Scandals

see scandal sex bak

pseudoscandals are mfg'd, eg climategate, bimbogate, whitewater etc; might also be crypto in that the mechanisms of accountability are being turned into weapons, eg newt taking out Wright

someone noted that sex scandals take no bravery to report but present the appearance of of speaking truth to power (plus sensational); note also long been used to take down progressive leaders (Parnell, Assange?)

legit scandal eg abramoff leads to reforms, in this case greater transparency and accountability OCS:

prolly seriously neglected esp w/ djt but 919 seem to be piling up: iniv 1 on hush $, scotland mil refuel, g7 mtg maralago,

trump 2 doj threw out charges on 2 GoP reps?

signalgate fails to be full scandal in flood zone shit?

sharpiegate

// CA cafe threat? authoritarian

https://www.alternet.org/2019/09/internet-demands-trump-fire-wilbur-ross-over-news-commerce-secretary-threatened-to-fire-noaa-officials/

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PKO

Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout

08/27/2026

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Democrats are using a leaked grand jury report on Hope Florida as a fresh line of attack against Sunshine State GOP incumbents, seizing on findings that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration “misappropriated” $10 million in taxpayer funds from a health care settlement intended to help needy children.

The controversy — first uncovered by GOP state lawmakers — has given Democrats an opening to tie two prominent Republicans to a dispute over millions of dollars in taxpayer money that ultimately flowed into a DeSantis-backed political committee.

The long-running scandal involved a charity connected to an initiative spearheaded by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, called the Hope Florida Foundation, and has entangled GOP Sen. Ashley Moody and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, both of whom were appointed to their current jobs by the governor and are up for elections in November.

On Wednesday, a grand jury report looking into the funds was leaked to CBS Miami. According to the report, jurors concluded that state officials shifted upwards of $10 million as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities” because the money eventually went to a political committee and the Republican Party of Florida to defeat an amendment that would have broadly legalized marijuana in the state. Some of the money also flowed into a political committee tied to Gov. DeSantis himself, according to the grand jury.

But the report — which was apparently issued in January but has been kept under seal since then — also concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to criminally charge anyone because “nobody will take responsibility” for routing the money to the foundation or “had any memory of who made it.” At the time money was shifted, Moody was state attorney general while Uthmeier was the governor’s chief of staff.

CBS Miami published its story on the grand jury report on Wednesday, the same day state Rep. Angie Nixon, the Democrat running against Moody, launched her campaign kickoff event in Jacksonville. Ahead of her kickoff, Nixon called on Moody to resign and described the funds transfer as “corrupt” and “disrespectful” in an interview with POLITICO. She drew attention to the report in her stump speech before a crowd of around 200 people who gathered for her campaign launch later that night.

“It just came out today,” Nixon said of the news report. “She stole $10 million for medically needy kids in order to defeat two citizen-led ballot initiatives that you all placed on the ballot that would have allowed you all to have healthier lives.”

Asked about this before the revelations in the grand jury report were published, Moody’s campaign pointed to how Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, which is responsible for setting health policy and planning, negotiated and settled the agreement with health insurer Centene after Centene overbilled Florida’s Medicaid program. The settlement ultimately led to the health insurer paying back the state $57 million, with another $10 million flowing into Hope Florida.

Moody’s Senate office spokesperson, Will O’Grady, said Thursday the leaked report “confirms what we have said all along,” regarding how AHCA negotiated the agreement “and the settlement funds were disbursed according to its terms.”

“Neither the Department of Legal Affairs nor the former attorney general had knowledge of how the settlement money would be spent,” he said. “Attempts to characterize this any other way are disingenuous.” Moody released a similar statement on X, blaming the news on the “political season” where “there may be a tendency to misrepresent the facts.”

But the grand jury report concluded Moody knew about the plans to divert the money to the foundation and “authorized” John Guard — then a top official in her office — to sign the settlement agreement. The report additionally stated Guard worried about the transfer and raised it with Moody, and as a result the settlement was rewritten so that AHCA was directing the funds instead of the attorney general. In her statement, Moody said “multiple agencies” signed the final agreement.

