CREW RELEASES THIRD ANNUAL MOST CORRUPT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS REPORT

[babylonsister]

http://www.beyonddelay.org/node/373

CREW RELEASES THIRD ANNUAL MOST CORRUPT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS REPORT

September 18, 2007

Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch). This encyclopedic report on corruption in the 110th Congress documents the egregious, unethical and possibly illegal activities of the most tainted members of Congress. CREW has compiled the members’ transgressions and analyzed them in light of federal laws and congressional rules.

Sixteen members have been replaced from last year’s list of 25.

CREW also has re-launched the report’s tandem website, www.beyonddelay.org. The site offers short summaries of each member’s transgressions as well as the full-length profiles and all accompanying exhibits.

Members of the Senate:
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Members of House:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)

Dishonorable Mention:
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

“Every year CREW creates this compendium of corruption to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “With the third edition of Beyond DeLay it has become abundantly clear that many public officials believe that the rules don’t apply to them.”

Sloan continued, “Nevertheless, Congress persists in abdicating its constitutional responsibility to police itself, opting to ignore the ethical and legal transgressions of its members. Luckily for the public, at least the Department of Justice still believes that political corruption is worth pursuing.”

Several members in the study are already under federal investigation including: Reps. Calvert, Doolittle, Feeney, Jefferson, Lewis, Miller, Mollohan, Murphy, Renzi and Young, as well as Senator Stevens.

***

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.

For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/[e-mail].

###

[Hepburn]

1. I am from Calif and I used to live in the "Inland Empire."

IMO, both Kenny Calvert and Jerry Lewis are two very corrupt pieces of shit. Both need some time in the gray bar hotel.

JMHO

[leftofthedial]

2. it should be illegal to be a repuke

the GOP is an organized crime syndicate

[Beaverhausen]

3. John Murtha?

Wha?

[gilpo]

6. They don't call him the "King of Earmarks" for nothin'!

[Blue_In_AK]

4. WOW, look at us!!

All three of our congressional delegation made the list. I am so proud to be an Alaskan today. :sarcasm:

At least they're being called out on it and Alaskans are starting to question.

Two editorials from today's Anchorage Daily News...
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/9312339p-9227306c.html

Speak up, senator
Testimony raises questions; Alaskans deserve answers

Published: September 18, 2007
Last Modified: September 18, 2007 at 02:53 AM

Bill Allen, former chairman of Veco, testified last week that he paid for some of the labor and provided some materials for the remodeling of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens’ home in Girdwood.

Sen. Ted Stevens has said little about the FBI investigation into the remodeling, which is part of a wide-ranging corruption probe. He has said only that he paid every bill he was sent.

Even before Mr. Allen’s testimony at the corruption trial of former state Rep. Pete Kott, the next question was obvious:

Were some bills never sent to Sen. Stevens, and paid by someone else? According to Mr. Allen, his oil-field services company picked up the tab for some furniture. Employees on Veco’s payroll did some of the work. And Mr. Allen said Veco might have paid the bills of some contractors on the job, but he wasn’t sure.

Sen. Stevens has refused to say more about the remodeling deal, in part because he refuses to comment about an ongoing investigation. Any lawyer would advise silence for his client in these circumstances. But Sen. Stevens has more than just an obligation to himself here. He has an obligation to clear the air with his constituents, the people of Alaska who have elected him to office, the people for whom he works.

If he wasn’t getting all the bills, did he know that? Did he make sure he was paying for all services? Why did he have his home remodeled through Veco, a company that was not in the home building or remodeling business?

Mr. Allen is an admitted felon, so his word may not be the coin of the realm. But his account under oath naturally makes Alaskans wonder about the legitimacy of the Girdwood work - did Sen. Stevens accept gifts and services and, if so, did he violate federal tax laws and Senate ethics rules?

No one has suggested, nor is there any evidence, that Mr. Allen received any favors from Sen. Stevens in return for his work. But the evidence does suggest that an influential Alaskan was taking care of the senator.

Sen. Stevens hasn’t been charged with anything. But the Girdwood deal and Mr. Allen’s testimony have raised questions that Alaskans deserve to have answered, not with stonewalling and anger, but straight up. The Alaskan of the Century gets no free pass - he’s still accountable to those who elect him, and not just every six years.

BOTTOM LINE: Sen. Ted Stevens owes Alaskans an explanation, the sooner the better.

Steer clear

Sen. Stevens should abstain from key FBI, justice agency votes

Sen. Ted Stevens is under investigation by the FBI.

Sen. Stevens also sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has a strong say in the funding of that agency along with the rest of the federal government.

Sen. Stevens should steer clear of any role with regard to FBI funding and abstain from voting on it.

He also should steer clear of the Senate’s advise-and-consent role on the nomination of a new U.S. attorney general. That individual will head the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI. The attorney general would likely have a role in discussions about the investigation of Sen. Stevens and what, if any, further action the evidence suggested.

Finally, should the Internal Revenue Service take a look at the Girdwood remodeling project, the senator should abstain from any appropriations decisions about that agency.

Let’s reiterate: Sen. Stevens has not been charged with anything. The fact that he is involved in a federal investigation is not an indictment. His service to Alaska since 1968 entitles him to a generous benefit of the doubt.

But the investigation creates a conflict between the senator’s appropriation duties and the budgets of one or more federal agencies - and with his prospective vote on a new attorney general. The subject of an investigation shouldn’t have a say in an investigating agency’s budget or personnel.

Sen. Stevens should steer clear of those votes as he lets the investigation take its course.

BOTTOM LINE: As long as he’s the subject of a federal investigation, Sen. Stevens should abstain from votes and debate on the investigating agencies.

[Applan]

5. It's a bipartisan scandal

Now MOVE ON!

[babylonsister]

7. That's okay; we need to know who's doing what, regardless of their

political affiliation. So the best advice is not to 'move on' and bury this.