Newsletter August 2011

CREW Cuts
The Monthly Newsletter of CREW // August 2011 // Issue No. 52

SPOTLIGHT: CREW Keeps the Pressure on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Rupert Murdoch is feeling the heat in the U.S. thanks to CREW. When a British tabloid revealed that News Corp. journalists offered money to a New York City police officer for the phone records of 9/11 victims, CREW immediately called for a congressional investigation.

A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers quickly demanded public hearings. Toxic partisan politics are dominating U.S. headlines, but everyone can agree News Corp. must be held accountable if journalists invaded the privacy of American citizens.

Mr. Murdoch already testified before the British Parliament. CREW will work to make sure he has an encore performance on this side of the Atlantic.

A Ticket to Ride

railroads With Congress set to consider a major transportation bill, major money is starting to pour in to ensure special interests get exactly what they want.

Case in point: the railroad industry and its affiliated groups are looking to reduce safety regulations. CREW discovered contributions to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members jumped more than 25% between the 2008 and 2010 campaign cycles. Lobbyists are raking it in too: the industry has spent more than $152 million on federal lobbying since 2007. To top it off, two of those lobbyists are former members of Congress who now have sons sitting on the committee.

CREW Fights Public Corruption

bribery Bipartisanship is in short supply these days, but we’ve been working with members on both sides of the aisle on legislation to help law enforcement crack down on public corruption.

Bills to reinstate the crime of honest services fraud are being considered in both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation would go a long way towards closing many of the gaping loopholes in our bribery laws cause by the disastrous Supreme Court decision of Skilling v. United States.

We will continue pushing Congress to strengthen and pass these bills, and look forward to the day President Obama signs the legislation into law.

CREW Calls for a Special Counsel to Investigate the House Ethics Committee

Capitol Not since the days of Tom DeLay (R-TX) has the House Ethics Committee been such a blatant train wreck. Take, for example, the mess the committee has made of the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). New information uncovered by Politico highlighted just how the committee has been ripped apart by partisanship and pettiness.

After CREW called for an independent investigation into the committee, adult supervision was brought in, namely highly acclaimed attorney Billy Martin, who will investigate not only Rep. Waters, but the committee as a whole, including Chairman Jo Bonner (R-AL), who allegedly violated the committee’s confidentiality rules last year.

The appointment of an outside counsel is a welcome step forward, but we remain concerned with a contact provision allowing Chairman Bonner – a subject of Mr. Martin's investigation – to fire Mr. Martin at will. Not confidence inspiring, but it’s the House Ethics Committee, so what’s new?

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