President Donald Trump nominated Guard for a federal judgeship last year but did not renominate him this year. Guard appeared before the grand jury, though Moody and Uthmeier didn’t. Asked about the leaked grand jury report on Thursday, DeSantis said during a press conference in Lake City, Florida, that “the only crime that was apparent” was its leak.

“There was no diversion of any Medicaid funds. It was a private settlement,” he said. The governor also argued that the “whole reason” the investigation came up was to “smear” his wife, though he didn’t raise the fact that the news had reached a fever pitch last year while Casey DeSantis was weighing a run for governor. The first lady is only mentioned in the grand jury report in the context of describing what Hope Florida is, not in regard to any transfer of funds.

Uthmeier was not only the governor’s chief of staff when the money was transferred but was also leading the political committee the governor was pushing to try to convince the public to vote against the pot ballot measure. Asked about the report Thursday, Uthmeier during a press conference in The Villages called it a “politically motivated witch hunt” and “hoax,” and maintained “nobody did anything wrong here.” He accused Democrats of collusion with the press to leak the report, though didn’t offer evidence of how CBS obtained the report, and pointed out how he wasn’t allowed under Florida law to comment on grand jury proceedings.

Democrat José Javier Rodríguez, who’s running against Uthmeier for Florida attorney general, called on his rival to “resign, come clean and turn himself in.” He pointed out that the report also said that Uthmeier was a key figure in the diversion of the funds and later was among those who’d been blocking the release of the report.

“This report pulls back the veil on the corruption Floridians have been seeing for years,” Javier Rodríguez said. “Enough is enough.”

David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor, pledged Thursday to “reopen” an investigation “into the laundering of Medicaid funds” if elected. Jolly, in a statement posted on X, noted that those involved — including Uthmeier and Moody — had been appointed to key posts by DeSantis, which he asserted was designed to “further insulate anyone from accountability and hide the truth from Floridians.” The campaign for Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for governor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nixon said she wasn’t certain whether her campaign would be able to run ads on the matter — she has raised about $2.5 million since launching her campaign in January, an amount that falls far short of what would be needed to run a statewide ad. She added, however, that she would “hit [Moody] hard on it.”

“Kids are probably going to die because they didn’t get the resources that they needed,” she told POLITICO.

Annette Taddeo, the Democratic candidate for Florida chief financial officer, used the report to criticize current CFO Blaise Ingoglia, another DeSantis appointee, for “ignoring stealing in plain sight” and spending time criticizing local government instead of focusing on issues in state government.

Ingoglia was not in his position at the time the transfer occurred, but Katie Strickland, now a top aide for him, worked in the DeSantis administration at the time and was identified by other witnesses “as a participant in meetings and conversations.” The grand jury found her testimony “not credible” and called her testimony “least informative” because “she could hardly recall any details or information” about the settlement. Strickland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, state Senate Democrats called on both Moody and Uthmeier to resign.

Democrats aren’t the only ones raising concerns. The initial investigation was started by GOP members of the state House before the grand jury took it up. The GOP state representative leading the investigation, Alex Andrade, had sent his records to the Second Judicial Circuit. GOP Sen. Rick Scott, a two-term former governor, had praised the state House’s work and said the money should be paid back. When asked about the latest report, Scott called it “deeply concerning.”

“Money designated to help poor kids was diverted to political ads,” he said. “Florida families deserve accountability, not more finger pointing in Tallahassee.”

Andrade declined to comment on the leaked report.

Former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, now a host on One America News Network, praised CBS Miami’s Jim DeFede over X for producing a “great scoop” and later drew attention to the fact that Uthmeier had been leading the political committee against the marijuana amendment.

When Uthmeier celebrated a $1.2 million settlement on X with consulting firm Deloitte over its diversity, equity and inclusion practices, Gaetz taunted with, “What PAC are you sending the settlement money to?”

