Political Corruption Silences Our Voice

[think]

Political Corruption Silences Our Voice

By CHRISTOPHER MATTEI - November 27 2016

I've stood in the hush of a federal courtroom, and urged citizen jurors to stand against corruption in our political system. I've looked into their resolute eyes and argued that corruption silences the one true thing we have in a democracy — our voice. And, I've seen them reclaim that voice when they announced their verdict to packed courtrooms.

As I watched this month's election returns, I was thinking about those jurors. They were drawn from all walks of life. They were united in their reverence for our political system and their contempt for those who would corrupt it. It wasn't just an illegal contribution or bribe payment that bothered them, though that was enough. It was the sense that our political system was being undermined more broadly and producing policy choices that deprived ordinary people of opportunities and protections they desperately need.

~Snip~

In Connecticut, we know this all too well. In the last few years, former Gov. John G. Rowland was convicted for receiving secret campaign payments in exchange for, among other things, using the public air waves to manipulate voters. George Gallo, the former chief of staff to the House Republican caucus, was convicted for siphoning money from our state's campaign finance system. Eight people, including high level operatives for a Democratic congressional campaign, were convicted for a scheme to make secret campaign contributions in exchange for legislative action that, if successful, would have jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars in public revenue.

This kind of behavior drives a wedge between citizens and their government, and unfairly tarnishes the many decent public officials who work hard every day....

Read more:
http://www.courant.com/opinion/insight/hc-op-insight-mattei-voters-tired-of-corruption-1127-20161123-story.html

Christopher Mattei of Hartford, a lawyer at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, was, until late last year, the chief of the Financial Fraud & Public Corruption unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Haven. He supervised the prosecutions of John Rowland, George Gallo and Robert Braddock, among others.