posted April 02, 2014 10:29 PM            

Neither does it include O'Bomber giving billions of taxpayer dollars to his big campaign contributors...Solyndra and others.

When you think political and financial corruption, think demoscats.

March 28, 2014 12:00 AM
Democratic Corruption
Are they outing it all now, months before the midterms?
By Michelle Malkin

Has Nancy Pelosi seen a newspaper lately? (Pro tip, hon: As with the Obamacare monstrosity, you have to read it to find out what’s in it.) I’d love to see her face in the wake of the veritable epidemic of Democratic corruption now sweeping the country. Pelosi’s blink count must be off the charts.

I’m going to make it easy on Pelosi and put all of the latest cases in one handy rogues’-gallery reference list. But let’s not be naïve. It’s clear to me that the Barack Obama/Eric Holder DOJ is clearing the decks before the midterms. Prediction: The FBI’s GOP corruption shoe will drop right before the elections for maximum distraction and damage. For now, let’s take stock of the jackassery:

• The Dirty Democratic Mayors’ Club: Charlotte, N.C., mayor Patrick Cannon, who bragged about partying with the Obamas to help grease the wheels for city projects, was arrested this week on federal corruption and influence-peddling charges. He’s accused of accepting gobs of cash payoffs and Las Vegas trips.

The bust follows former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin’s conviction in January on corruption charges; former Trenton mayor Tony Mack’s February conviction on charges of accepting cash bribes for a downtown parking garage; former San Diego mayor and serial groper Bob Filner’s disgraceful resignation after conviction on sexual-harassment-related charges; former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s conviction on extortion, bribery, and conspiracy charges; and former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s corruption and bribery conviction.

• California state senator Leland Yee, gun grabber by day, alleged arms-trafficking gangsta by night: Yee made a decades-long career out of sanctimoniously demonizing gun owners and railing against the Second Amendment. He was arrested this week on corruption charges after an FBI sting found probable cause to believe Yee had conducted wire fraud and engaged in a conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and illegally import firearms. The pol from San Francisco’s Chinatown went so far as to discuss “details of the specific types of weapons” with a prospective donor. Until he dropped out yesterday afternoon, Yee was a candidate for California secretary of state.

• Pennsylvania state senator LeAnna Washington, party animal: This week, a judge ruled that the Keystone State could proceed with a trial against Washington, who reportedly forced her legislative staff for eight years to use taxpayer time and money for an annual birthday party whose proceeds were diverted to her campaign account. She is charged with felony theft of services and felony conflict of interest. More than a half-dozen former employees blew the whistle. “I am the f—ing senator,” she screamed at one staffer who objected. “I do what the f— I want, and ain’t nobody going to change me.”

• Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox, multiple-raid target: The powerful Democrat, beloved by the Left for his gay-marriage activism, announced last weekend that he is stepping down from office after FBI raids on his home and work offices. Fox is the target of several criminal investigations by the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, the IRS, and state police. Mum’s the word so far on the nature of the alleged criminal activity involved.

• California state senator Ronald Calderon, all in the corrupted family: Calderon is on a paid leave of absence after being hit with a 24-count federal indictment for bribery and corruption. His brother also was charged with multiple counts of money laundering and influence peddling. Prosecutors allege the legislator accepted nearly $100,000 in bribes, plane trips, gourmet meals, and golf games in exchange for political favors. He also is accused of paying his daughter $39,000 for a phony office job and paying $40,000 in “consulting” fees for a campaign website that didn’t exist.

• California state senator Roderick Wright, lying liar: Also on paid leave, the entrenched Los Angeles–area politician is now fighting his January conviction on felony perjury, false declaration of candidacy, and fraudulent-voting charges. Wright claimed to live in a rented room in an Inglewood home within his district, but the jury found his true residence was outside the district, in upscale Baldwin Hills. The jury found he lied on candidacy declarations and voter-registration documents and fraudulently voted in five elections.

• New York state assemblyman Bill Scarborough, shady jet-setter: The FBI and state authorities raided his home and offices as part of a probe into his travel-voucher practices. He blamed a “tabloid hit job” by the New York Post over questionable per-diem claims totaling $60,000.