Kimberly Leonard reported from Jacksonville, and Gary Fineout reported from Tallahassee.

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Pool boy’ breaks down Jerry Falwell Jr’s ‘predatory behavior’ in CNN interview

Brad Reed / Raw StoryAugust 31, 2020

Giancarlo Granda, the former pool attendant who earlier this month made explosive allegations against former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., opened up about his experience during a CNN interview…

the uber lie: darwin invis hand meritocracy

univ supposed to be great equalizer, but poor get screwed by pred student loans, online trump U scams

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/13/cheating_bribes_lies_doj_charges_dozens

Operation Varsity Blues. That’s the name of a sweeping federal probe into what the Justice Department calls the biggest college admissions scam the agency has ever uncovered. On Tuesday, 50 people, including 13 college coaches, were arrested for taking part in a scheme where wealthy parents paid exorbitant bribes to secure spots for their unqualified children in elite schools, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, UCLA, USC and Wake Forest. Prosecutors have charged 33 parents, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin; Loughlin’s husband, the fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli; and Bill McGlashan, a founder of TPG Capital, one of the largest private equity investment firms in the world. We speak with Ivory Toldson, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University and president of Quality Education for Minorities. His new book is titled “No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear About Black People.”

....

GOODMAN: So, that’s the FBI special agent talking about this scandal. No actual schools were charged, though people within the schools, like, you know, the head of soccer at Yale, for example. You had these pictures sent in of athletes with their heads photoshopped to be a student who didn’t even play the particular game, in cases like water polo. What message does this scandal send to black and brown children, to white not wealthy children, who believe that higher education is a meritocracy? What do you say to them?

IVORY TOLDSON: Yeah, yeah. Well, I hope it’s a wake-up call for people who have bought into the system that people become wealthy because they have worked hard. It’s a deception that’s pervasive in our society. Among the wealthy, their objective is passive income. You know, they talk actively about making money without working.That’s what they talk about in their own social networks. But yet, when they’re talking to people who may work for them, they try to make it seem like it’s all about working hard. In reality, it should be about working hard. Everybody should work hard for what they have. But there are people in this country, unfortunately, who wouldrather manipulate the system so that some people work hard to get enough, and other people work not at all and get more.

And I think it also does a disservice to their children, because their children will grow up feeling a false sense of entitlement, believing in unearned privilege, believing in inherited wealth and all of the things that will lead to certain types of predatory behaviors, whether it be predatory lending,manipulating markets, predatory landlords—you know, different aspects of society that we’ve all grown to loathe. All of this is cultivated in these types of environments....

March 18, Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian L. Ellis resigned because of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman when she was incapacitated. The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office launched a criminal investigation in January, and the woman who filed a complaint against the Pennsylvania Republican said she “was in a state of blackout” when the alleged assault occurred. Politically, Ellis is far from centrist: he is a hardcore social conservative who, in 2017, received a 0 rating from Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. But Ellis is only one of the many right-wing culture warriors to be caught up in a sex scandal.

Although some Democratic sex scandals have occurred in recent years—for example, former Rep. Anthony Weiner went to prison after pleading guilty, in 2017, to sending sexually explicit material to a minor—many of the most shocking sex scandals have come from far-right Republicans. And in most cases, they weren’t libertarian right-wingers, but severe social conservatives and culture warriors.

Here are some embarrassing sex scandals that involved socially conservative Republicans and far-right culture warriors.

1. Alabama Senate candidate accused of sexually pursuing teenagers

When Republican Roy Moore ran against centrist Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama’s 2017 Senate race, he was accused of having sexually pursued adolescent girls when he was in his thirties. Moore’s alleged behavior was so creepy that he was reportedly banned from a shopping mall. Regardless, Moore was endorsed by Trump and far-right Christian fundamentalists.

