 40. I’m serious. (Cameron simply read the obituaries of gay men in gay publications in 1993, then averaged the age of death – really.) The AFA literally cited the results of this study in their action alert – I’ve been following Cameron’s “research” and the religious right’s use of him for the past 13 years.

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Abramoff Homie Agrees to Tell All; Now Casting: Miamiana — The True Story

Trish

The plot has thickened and it’s not looking good for Jack Abramoff. His co-defendant on wire fraud and conspiracy charges, Adam Kidan, has agreed to sing like a budgie in exchange for a reduced sentence, from the 30 years he was facing down to 10.

The news seems to come as a surprise to Abramoff. South Florida Sun Sentinel:

Kidan reportedly feared for his life, which is kind of funny, considering that Boulis is the one who ended up splattered all over his car in a hail of bullets

Abramoff’s attorney, Neal Sonnett, said, “I hadn’t heard that” when asked Wednesday about Kidan’s intended plea. Sonnett said he wouldn’t comment until he received official notification. Abramoff has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Under the plea deal, Kidan would testify against Abramoff, his longtime friend and mentor.

We’ll understand all this better in the movie version, but basically it looks like Kidan and Abramoff, who met (I’m not making this up) at a young Republicans club while they were in college in Washington, cooked up a scheme to rip off the owner of the SunCruz gambling boats. Gus Boulis, a Greek immigrant, built the casino operation from money earned in his Miami Subs sandwich franchise but was now in need of a solid, upstanding American to look like the boss. […]

Cunningham Bribe Figure Gave $70k to Schwarzenegger, Received Two Appointments

Jon Ponder

Los Angeles Times:

A businessman tied to the bribery scandal involving former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham donated more than $70,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign committees and received two gubernatorial appointments.

At Schwarzenegger’s behest, Brent Wilkes, founder of the government contractor ADCS Inc., resigned Nov. 29 from the Del Mar Fair Board and from another panel that oversees the leasing of state land for racetracks, said Margita Thompson, the governor’s press secretary.

Schwarzenegger appointed Wilkes to the Del Mar board in April 2004 and to the State Race Track Leasing Commission last April. A seat on the Del Mar board is a sought-after post given the panel’s association with the Del Mar racetrack, among the most successful tracks in the nation…

When asked whether Wilkes’ appointments were linked to the donations, Thompson said: “Absolutely not…. There is no connection at all.”

…According to Cunningham’s plea agreement, Wilkes gave him more than $635,000 in bribes. Wilkes is not named in the Cunningham indictment or in the written plea agreement, but he is referred to as one of four unnamed co-conspirators, one of Wilkes’ attorneys has said. That lawyer, Michael Lipman, did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Wilkes’ company, ADCS, which is based in Poway, has received millions in federal contracts. According to the plea agreement, Cunningham pressured the Department of Defense to award contracts to ADCS, though it is not clear from the plea bargain that his intervention was pivotal.

Though ADCS appears to focus its efforts on winning federal contracts, the company also has done a small amount of business with the state. In 2001 and 2003, before Schwarzenegger took office, California selected ADCS as one of the vendors that could be hired to transform paper documents into computer images.

CA-50: Can a Dem Take Dukester’s House Seat in Special Election?

Jon Ponder

Ripe for the picking? There is a good chance that a Democrat might win the special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Duke Cunningham, the Republican who resigned after admitting to taking $2.4 million in bribes from a defense contractor:

Democrat Francine Busby, the Cardiff school district board trustee and the party’s 2004 candidate for the 50th District seat … secured the endorsement of EMILY’s List late last week, ensuring she will have the financial backing to be competitive. EMILY’s List President Ellen Malcolm said Monday that Cunningham’s resignation and “the whole constellation of issues” (i.e. Iraq and rising gas prices) “could change the mood” enough to elect Busby.

