CREW, other watchdog organizations and legal observers will be monitoring the discussion today during a hearing by the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS). The hearing involves cases related to the federal honest services fraud statute -- a law that makes it a criminal offense for a public official to engage in "a scheme or artifice" to deprive citizens of "the intangible right of honest services."

This statute plays an indispensible role in holding public officials accountable for acts of corruption. CREW is concerned that the SCOTUS ruling could render the law toothless, removing a critical legal tool from prosecutors.

This morning on NPR's Marketplace, CREW's Melanie Sloan was one of those interviewed about the honest services fraud statute. Click here to listen to the story or read the transcript.

Today, federal prosecutors re-indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Why? Prosecutors are reportedly trying to avoid having their case against the ex-governor dismantled by an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In the coming weeks, many observers believe the high court may declare a law key to the original indictment to be unconstitutional. This law is often called the "honest services" fraud law. When this case was argued before the Supreme Court in December, several justices expressed concerns about the law's scope.

Last April, Blagojevich was charged with 17 counts of fraud, racketeering and other criminal activity. Reuters reports:

"The new charges ... are based on the same underlying criminal conduct," said Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, in a court filing accompanying the new grand jury indictment in Chicago.

The Illinois legislature impeached and removed Blagojevich, a Democrat, from office in January 2009, during his second term. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to go on trial in Chicago in June.

As 2009 draws to a close, CREW is looking back at what quickly became a busy year for ethical lapses in our federal government. Today, CREW released its list of the Top Ten Ethics Scandals of 2009 – a roundup of the year’s most outrageous government scandals.

The unranked list includes:

Believe us – we had a plethora of scandals to choose from.

Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director, explained CREW’s hopes for the new year:

It would be nice if 2010 proved to be the year politicians put Americans’ interests above their own, but I won’t hold my breath.

Click here (PDF) to read CREW’s Top Ten Ethics Scandals of 2009.

A lot is riding on an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that centers on a federal law banning “honest services fraud.” If the SCOTUS were to weaken or nullify the "honest services" provision — as a number of groups want it to — it would seriously undermine efforts to prosecute officials for corruption.

How big is the SCOTUS case? So big that a judge has delayed a retrial for Kevin Ring, a former congressional staffer who worked for lobbyist Jack Abramoff, until the Supreme Court issues its decision.

Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, tells the Los Angeles Times what a negative ruling would mean:

"It would undercut public corruption cases across the board."

As the L.A. Times article points out:

Bribing a public official is also a crime, but it's hard to prove. Prosecutors must show an explicit deal between the official and the person offering the bribe.

Most politicians who break the law are smart enough to make bribes or other corrupt deals in ways that leave no paper trail or other clear evidence of a quid pro quo. That’s why having the honest services fraud law is so important.

CREW will monitor arguments in this critical SCOTUS case and continue to speak out about it in the weeks and months ahead.