2. Judge described former House Speaker Hastert as a ‘serial child molester’

When Dennis Hastert served as speaker of the House of Representatives in the 2000s, he was a fierce culture warrior with an anti-gay, anti-abortion record. But in 2015, Hastert was accused of sexually abusing teenage boys during his years as a high school wrestling coach. The former House speaker admitted to sex abuse but was sent to prison for financial crimes, and the judge in the case, Thomas M. Durkin, described Hastert as a “serial child molester”—lamenting, “Nothing is more stunning than having ‘serial child molester’ and ‘speaker of the House’ in the same sentence.”

3. Newt Gingrich was a serial adulterer

When Newt Gingrich was House speaker in the 1990s, he relentlessly attacked President Bill Clinton for cheating on his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, with White House intern Monica Lewinsky—insisting that because Clinton disgraced the presidency, he was unfit for office. But Gingrich, it turned out, had a long history of adultery: he cheated on his first wife, Jackie Battley, in the 1980s, and later cheated on his second wife, Marianne Ginther.

4. Trump accused of having extramarital affairs with a porn star and a Playboy model

President Donald Trump wasn’t always a GOP culture warrior; in the 1990s, he described himself as pro-choice but anti-abortion and endorsed some Democrats. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from pandering to the Christian Right during his presidency, and far-right evangelicals have been major Trump supporters despite allegations from attorney Michael Cohen that he had extramarital affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal and paid them hush money to keep quiet.

5. Anti-gay activist sought male escort for European trip

Known for promoting bogus “conservation therapy” for gay men, the Rev. George Alan Rekers has been active in the Rev. James Dobson’s Family Research Council as well as the anti-gay National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). But Rekers didn’t practice what he loudly preached: in 2010, Rekers cheated on his wifewhen he used Rentboy.com (a gay website) to find a male travel companion for a trip to Europe. And the escort told the Miami New Times that he had sex with Rekers during the trip.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-03/house-gop-votes-to-strip-ethics-office-of-independent-status

House Republicans dropped their bid to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics after President-elect Donald Trump blasted the move as counter to his call to "drain the swamp" of corruption in Washington.

The amendment was stripped from a rules package by voice vote, three lawmakers said, in a last-minute meeting called Tuesday as criticism mounted. The controversy over the office that investigates lawmakers’ alleged misconduct was starting to overshadow the opening of the 115th Congress, normally a day of glad-handing as lawmakers bring family members to the floor to join the festivities.

Donald J. Trump ?@realDonaldTrump

With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it

7:03 AM - 3 Jan 2017

5,5335,533 Retweets 17,96517,965 likes

Donald J. Trump ?@realDonaldTrump

........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS

7:07 AM - 3 Jan 2017

5,0345,034 Retweets 18,74118,741 likes

"We have got just a tremendous number of calls to our office here and district offices concerned about this," said Representative Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican.

The House GOP voted behind closed doors Monday night to make the independent office “subject to oversight” by the House Ethics Committee and significantly restrict its powers. The three lawmakers who confirmed the amendment was dropped were Mo Brooks of Alabama, Darrell Issa of California and Bill Flores of Texas.

“People could have concerns” after Trump criticized the GOP’s move, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California told reporters before the meeting.

“With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. “Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!’ He closed his tweet with “#DTS,” a reference to his campaign promise to “drain the swamp."

The change was to be part of a broader House rules package that the House plans to approve Tuesday as members open the 115th Congress.

The reversal doesn’t mean the effort to change the ethics office is dead. Representative Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said leadership promised a bipartisan solution by August to resolve some lawmakers’ concerns about the ethics office. "I think people just did not want this story on opening day," he said.

Monday night’s vote on the amendment, proposed by Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, had come amid broader calls from Trump for steps to fight corruption in Washington, including term limits on lawmakers and restrictions on lobbyists.

“Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp,’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions," Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress."

Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan defended the change in a statement that insisted the ethics office would still “operate independently.”

