"[E]ngaging in land deals as a path to wealth" for more members of Congress
Today, the Washington Post took a look at the growing phenomenon of the land deals that have enriched many members of Congress, sometimes through the use of federal aid:
When Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) entered the House of Representatives in 1983, he was coming off a year in which his law firm income was $17,474, and he was losing money on two rental properties.
By the end of 2006, according to financial disclosure reports released yesterday, after dabbling in real estate, Mollohan's wealth had soared to between $6 million and $24 million.
J. Dennis Hastert, a former high school teacher and wrestling coach, was first elected to Congress as a Republican from rural Illinois in 1986, showing assets worth at most $270,000. At the end of last year, after his own real estate investments, Hastert had a net worth of $4 million to $17 million.
Open-government and ethics watchdogs say that Mollohan and Hastert are part of a growing circle on Capitol Hill that is engaging in land deals as a path to wealth, and they argue that such transactions have the potential to benefit from legislators' political connections and official actions.
Circus Clowns
with slap-bats. They invite Judge Huvelle to bend over and let them slap her from behind in full view of the nation.
Watch the funny clowns.
Not so Funny...unfortunately.
Contrast the sentence given to "Scooter" Libby, convicted of the same sort of crime as Griles. Under an independent prosecution, Libby was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Here, the Republican Justice Department is seeking only 10 months jail time for Griles. The GOP has organized "Friends of Griles" into pushing a sentence that is no sentence but mocks the integrity of our laws. They are pressuring Judge Huvelle into a sentence which in effect makes Griles a lobbyist who fosters the same sort of corrupt activities that were under investigation and concerning which Jack Abramoff is presently being debriefed by DoJ investigators.
This campaign, described in the article above, is no doubt run from the White House. If they get Judge Huvelle to accept their recommendation, they can say to others who face criminal indictment "Don't worry- we'll make a lobbyist out of you, as we did Griles, and you'll make millions from our rich friends." In this fashion they hope to encourage the growing number of their people who face imprisonment to "tough out" the ordeal for their eventual reward for their loyalty. The administration cannot afford for these people to plea bargain and give evidence. Bushco has money and lots of rich friends who themselves have liablities in all of this, and so the money is there-plenty of it and the means to launder it are established. It's a matter of putting the cash to work in the most effective manner- nothing new for them. It means nothing to them that such intentions means obstruction of justice..because "it couldn't be proved in a million years".
For this ambitious scheme to succeed, they need to get Huvelle with them, somehow. Their tactics did not work with Walton, and it does not seem that it would work with any judge, particularly in a case so visible as this. We shall see.
more light is needed
on how these members acquired their wealth while public servants. Who are their business associates? What lucrative deals have they participated in? Where do they now own property and how much do they stand to make on the next pork barrel? Lots of questions for these fellows.
The "Family"
I want to know if that Assistant Attorney General at Justice in the environment worked for Griles new bride Wooldridge.
Thank God for this Judge!!!!!!!!!
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Cubin, Sansonetti plead for
Cubin, Sansonetti plead for a friend
By BRODIE FARQUHAR
Casper Star-Tribune correspondent
Two Wyoming political figures have written letters to a federal judge, requesting leniency in sentencing the former No. 2 official in the Interior Department who pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee.
J. Steven Griles is the second-highest-level Bush administration official to be caught up in the ongoing Department of Justice investigation of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Although Griles initially denied doing any favors for Abramoff’s casino-owning Indian tribe clients, court records show that Griles inserted himself into several casino cases at Interior.
U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., and Tom Sansonetti, former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's environment and natural resources division, have both written to Judge Ellen Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The two Wyoming Republicans are part of an effort by 91 people to convince the judge that Griles should not be sentenced to prison, but should instead be given three months' home confinement, 500 hours of community service and a "reasonable" $15,000 fine when he is sentenced June 26.
Sansonetti is an applicant for the vacant seat in the U.S. Senate left by the late Craig Thomas.
The 91 people also include three Republican-era former secretaries of Interior and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter. Cubin was the only member of Congress to go to bat for Griles.
Griles’ legal team has suggested that half of the community service would be with "Wonderful Outdoor World" in the position of national counselor and strategic planning coordinator. In that post, Griles would develop public and private partnerships among federal land agencies, Disney Co. and the American Recreation Coalition, as well as raise money and conduct outreach to the government and media. The other half of Griles' community service would focus on "Operation Coaches and Warriors," to assist injured veterans of the Iraq war.
Griles pleading guilty this spring to a felony for making false statements in testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005 and earlier in an interview with panel investigators working for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the committee. Griles withheld information from the committee about his meeting Abramoff through Italia Federici, president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy. Griles was dating Federici at that time.
Earlier this month, Federici pleaded guilty to one count of income tax evasion and one count of obstructing the U.S. Senate’s investigation into the corruption scandal surrounding Abramoff, before Judge Huvelle.
According to court documents, Griles’ felony charge could land him in prison for a maximum of five years and carry a $250,000 fine. Department of Justice attorneys, however, recommended a 10-month sentence -- half to be served in a federal prison...
Scott Silver, executive director of Wild Wilderness and an environmental advocate, expressed dismay that Griles sought leniency.
“Instead of doing jail time for lying to Congress in the Jack Abramoff investigation, disgraced Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles has asked a federal judge to be allowed to do community service with the American Recreation Coalition and the Walt Disney Company,” Silver said, “and to once again work on their behalf much as he did before being caught, fired and convicted.”
Griles is scheduled for sentencing on June 26.