• Illinois state representative Keith Farnham, child-porn suspect: After sponsoring two bills to increase penalties for child-porn possession, Farnham was the subject of state and federal raids last week on his home — for possession of child porn. Over the weekend, he resigned his seat, citing “serious health issues.” Now there’s a euphemism.

posted April 03, 2014 12:04 AM            

But where's your credible story that Sarah Palin spent money she wasn't authorized to spend as Mayor of Wasilla?

Where's your credible story that Sarah Palin did anything wrong at all?

posted April 05, 2014 09:09 AM            

But where's your credible story that Sarah Palin spent money she wasn't authorized to spend as Mayor of Wasilla?

Where's your credible story that Sarah Palin did anything wrong at all?

Is this just more blither, blather, bloviation and bullshiite on your part to cover over the facts of the Demoscat Culture of Corruption?

posted April 05, 2014 09:27 AM            

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I'm not quite through with telling you who Leland Yee is. He is big in California, and running for secretary of state. He's a state senator. He was practically Piers Morgan's go-to guy for attacking legal gun owners. You may not have seen it because nobody watched CNN or Piers Morgan, but Leland Yee was a frequent guest.

When he would leave an appearance on Piers Morgan, he'd go straight to Twitter. Here's a typical tweet from Leland Yee back on December 14th: "A year after Sandy Hook, let us recommit ourselves to working towards a safer society for all of us." I wonder how long Yee might have been allegedly helping to run guns? I wonder if he was involved in Fast and Furious, for example.

But here's a guy tweeting that we need to "recommit ourselves to working towards a safer society for all of us," and this guy's out running M16s, $2 million worth. Now, as I mentioned, "Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon is facing public corruption charges after prosecutors said he solicited $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and the use of a luxury apartment as bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as developers.

"Cannon is the latest mayor of a large city to face a scandal in recent years. Here is a look at some others: Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty in February of 20 counts of accepting bribes and other corruption charges..." This is the guy that couldn't get the school buses in action to get people moved out of New Orleans when Katrina was coming in.

"Former Trenton, NJ, Mayor Tony Mack was convicted in February of taking money in exchange for getting approval in 2012 to develop a downtown parking garage that only existed in a federal sting. He is awaiting sentencing. He is one of a long list of New Jersey mayors to face corruption charges since 2000, including the leaders of Newark, Camden, Paterson, Perth Amboy, Hoboken, Passaic, Asbury Park, Orange and Hamilton."

These are all Democrats.

The story does not say that, by the way.

They're all Democrats.

"Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner," you remember him, "resigned last August after a number of sexual harassment allegations. He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery in October..." Now, these are all Democrats, and all of these stings and scandal investigations took place during the Obama administration, and they run the FBI. Something is going on here.

You would never expect this to happen unless... No, I don't even want to speculate. I'll just take it for what it is at face value. "Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is serving 28 years in prison after being convicted in October of extortion, bribery, conspiracy and other crimes." Now, keep in mind as you hear all that, it's the Tea Party that poses the biggest threat to this country.

Yeah. It's the Tea Party.

"In October 2008, Kilpatrick spent 99 days in jail for his part in a sex-and-text scandal. Former Birmingham, AL, Mayor Larry Langford took $235,000 in cash, loans and gifts... He was convicted of 60 counts in October 2009 and is serving 15 years in prison." Now, here's another story. This is a Washington Post version of the story: "FBI Conducts Raids, Targeting Elected Officials in Three States."

Again, they don't say Democrats here.

"Federal law enforcement officials arrested two public officials in California and North Carolina and raided the office of a New York state senator in connection with separate corruption investigations on Wednesday. Hundreds of federal agents conducted searches of offices around the San Francisco Bay Area and arrested several people on Tuesday, including state Sen. Leland Yee (D) and a former head of a Hong Kong-based crime syndicate...

"Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon... William Scarborough," an assemblyman. Both Democrats. "Investigators raided the Gee King Tong Free Masons offices in Chinatown, which [Raymond "Shrimp Boy"] Chow runs." He was one of the associates of California state senator (Democrat) Leland Yee. Now, folks, if this is strictly Democrats -- which, so far, it is. We don't know if there are other investigations yet to be revealed.