House Republicans aren’t worried yet. “Busby got 36% in the last election. NOTHING has changed in this district outside of the current congressman resigning. And she is not running against the current congressman,” said Carl Forti, spokesman at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Martha McKenna, political director of EMILY’s List, said the organization has been working with Busby for some time and believes she is a much improved candidate following a 58 percent to 36 percent defeat at the hands of Cunningham last November. (As the Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter notes, Busby underperformed John Kerry in the district by eight points in 2004, a worrisome sign for her ability to unify the Democratic base behind her candidacy.) McKenna compared Busby to Reps. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Stephanie Herseth (D-S.D.), both of whom lost their first race for Congress. “[Busby] is much more serious about her campaign,” said McKenna.

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Dems Demand Inquiry into Fed’s Approval of DeLay’s Texas Redistricting Plan

Jon Ponder

Contempt for democracy: In December 2003, then-House Speaker Tom DeLay engineered a coup of sorts in the state of Texas when he rejiggered the state’s electoral districts to ensure that Republicans would win a majority of seats in Texas delegation to the U.S. House.

“Washington Republicans, led by the White House and Tom DeLay, are dismantling minority voting rights as fast as they can,” said state TX Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D). “It is ironic to find out now that the Justice Department civil rights attorneys agreed with us.”

Electoral districts are usually redrawn after each census so it was unusual to reconfigure them three years into the decade. It was also expedient and effective. In the 2004 congressional elections, delegation flipped from a 17-15 Democratic majority to a 21-11 Republican majority.

But a memo leaked this week shows that Bush political appointee at the Justice Dept. quashed objections to the redistricting plans on grounds that it violated provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

Democrats want answers:

The House Democratic leader wants an independent inquiry into the Justice Department’s decision to approve a Texas redistricting plan that staff lawyers concluded diluted minority voting rights.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the decision by senior officials to ignore the staff lawyers’ conclusions – contained in a 73-page memo made public Friday – was political.

“There must be an independent inquiry into the contemptible politicization of the Justice Department to rubberstamp U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay’s illegal redistricting scheme in Texas,” Pelosi said.

The plan was pushed through the state legislature by DeLay, R-Texas, to help elect more Republicans to the House when he was the chamber’s GOP leader. It was approved in time for the 2004 elections.

Several political hacks who were installed by the Bush team at Justice allegedly helped DeLay enact his redistricting scheme, including Sheldon Bradshaw, an assistant to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, overruled the staff and approved the plan for use in the next election cycle. Hans von Spakovsky and Brad Schlozman, political appointees to the civil rights division, were also alleged to have been involved.

DeLay’s plan was audacious. He did it right out in the open. Liberals were outraged but the media treated it like a political stunt. Texas House Democrats halted the plan briefly in regular session by breaking a quorum and going to Oklahoma. Senate Democrats held it up for two months with a quorum break in New Mexico.

Democratic Texas Sen. Leticia Van De Putte, who was involved in the failed fight to stop DeLay’s plan back in 2003, says:

“Washington Republicans, led by the White House and Tom DeLay, are dismantling minority voting rights as fast as they can. It is ironic to find out now that the Justice Department civil rights attorneys agreed with us.”

Bush Admin Quashed Justice Dept. Objections to DeLay’s Texas Redistricting Plan

Jon Ponder

Washington Post:

Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.

“The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect,” the memo concluded.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department’s voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

“The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect,” the memo concluded.

The memo also found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.

But the Texas legislature proceeded with the new map anyway because it would maximize the number of Republican federal lawmakers in the state, the memo said. The redistricting was approved in 2003, and Texas Republicans gained five seats in the U.S. House in the 2004 elections, solidifying GOP control of Congress.

J. Gerald “Gerry” Hebert, one of the lawyers representing Texas Democrats who are challenging the redistricting in court, said of the Justice Department’s action: “We always felt that the process . . . wouldn’t be corrupt, but it was. . . . The staff didn’t see this as a close call or a mixed bag or anything like that. This should have been a very clear-cut case.”