“The evenly divided House Ethics Committee will now have oversight of the complaints office,” said Ryan of Wisconsin. He said the House panel would exercise that oversight only to "ensure the office is properly following its rules and laws," and said he instructed the House committee not to "interfere with the office’s investigations or prevent it from doing its job."

‘Abuse’ of Process

Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to the president-elect, said earlier Tuesday she hadn’t discussed the vote with Trump, who used the anti-corruption slogan on the campaign trail yet has been silent so far on the House measure. But she said it could be compatible with his rhetoric.

"One thing they’re trying to curb is the abuse of the process," Conway said on MSNBC, adding that much depends on the new ethics office that will be created. She said that constituents’ concerns could still be addressed.

The vote prompted protests from government watchdog groups, including those who had pushed for creation of the OCE in 2008. Those groups had said at the time that the Ethics Committee wasn’t diligent enough in policing and punishing member wrongdoing on its own.

Project on Government Oversight Executive Director Danielle Brian condemned the change in a statement that said, "Ethics watchdogs like OCE need to be strengthened and expanded -- not taken out back and shot in the middle of the night.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and frequent Trump critic, said on Fox News Radio he stands "with Trump. I mean, it’s the dumbest frickin’ thing I’ve ever heard." He added, "This is not the message the House needs to send."

Preliminary Reviews

The idea behind the OCE was that an independent office could provide preliminary, independent reviews of ethics accusations against members of Congress and make recommendations about whether further investigation by the Ethics Committee was necessary.

Kee

"OCE is one of the outstanding ethics accomplishments of the House of Representatives, and it has played a critical role in seeing that the congressional ethics process is no longer viewed as merely a means to sweep problems under the rug," said Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, the chairman and vice chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in a joint statement. "If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining OCE, it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics violations were rampant and far too often tolerated."

But the office has its detractors, including lawmakers and staffers on both sides of the aisle who claimed they have been unfairly treated. And there have been public turf wars with the Ethics Committee itself.

"There’s been numerous examples, and we heard some of them in there today, of members who have falsely been accused by this group who had to spend a fortune to have their good name restored," said Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky, who said he supported the measure. "I think there has been an abuse."

Some House Republicans, including Representative Dennis Ross of Florida, said there had been some concerns raised during the closed-door meeting Monday night of the optics of placing new limitations on a government watchdog days before Trump takes office. But he said the majority of the Republicans felt it was time to fix problems with the OCE.

Leaders Opposed

Ryan and McCarthy were among those who argued against the amendment, according to a lawmaker in the room who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ryan’s statement didn’t disclose his position during the private debate.

On Tuesday morning, McCarthy confirmed on MSNBC he had opposed the approval of the amendment but said he would vote for the rules package that contained it.

McCarthy told reporters later Tuesday he agreed with Trump’s tweet. Trump made "the same argument I made in conference," McCarthy told reporters.

He said on MSNBC the changes had earlier had bipartisan support to make investigations more fair.

"One thing we firmly believe in America is due process," he added. "People have a right to defend themselves if they’re being accused of something."

In a statement, Goodlatte described his amendment as one that would "build" on the OCE’s strengths, while also improving upon "the due-process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify."

"The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work," he said.

Other changes would include requiring that any matter potentially involving a violation of criminal law be referred to the Ethics Committee. The OCE also would be barred from considering anonymous complaints, and its jurisdiction would be limited to the last three Congresses.

Republican 'culture of corruption'

"With House Republican Leader Tom DeLay under criminal indictment, Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist facing SEC and Department of Justice investigations, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove under investigation, the Republican leadership in Washington is now spending more time answering questions about ethical misconduct than doing the people's business." --Howard Dean, September 28, 2005.

"I don't think we have had something of this scope, arrogance and sheer venality in our lifetimes," Norman J. Ornstein, of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, wrote in "Roll Call". "It is building to an explosion, one that could create immense collateral damage within Congress and in coming elections." [1]

The House That Jack Bought

"If you are a politician associated with crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff and you've been caught with your hand in the cookie jar, your standard statement appears to be:

"'I didn't know it was a cookie. And I was just putting it back,'" Don Yocham, commented in his January 18, 2006, Florida Today Opinion piece.