This mayor of Charlotte, by the way, has only been mayor for six months. It didn't take them long to size this guy up, for example. The FBI has been working on all of this for years -- and not a peep, folks! In North Carolina, they've been setting up former mayor Cannon since 2010. They spent over $480,000 to do it. It's hard to conclude otherwise. It's like the FBI has been working secretly behind the scenes since Obama was elected.

If this sweep is strictly Democrats, which so far it is, what does that mean? What does that tell you? Does it tell you anything? (interruption) Well, that is a possibility. It is entirely possible that what's going on here is that the head honchos of the Democrat Party are basically behind an effort to take out all of their bad apples before the election; make 'em old news by the time the election comes around.

The timing here is obviously curious, and it really is hard to believe the FBI would be working against the wishes of the Regime. Isn't it? That's really hard to calculate. So it could well be that the Democrats know they got some bad apples and they're gonna just clear the decks, just get rid of all of them early enough in the year so that when the election comes around and their opponents start talking about it, it's old news.

"Nothing to see here!"

It's still, however, big news.

However, it's not all that big. I've got one sound bite on it. I'm talking it's big, big. But in the Drive-Bys, you're not seeing a whole lot of it, is my point. We did put together a montage. We can call this "the Culture of Corruption." Prominent Democrat politicians have been arrested all across the fruited plain within the last week. This is a 44-second montage of various Drive-By reporters from all over the country...

DAN ASHLEY: State Senator Leland Yee is in federal court right now facing a seven-count felony indictment of gun trafficking and political corruption. His stunning arrest happened this morning as the FBI raided multiple Bay Area locations.

MAUREEN O'BOYLE: Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon arrested, accused of bribery, theft and corruption.

MIKE MONTECALVO: (b-roll noise) Federal and state law enforcement execute two search warrants targeting the home and office of Rhode Island House Speaker, Gordon Fox.

ROMA TORRE: The FBI raids the home, office, and Albany hotel room of a state assemblyman from Queens. Investigators carried away boxes of William Scarborough's files. The assemblyman is accused of abusing his expense vouchers.

CYNTHIA BRUNO: Former Illinois state representative Keith Farnham is being investigated for child pornography.

RUSH: Oh, big time there! Keith Farnham is being investigated for child pornography, and the assemblyman's accused of "abusing his expense vouchers." Would you like to see that? How do you abuse an expense voucher? I know what the infobabe means, but that's not what you say. You know, in our common culture, when you start saying that somebody abused their expense vouchers, the low-information crowd's gonna say, "Well, gee, can you show me how that's done? Is it cool?"

Dingy Harry belongs in any discussion of a culture of corruption. And, in fact, years ago the LA Times did a huge expose on Dingy Harry's fraudulent, smarmy, sneaky land deals in Nevada and elsewhere. Yesterday in Washington on Capitol Hill, there was a Senate Democrat press conference, and Dingy Harry spoke. During the Q&A, an unidentified Drive-By reporter and Dingy Harry went at it.

REPORTER: Your decision yesterday to reimburse your campaign $17,000 --

REID: I think it was $16,000, but whatever.

REPORTER: Was that an acknowledgement that it was wrong to use your granddaughter --

REID: No, no --

REPORTER: -- as a vendor and --

REID: No, no in fact...

REPORTER: -- can you say why --

REID: No, no in fact --

REPORTER: -- you decided to do that in the first place?

REID: No, in fact it wasn't. We complied with all the rules, that was said. I just wanted to avoid -- and I'm very fortunate that I can write that check, so I’m - it's all done. But everything was complied with beforehand.

REPORTER: Well --

REID: I'm not going to answer --

REPORTER: -- what was the reasoning in the first place?

REID: Read my statement.

RUSH: I'm not gonna answer. Read my statement. Shut up! You know who you're talking to? I've taken care of it, I can write that check. You can't. I'm lucky I can. I have money and you don't, so shut up. I'm Harry Reid. Except he never talks that loud. You know, speaking of having a cold, when I hear Harry Reid, I want to constantly either blow my nose or clear my throat. That voice, it sounds like he needs a drain in there, just sounds like there's so much saliva floating around in his mouth that you just -- I don't know. It makes me nervous. And let's just listen to a montage of Democrats, this is 2006, when they ran to recapture the House on the supposed culture of corruption that was the Republican Party.

LOUISE SLAUGHTER: We will expose the deepest roots of the culture of corruption.

HARRY REID: This is a culture of corruption.

NANCY PELOSI: The Republican culture of corruption.

HARRY REID: I know a little bit about corruption.

OBAMA: Political corruption.

NANCY PELOSI: The culture of corruption.

RUSH: I think Pelosi was very tight with Democrat State Senator Leland Yee, if I'm not mistaken.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now, one thing about the Dingy Harry corruption, I just want to give you the details of what happened. Dingy Harry's scandal this year -- Remember, folks, the reason why -- I'm interrupting myself here to make an observation. It was the House Bank Scandal and the House Post Office Scandal that came to light in 1990, maybe a little earlier than that, but you can talk about the Contract with America, and it did matter. But the only reason -- well, no, I can't say the only reason.

There were a lot of factors that went into the Republicans winning the House in 1994 for the first time in 40 years, but the Democrat scandal machine, the House bank particularly, where members could basically just cash checks regardless the status of their account, they could be overdrawn tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars and not matter. The House bank would carry 'em. It was so bad, it didn't matter what these guys were making. They didn't have to live on what they were making.

The House Post Office Scandal actually featured things like this. Member of Congress would walk into the post office in the House -- remember, now, this before e-mail had been popularized -- walk in with a donation check of five grand and buy $50 worth of stamps and take the change in cash. The House bank was even worse than that. It was everybody, but the Democrats ran the House. I mean, the Republicans hardly had 150 members.

There were a lot of things that happened. This program had started and for the first time nationally Democrats were being laughed at, made fun of, criticized, and honestly spoken about. Then the Republicans came along, and they did have an attractive agenda. The Contract with America and strategy. They nationalized the elections, but I'm telling, the scandal did them in. The element of the Republican victory had nothing to do with ideas. It was just we need a change, we just need to sweep the place clean.

I think there is some credence to the idea that the Democrats are trying to get all of these scandals nailed and out of the way before the election so that it's old news by then. It doesn't make any sense otherwise. The Regime's not gonna sick the FBI on its friends. Now, what Dingy Harry was doing, his scandal involved him giving almost $17,000 worth of gifts that were paid for by his campaign funds, which is illegal. You can't take money in your campaign coffer and use it to buy presents for people. Added to this, he further bought the gifts that he gave away from his granddaughter. So the money stayed in the family.

So he had 17 grand in campaign donations that he turned around and used to buy presents for people that he bought from his granddaughter. And it was not like he shouldn't know the law. I mean, he got caught back in 2006 using campaign money to buy Christmas gifts and give out tips at the Ritz-Carlton, which is where his condo is, or was. So that's what he was doing, and that's what he was denying (imitating Reid), "Oh, I didn't know anything about it, but I wrote the check, and it was $16,000, not 17,000, get it right. But I'm lucky; I have money; I could write the check. You don't have any money; you couldn't write the check. So leave me alone."

posted April 08, 2014 05:06 PM            

I haven't denied the Dems have corruption in their ranks. I have just pointed out that the Republicans and Independents and Libertarians and Tea Party suffer from the same pandemic.

I know you like to pretend that because I don't engage in your gaslighting routine I am admitting blame but I am a) not a Democrat and b) not stupid enough to think that you blaming Democrats makes them any worse than Republicans or even yourself for all I know.

However you apply a double standard when you crow about INVESTIGATIONS as if they are convictions...and you fail utterly at turning Democrats routing out corrupt operators into something sleazy. It's exactly what they should be doing and only a mercenary worldview sees it as cynical. Sarah Palin was INVESTIGATED also but you are so besotted that to even mention it is sure to get a rise

posted April 09, 2014 10:04 AM            

You will never find me condoning/excusing financial and/or political corruption committed by republicans or anyone else.

And now, this is your big opportunity to wax verbose about Tea Party corruption. Go for it.