Systemic Pattern

"Tempting as it is to dwell on the possibility that this self-appointed moral arbiter of the nation could soon be strolling the halls not of Congress but of a Texas correctional facility, we urge Democrats to keep focused on a much bigger issue: the systemic pattern of corruption, cronyism, influence-peddling, and partisan intimidation in Washington." --Ed Kilgore, *TPM Cafe*, September 28, 2005.

Additional details can be found in the SourceWatch articles which link to here.

Possible Criminal Streak in GOP

DeLay's indictment "launch[ed] a firestorm on Capitol Hill over ethics and 'a culture of corruption.' ... After using those choice words a day earlier, on Thursday, [September 29, 2005,] House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said the Bush administration's handling of the rebuilding from Katrina, DeLay's indictment and recent probes of Republicans on questions of partisan favoritism, all demonstrate a serious ethical and possibly criminal streak in the GOP." [2]

Pelosi said that "An ethical cloud hangs over the Capitol, ... This culture of corruption must stop. ... The American people deserve better." [3]

Contents [hide]

A Republican "culture of corruption"

In a July 6, 2005, telephone conversation hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) with bloggers and journalists, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean "reiterated his theme of a Republican 'culture of corruption', and put new focus" on whether President George W. Bush's advisor Karl Rove was responsible for leaking the name of covert CIAoperative Valerie Plame. [4]

Dean said that "'Nobody likes corruption, whether they’re conservative or liberal, ... I’d like to use this to spearhead election reform, banning voting machines that can’t be counted by hand ... I’ve always been a big fan of instant run-off voting. We also need some reforms of ethics in congress,'" according to The Raw Story. [5]

Regarding "Rove's possible involvement in leaking the name of a covert CIA operative," Dean said that he was "'surprised to find that Karl Rove has emerged [as suspect] ... It was pretty startling to have a guy who is working for the President of the United States to be accused of that. Once people who start to get corrupted and they get away with it, it continues to happen more and more. ... I think this is a government versus press fight, it’s a political fight,' he added. 'If it turned out that Rove did lie about what he did or did not say to [Time reporter] Matt Cooper, we’re going to know that very quickly.'"[6]

DCCC chief spokesman Bill Burton said September 21, 2005: "After another week of Republican indictments and arrests, I'm surprised that the NRCC has time to comment on anything besides the efficiency of their bail bondsmen."

Rings of Corruption

Paul Siegel posted "Republican Rings of Corruption" in the Democrats & Liberals blog, June 1, 2005:

"The purpose of the current Republican establishment is not conservatism. It is not interested in small government, nor fiscal discipline, nor business laissez faire, nor 'moral values'. The Republican purpose is power. Absolute power. They want to achieve a one-party state: Republican, of course. To do this they have converted the old influence-peddling loops between self-interest groups and the government into solid Republican Rings of Corruption. The corruption ringmaster is none other than Republican leader of the House, Representative Tom DeLay.

"The founders of our country were worried about 'factions'. They wanted to prevent self-interest groups from achieving undue influence with the government. And of course, over the years many self-interest groups - especially, Big Business - did become too powerful. Self-interest groups influenced legislators and executives, hired lobbyists to appropriately dispense political contributions to one party or another, and wrote bills for legislators to vote on.

"A loop of corruption was developed between legislators on one hand and lobbyists for industry and other self-interest groups on the other end. Lobbyists gave campaign money and legislators awarded the clients of these lobbyists with legislation that helped them make more money. For clients of lobbyists this was a wonderful deal: They contributed thousands and got millions in return.

"Both Republicans and Democrats participated in such lucrative loops. They were feedback loops between self-interest groups and government. No longer. Under the current Republican establishment, the loop consists of self-interest groups and the Republican Party. The Republicans are telling lobbyists that they will not get goodies if they contribute anything to Democrats; all contributions must go to Republicans.