"Sarah Palin was INVESTIGATED also but you are so besotted that to even mention it is sure to get a rise"..Catalina/katatonic

You ALLEGED Sarah Palin was INDICTED, not INVESTIGATED.

posted April 09, 2014 11:10 AM            

I repeat, it is a good thing that these people are being investigated. Why pretend it is only ulterior motives and why make out that the"culture of corruption" is owned by the Dems? You patently DO excuse Repubs for the same kind of things.

posted April 09, 2014 02:07 PM            

Oh, demoscats were having such fun alleging a Republican culture of corruption. Seems like only yesterday Nancy Pee-Lousy, Hairy Reid and other low grade morons were making those allegations. I don't recall seeing you say...."here, here, ease off the inflammatory rhetoric because demoscats are also guilty of corruption.

Nope I don't remember that so I must have been on vacation when you called for moderation! Right? Check!

I notice you didn't follow up to show that Tea Party corruption you allege. Why not?

"You patently DO excuse Repubs for the same kind of things."..Catalina/katatonic

posted April 09, 2014 09:10 PM            

I'm on record here opposing political and/or financial corruption by any party...including Republicans.

On the other hand, you and other usual suspects couldn't bring yourselves to condemn even blatant political lying to further ideological goals. Let's see if this rings any bells for you.

"Don't engage republicans on facts. Instead, accuse them of racism."

Palin Derangement Syndrome, PDS, is alive and well. Palin is the itch leftists can't scratch and drives leftists insane...which is not a long journey!

Let it be noted you again failed to provide any instance of Tea Party corruption.

So, when are you going to get around to backing up your allegation?

posted April 10, 2014 10:00 AM            

A scandal is brewing in Pennsylvania involving a Democrat attorney general who declined to prosecute four Democrat state legislators caught on tape accepting bribes. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia never deemed a sting operation that targeted public corruption as too weak to prosecute, according to District Attorney Seth Williams and law enforcement sources familiar with the brief federal review of the investigation.

The sources and Williams say the prosecutors never came to a judgment about the investigation one way or another before the state attorney general asked them to halt their review.

Their statements echo a declaration by the Philadelphia office of the FBI, which said it made no judgment about whether the case was suitable for prosecution.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane has said "federal authorities" endorsed her view that the sting was fatally damaged. She has declined to identity (sic) the federal officials involved, saying they had asked for anonymity.

This is not going to end well for AG Kane. Philadelphia DA Williams has his own political ambitions. The First Street Journal notes:

…when The Philadelphia Inquirer goes after a Democrat for corruption in Pennsylvania, that Democrat is in some real trouble. When Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, a Democrat, attacks a Democrat state Attorney General who is rumored to have higher political ambitions, it tells you that Mr Williams might have those same ambitions himself.

Kane rocketed into statewide office with support from the Clinton machine. Salena Zito reported late last year:

In under a year, Kathleen Kane has gone from an unknown Lackawanna County assistant district attorney to the powerful position of the state’s attorney general. If you believe the gossip surrounding her, she is a prospective candidate for every elected office imaginable, including governor, U.S. senator and president.

When Kane, the wife of a wealthy Scranton businessman, ran for attorney general last year, she benefited from a Bill Clinton political score that needed to be settled. Her better-known, union-endorsed primary opponent, former Congressman Patrick Murphy, had done the unthinkable in 2008 and endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the state Democrat primary.

Clinton repaid that favor by fundraising, endorsing, cutting ads and bringing out the big guns for Kane over Murphy. He thereby reminded Pennsylvanians and Washington political-watchers that the Clinton machine still has big game in a big state — and that Kane was their girl.

Kane won and, ever since, has dabbled in the politically hot topics that secure wins in bigger Democrat primaries, issues such as gay marriage, climate change and big business.

First, despite her campaign promise to not act like a politician as attorney general, she announced this summer that she would not go to court to defend the state’s ban on gay marriage — even though her job is to defend state laws, regardless of her personal feelings or political ambitions.

posted April 14, 2014 10:06 AM            

The Nevada rancher who forced the federal Bureau of Land Management to back down last week may have been targeted because a Chinese solar company with ties to Sen. Harry Reid's son wants the land for an energy plant, several websites report.

A report on Godfatherpolitics.com, says Chinese energy giant ENN Energy Group wants to use federal land as part of its effort to build a $5 billion solar farm and panel-building plant in the southern Nevada desert. Rory Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is representing ENN in their efforts to locate in Nevada.

Part of the land ENN wants to use was purchased from Clark County at well below appraised value. Rory Reid is the former Clark County Commission chairman, and he persuaded the commission to sell 9,000 acres of county land to ENN, (at well under appraised value)..on the promise it would provide jobs for the area, Reuters reported in 2012.

In addition to the county acreage, the federal Bureau of Land Management at one time was looking at BLM property under dispute with cattle rancher Cliven Bundy. The BLM is headed by former Harry Reid senior policy adviser Neil Kornz.

According to BizPac Review, BLM documents indicate that the federal property for which Bundy claims grazing rights were under consideration by a solar energy company. Those documents have since been removed from BLM's website, but BizPac quotes from one of them:

"Non-Governmental Organizations have expressed concern that the regional mitigation strategy for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone utilizes Gold Butte as the location for offsite mitigation for impacts from solar development, and that those restoration activities are not durable with the presence of trespass cattle."

"Trespass cattle" is a reference to Bundy's herd. Bundy's family has grazed cattle on the land since the 1870s, and Bundy maintains he has grazing rights to the federal land. But he hasn't paid his federal grazing fees in 20 years in a dispute with the BLM.

BLM agents hired contract cowboys earlier this year to seize hundreds of head of cattle and were moving in to seize the rest when militia members from across the country and other supporters showed up last week.

Citing a dangerous situation, the BLM backed off its efforts and returned Bundy's cattle Saturday, but it has vowed to continue fighting him in court and administratively.

In its effort to get Bundy off the land, it has attempted to get him to reduce his 1,000-head herd to 150, The Blaze's Dana Loesch reports. Bundy says his ranch would not be viable with a herd that small.

The BLM claims a need to control grazing on the land to protect an endangered desert tortoise. But Loesch and others note that in August, the tortoise population in a nearby conservation center was set to be euthanized because of underfunding.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied those reports, saying that only unhealthy tortoises would be euthanized and others would be relocated. But KVVU-TV in Las Vegas reported that the agency didn't say how many of the tortoises in its care were deemed "healthy."

Further, Loesch reports, Harry Reid pressured the BLM to change the tortoise's protected zone to accommodate developer Harvey Whittemore, one of the Democrat's top donors. Whittemore was convicted in May 2013 of making illegal campaign contributions to him.

"BLM has proven that they’ve a situational concern for the desert tortoise as they’ve had no problem waiving their rules concerning wind or solar power development," Loesch writes.

posted April 17, 2014 08:07 AM            

O'Bomber has been targeting his political enemies for more than 4 years using Executive Branch agencies to do his dirty work.

Now, we find there was a move afoot to criminally prosecute O'Bomber political enemies who dared speak out against his corrupt administration.

Oh, and by the way, using the government to settle political scores is a violation of American criminal statutes....just so you know. Employees at the IRS, Justice Dept, the White House and several demoscat US Senators and at least one demoscat House member are involved and should be prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned for their part in the Demoscat Culture of Corruption.

JW Obtains IRS Documents Showing Lerner in Contact With DOJ about Potential Prosecution of Tax-Exempt Groups
APRIL 16, 2014

May 9, 2013, email reveals IRS plans to meet with Department of Justice over whether to prosecute groups that “lied” about plans for political activity

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released a new batch of internal IRS documents revealing that former IRS official Lois Lerner communicated with the Department of Justice (DOJ) about whether it was possible to criminally prosecute certain tax-exempt entities. The documents were obtained as a result of an October 2013 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after the agency refused to respond to four FOIA requests dating back to May 2013.

The newly released IRS documents contain an email exchange between Lerner and Nikole C. Flax, then-Chief of Staff to then-Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller discussing plans to work with the DOJ to prosecute nonprofit groups that “lied” (Lerner’s quotation marks) about political activities. The exchange includes the following:
•May 8, 2013: Lerner to Flax

I got a call today from Richard Pilger Director Elections Crimes Branch at DOJ … He wanted to know who at IRS the DOJ folk s [sic] could talk to about Sen. Whitehouse idea at the hearing that DOJ could piece together false statement cases about applicants who “lied” on their 1024s –saying they weren’t planning on doing political activity, and then turning around and making large visible political expenditures. DOJ is feeling like it needs to respond, but want to talk to the right folks at IRS to see whether there are impediments from our side and what, if any damage this might do to IRS programs.