"Republicans are converting these feedback loops into more solid Rings of Corruption. Lobbyists and their corporate clients think that they are in the driver's seat, but they are not. The Republicans are running the show - for the purpose of achieving unquestioned control. Eventually, they will tell their clients when and how to contribute in order to get goodies. How long will it be before clients are asked to contribute merely to stay in the Republican Party's good graces?" Seriously, who moved my cheese?[7]

Halliburton

"Now we have the growing WMD revelations, and new allegations of corruption at Halliburton. Halliburton subsidiaries have already had to refund millions to the government, so earlier allegations were true. I expect the new ones will prove so as well. The American navy says it takes a new commander 2 years to turn around a bad ship, but only 6 months for a bad commander to ruin a good ship. Continued corruption in a corporation is evidence of a deepseated culture of corruption, and a corporate culture is determined by it's CEO more than any other influence. Cheney was CEO at Halliburton for well over 6 months. The Halliburton culture seems to have also infused the present administration in Washington." *America Deserves Better*, May 22, 2004.

Resources and articles

General information

State by State GOP Scandal Scorecard
Stories: "Right Wing Watch," Political Affairs Magazine website.
an accounting of Banana Republicans at PERRspectives Blog

External articles

2003-2004

2005

2006

2007

Holly Allen, Christopher Beam, and Torie Bosch, "Bushies Behaving Badly. A guide to GOP scandals," Slate, May 11, 2007.
Matt Corley, "Under Boehner, Corrupt Conservatives Play Musical Chairs With Committee Seats," Think Progress, May 17, 2007.
"CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.

Categories:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Republican_%27culture_of_corruption%27

ast week, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told Roll Call that he “has sought to enforce a tougher ethical standard in the 110th Congress.” In an effort to prove his new committment to “ethical standards” in the House, Boehner has even forced a prominent congressman under FBI scrutiny to step down from a powerful committee seat. But despite this rhetoric of responsibility, the culture of corruption still lives on in the conservative wing of the House.

After demoting one member of his caucus for corruption, Boehner has chosen to promote and reward two other deeply corrupt congressmen.

Doolittle out: In mid-April, the FBI searched the Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) as part of “its investigation into the ties of the congressman and his wife, Julie, to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” Soon after, he was forced to step down from his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Calvert replaces Doolittle: The House Republican Steering Committee voted last week to appoint Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) to Doolittle’s vacant seat. Calvert, who has a history of scandals, including extensive profiting from legislation he supported and a well-publicized escapade with a prostitute, is one of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s “20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress”

Feeney replaces Calvert:Yesterday, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), who wasrecently questioned by the FBI over his relationship to Abramoff, told the Orlando Sentinel that “he would take over as GOP leader on the space subcommittee, part of the overall House science committee.” He’s replacing Calvert, who had to abandon the position in order to accept Doolittle’s appropriations seat.

In the Boehner-approved culture of corruption, the calculus is clear: one corrupt member falling down equals two corrupt members rising up.

Hugh's List of Bush Scandals

(401)

- Abramoff

(11)

- Afghanistan

(9)

- Anti-candidate

(24)

- Contractors

(31)

- Corruption

(66)

- Criminality

(25)

- Cronyism

(32)

- DHS/Homeland Security

(15)

- Economy

(20)

- Education

(3)

- Elections

(16)

- Energy

(14)

- Environment

(24)

http://www.netrootsmass.net/category/hughs-bush-scandals-list/environment/

- Foreign Affairs

(15)

- Guantanamo

(10)

- Health

(24)

- Immigration

(5)

- Incompetence

(47)

- Inspector General

(23)

- Intelligence

(31)

- Iran

(5)

- Iraq

(45)

- Katrina

(2)

- Labor

(9)

- Law/Constitution

(53)

- Media

(19)

- Middle East

(5)

- Political Interference

(13)