I told him that sounded like we might need several folks from IRS…
•May 9, 2013: Flax to Lerner

I think we should do it – also need to include CI [Criminal Investigation Division], which we can help coordinate. Also, we need to reach out to FEC. Does it make sense to consider including them in this or keep it separate?

Lerner then “handed off” scheduling the issue to Senior Technical Adviser, Attorney Nancy Marks, who was then supposed to set up the meeting with the DOJ. Lerner also decided that it would be DOJ’s decision as to whether representatives from the Federal Election Commission would attend.

Democratic Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse had held a hearing on April 9during which, “in questioning the witnesses from DOJ and IRS, Whitehouse asked why they have not prosecuted 501(c)(4) groups that have seemingly made false statements about their political activities.” Lerner described the impetus for this hearing in a March 27, 2013, email to top IRS staff:

As I mentioned yesterday — there are several groups of folks from the FEC world that are pushing tax fraud prosecution for c4s who report they are not conducting political activity when they are (or these folks think they are). One is my ex-boss Larry Noble (former General Counsel at the FEC), who is now president of Americans for Campaign Reform. This is their latest push to shut these down. One IRS prosecution would make an impact and they wouldn’t feel so comfortable doing the stuff.

So, don’t be fooled about how this is being articulated – it is ALL about 501(c)(4) orgs and political activity

But in an email sent a few minutes earlier, Lerner acknowledged prosecutions would evidently be at odds with the law:

Whether there was a false statement or fraud regarding an [sic] description of an alleged political expenditure that doesn’t say vote for or vote against is not realistic under current law. Everyone is looking for a magic bullet or scapegoat — there isn’t one. The law in this area is just hard.

The documents also include email exchanges showing that before Lerner’s May 10, 2013, speech to the American Bar Association blaming “low-level” employees in Cincinnati for targeting tax-exempt organizations, the IRS Exempt Organizations division was scrambling to defuse the emerging targeting scandal:
•May 1, 2013: After receiving an email from an assistant showing that 501(c)(4) applications had increased from 1591 in 2010 to 3398 in 2012 , Lerner wrote back, “Looks to me like 2010-2012 doubled too. Oh well – thanks.”
•May 2, 2013: Discussing an upcoming conference call with approximately 100 congressional staffers on May 22, Lerner cautions aides, “Need to be careful not to mention sequester/furlough unless asked although can allude to budget and resources restraints.”
•May 2, 2013: In response to an email reminding her about the upcoming conference call with congressional staffers, Lerner responded, “Arrgh – I just saw it. Sharon [White] could skate, but Cindy [Thomas] is the person who could answer that stuff. We need to give them some type of language in the event that type of question comes up” [apparently in reference to earlier email referencing “sensitive issues”].

The new documents obtained by Judicial Watch also include emails exchanged after Lerner’s May 10 ABA speech:
•May 10, 2013: In an email to an aide responding to a request for information from a Washington Post reporter, Lerner admits that she “can’t confirm that there was anyone on the other side of the political spectrum” who had been targeted by the IRS. She then adds that “The one with the names used were only know [sic] because they have been very loud in the press.”
•May 10, 2013: An email from former Cincinnati program manager Cindy Thomas excoriates Lerner for her comments blaming “low-level” employees in its Cincinnati office for targeting tax-exempt organizations that had “Tea Party” or “Patriots” in their names during the 2012 election. Highlighting the words “low-level workers” in bold-face type each of the seven times she used it in short, pungent email, Thomas asked, “How am I supposed to keep the low-level workers motivated when the public believes they are nothing more than low-level workers and now will have no respect for how they are working cases?” Lerner’s response nearly an hour later was a terse, “I will be back shortly and give you a call.”
•May 15, 2013: In an email from an aide to Lerner, the aide specifically mentions “Tea Party Organizations, the “Tea Party movement,” and “Tea Party Patriots” as organizations targeted by the IRS.

The Judicial Watch FOIA requests came on the heels of an explosive May 14, 2013, Treasury Inspector General report revealing that the IRS had singled out groups with conservative-sounding terms such as “patriot” and “Tea Party” in their titles when applying for tax-exempt status. The IG probe determined that “Early in Calendar Year 2010, the IRS began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax-exempt status to (e.g., lists of past and future donors).” According to the report, the illegal IRS reviews continued for more than 18 months and “delayed processing of targeted groups’ applications” preparing for the 2012 presidential election.

Lerner, who headed the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, refused to testify at a May 2013 hearing before Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) House Oversight Committee, demanding immunity concerning her role in the targeting scandal. Lerner retired from the IRS with full benefits on September 23 after an internal investigation found she was guilty of “neglect of duties” and was going to call for her ouster, according to news reports. On April 9, 2014, the Ways and Means Committee referred Lois Lerner to the DOJ for criminal prosecution. On April 10, 2014, the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress.

posted April 18, 2014 08:10 AM            

A hotel executive and Democratic fundraiser has pleaded guilty in New York to witness tampering and conspiracy to evade campaign finance laws.

Hampshire Hotels chairman Sant Singh Chatwal appeared Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn. The candidates were not identified.

Chatwal, whose firm runs hotels around the world, had raised at least $100,000 for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign against Barack Obama.

"Mr Chatwal deeply regrets his actions and accepts full responsibility for the consequences. He looks forward to resolving this personal matter," a spokesperson for Chatwal told CNBC on Thursday.

According to the Justice Department, Chatwal made more than $180,000 in donations to three candidates via straw donors, who were then reimbursed.

"There is no allegation that the candidates participated in, or were aware of, Chatwal's scheme," the DOJ said.

In addition to the straw donors, the Justice Dept. said Chatwal tampered with a witness to try and interfere with a grand jury probe.

In November 2009, he was among the celebrities, major Democratic fundraisers and businessmen invited to Obama's first state dinner.

He also was a guest at then-President Bill Clinton's state dinner for India in 2000 and helped arrange an earthquake-relief visit by the former president to India in 2001.

Earlier this month Chatwal stepped down as CEO of Hampshire. The company owns and manages hotels in New York, Miami, the United Kingdom, Thailand and India.

posted April 18, 2014 04:53 PM            

I never said ONLY conservative groups were targeted by the IRS.

I said out of the almost 250 or so groups who were targeted, the vast majority were conservatives and I believe the number I cited of leftist groups targeted by IRS was 6..SIX.

Oh and you might be interested to know that this "phony scandal"...your words...now involves the White House, the IRS, the Justice Dept, at least 4 US Senators...demoscats all...and at least 1 member of the house of Representatives.

So yeah, I can see why you'd like to call it a phony scandal and say.."move on, nothing to see here". But, that's not going to happen.

posted April 18, 2014 07:45 PM            

Interesting to see Boehner being "primaried" immediately after he spoke out about the money wielding arm twisters steering the House

posted April 19, 2014 08:31 AM            

Yeah, did you get your erroneous information from your fortune cookie or...

from the news comic books you read or...

are you channeling Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho and Chavez?

Because you most certainly didn't get that nonsense from any credible source.

On the other hand, my sources are....

The IRS Inspector General's Report
"100% of conservative groups with Tea Party, Patriot or 9/12 in their names were targeted" http://usfinancepost.com/irs-report-conservative-groups-were-targets-16606.html

Lois Lerner of the IRS...
"Lois G. Lerner, the IRS official who oversees tax-exempt groups, acknowledged and apologized at a legal conference for the targeting." http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/holder-orders-fbi-justice-probe-of-irs/2013/05/14/7891fde6-bcc0-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_story.html?hpid=z1

ABC News....
"The targeting of conservatives by the IRS started earlier and was more extensive than the IRS acknowledged last week, according to a draft IRS inspector general report obtained by ABC News" http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-began-targeting-conservatives-in-2010/

IRS Inspector General Congressional Testimony
"Treasury: IRS targeted 292 Tea Party groups, just 6 progressive groups" http://washingtonexaminer.com/treasury-irs-targeted-292-tea-party-groups-just-6-progressive-groups/article/2532456

Because your sources are not credible, your facts are wrong...again AND
you lose...again.