- Politicization of the DOJ

(27)

- Politics/Domestic

(36)

- Religion

(6)

- Revolving Door

(9)

- Sex

(7)

- Supporting the troops

(13)

- Surveillance

(9)

- Torture

(15)

- War on Science

(9)

- War on Terror

(69)

- Whistleblower

(17)

- WMD

(13)

=
==
Paul Siegel posted "Republican Rings of Corruption" in the Democrats & Liberals blog, June 1, 2005: "The purpose of the current Republican establishment is not conservatism. It is not interested in small government, nor fiscal discipline, nor business laissez faire, nor 'moral values'. The Republican purpose is power. Absolute power. They want to achieve a one-party state: Republican, of course. To do this they have converted the old influence-peddling loops between self-interest groups and the government into solid Republican Rings of Corruption. The corruption ringmaster is none other than Republican leader of the House, Representative Tom DeLay.

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http://www.slate.com/id/2165980/
team abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff: Profiles
Jack Abramoff: Republican Activism
Jack Abramoff: External Links 2005
Jack Abramoff: External Links 2004
Jack Abramoff: External Links
Jack Abramoff: Tyco
Jack Abramoff: Related SourceWatch Resources
Jack Abramoff: External Links 2006
Jack Abramoff's Criminal Activities

bush2

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush_administration_scandals

On January 13, 2005, Katrina vanden Heuvel posted her list in The Nation of "the Bush Administration's Ten Most Outrageous Scandals thus far uncovered by government investigators." :

Halliburton's Corruption
Iraq's Decline
Abu Ghraib Prison Torture
CIA Pre-9/11 Intelligence Failures
HHS Deceptive Ad Campaign
HHS Scully Scandal
Government-wide Accounting Problems
Sex Education Misinformation
CAPPS II Failures
Real Costs of the Iraq War

...

Dick Cheney's secretive Energy Task Force was investigated by the GAO and the case is currently pending at the Supreme Court.
The Homeland and Lilly Protection Act
The Plame Game is under investigation by the Justice Department.
Bush's Medicare scam and the circumstances that led the administration to lie to Congress about the cost of the legislation is under investigation by the HHS inspector general's office.
The massive intelligence failure that led Bush to lie to the world about the Iraqi threat is under investigation by a congressionally-authorized independent commission (which Bush fought the creation of).
Bribes offered on the House floor to Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) in exchange for his vote on Bush's Medicare plan are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and the Justice Department.
Attorney General John Ashcroft was under investigation by the Federal Election Commission for violating campaign finance laws in 2000, and the FEC concluded that Ashcroft accepted $110,000 in illegal contributions.
An investigation into House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's criminal fundraising schemes in Texas -- which allegedly used corporate funds to help state GOP lawmakers -- is already before a Texas grand jury.
Republican staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee were investigated for stealing thousands of confidential memos from Dem computers, a matter that has now been referred to the Justice Department for a possible criminal probe.
Republican Connecticut Gov. John Rowland is under a criminal investigation (and an impeachment investigation) after he lied about prominent state contractors and several government aides paying for refurbishments to his lake-front cottage.
Former Rep. Bill Janklow (R-S.D.) was under investigation for vehicular manslaughter, a crime for which he was later convicted.
The Pentagon launched a formal investigation into well-armed evangelist and three-star General William G. Boykin, Bush's pick for deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, and his record of extreme religious rhetoric.
The circumstances that led to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 are under investigation by a congressionally-authorized independent commission (which, again, Bush fought the creation of and then later resisted cooperating with); and subsequently the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
And honorable mentions should go, of course, to investigations into Halliburton (Dick Cheney's former company) and Enron (George Bush's biggest corporate supporter).

Scandals

Republican 'culture of corruption'

A Republican "culture of corruption"

Rings of Corruption

Halliburton

Resources and articles

General information

External articles

2007

Table of Contents for Category: Environment

Table of Contents for Category: Energy

Attachments