Jack Abramoff

The Republican Summer Olympics of 2009

Gary Cohan | Posted 06.29.2009 | Politics


Gary Cohan

Republicans' private embraces are often in complete contradistinction with their own oft-trumpeted, Biblically-mandated "moral" guidelines for the rest of us.

The Fraud of Honest-Services Fraud

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 06.22.2009 | Politics


Gary S. Chafetz

Essentially, honest-services fraud makes prosecutors omnipotent, because they can charge anybody they want with a federal felony.

Taken With a Grain of Salt

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 05.22.2009 | Home


Gary S. Chafetz

What one reads in the newspapers is often oversimplified and distorted so much so that it borders on fiction--a lesson we need to be reminded of const...

Slots for Tots 2009

Tom Cosgrove | Posted 05.18.2009 | Media


Tom Cosgrove

In America the Internet provides an important platform of dissent for the "little guy."

Selective Prosecution

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 05.05.2009 | Home


Gary S. Chafetz

Two-time Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey and director George Hickenlooper may have committed a felony last week by visiting convicted felon Jack Abra...

The GOP Deserves Its Current State of Isolation

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 05.05.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

A loyal opposition would be a great thing; an opposition that added constructive ideas to the nation's political debate. But that's not where the GOP is today.

Kevin Spacey Visits Jack Abramoff In Jail

deadlinehollywooddaily.com | Posted 04.24.2009 | Entertainment


My sources tell me that 2-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and film director George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl, Hearts of Darkness) are right no...

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF JOURNALISM

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 04.01.2009 | Home


Gary S. Chafetz

A longstanding, exemplary priest will be defrocked, prosecuted, and imprisoned if on one occasion long ago he molested a 10-year-old altar boy. A high...

Capitol Hill: Parties All the Time

Harry Hanbury | Posted 03.20.2009 | Politics


Harry Hanbury

You do not show up to a Congressional fundraiser with a video crew and ask to speak to a member of Congress or their staff. Even just for two minutes. But that's what I did.

Why Not Talk to Bin Laden

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 03.15.2009 | Home


Gary S. Chafetz

WHY NOT TALK TO BIN LADEN President Obama wisely believes in the value of engaging in dialogue with those whose viewpoints differ radically from his-...

Sunday Roundup

Arianna Huffington | Posted 03.07.2009 | Politics


Arianna Huffington

Despite Karl Rove's concerns that his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee could become a "show trial," the deal he cut assures that his testimony, at least initially, will be conducted in private. John Conyers promises to get to the bottom of Rove's role in the US Attorneys scandal, but will Bush's Brain be asked about the outing of Valerie Plame? The prosecution of Don Siegelman? His cozy relationship with Jack Abramoff? The Rove deal allows Obama to sidestep weighing in on Bush's very broad claims of executive privilege. White House Counsel Greg Craig says Obama is "very sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened," but doesn't want to "do anything that would... weaken the institution of the presidency." After reading the chilling secret Bush memos released this week, the idea of a less unbridled executive branch doesn't seem like such a bad thing.

Gaming The System

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 03.03.2009 | Politics


Gary S. Chafetz

The New York Times (in editorials on February 22 and March 2, 2009), along with so many others, including most Democrats and many Republicans, lament ...

LOBBYING REFORM

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 02.21.2009 | Home


Gary S. Chafetz

In Friday's New York Times (February 20, 2009), there were two intriguing items on lobbying. One was an editorial, decrying the insidious nexus betwee...

Ex-Senate Aide Charged In Abramoff Scandal

AP | NEDRA PICKLER | Posted 02.20.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A longtime former aide to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran has been charged in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal, accused of accept...

Talking to the Enemy is not Appeasement

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics


Gary S. Chafetz

Many conservatives equate talking to the enemy with appeasement. They cite Neville Chamberlain's simplistic, naïve appeasement of Adolph Hitler and P...

Former Gregg Aide Caught Up In Lobbying Scandal

AP | DEVLIN BARRETT and ERICA WERNER | Posted 02.04.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — An ex-aide to Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg is under investigation for allegedly taking baseball and hockey tickets from a ...

Cantor: People in Glass Houses...

Ira Forman | Posted 02.02.2009 | Politics


Ira Forman

At the House GOP retreat this weekend Minority Whip Eric Cantor made the following crack about Health and Human Services designee, Tom Daschle. "It's...

An Open Letter to George W. Bush

Gary S. Chafetz | Posted 01.19.2009 | Politics


Gary S. Chafetz

After conducting an investigation, I concluded that Jack Abramoff did not defraud his tribal clients, did not bribe any elected or appointed federal officials, and did not corrupt the political process.

Bush's Magical Mystery Tour

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 01.14.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

To the bitter end, George W. Bush is proving to anybody willing to listen that he is not only the worst president in United States history but also just a horrible human being.

Hope + Lessig = Change

Sarah Newman | Posted 01.13.2009 | Politics


Sarah Newman

Lawrence Lessig, through his group, Change Congress, has already done some of the important legwork to get us involved in removing the influence of special interests in Congress.

Bush Urges GOP to Be Inclusive. Texan Please.

Andy Ostroy | Posted 01.12.2009 | Politics


Andy Ostroy

In his chat with Fox News' Brit Hume, Bush took time to pat himself and his Dr. Evil henchman, VP Dick Cheney, on the back for its success both in Iraq and with fighting terrorism.

GOP Lobbyist Pleads Guilty In Abramoff Scandal

AP | JESSE J. HOLLAND | Posted 12.12.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A lobbyist with ties to Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Friday to helping supply congressional aides an all-expenses-paid trip to the ...

Happy Birthday, Governor Blagojevich!

Giles Slade | Posted 12.11.2008 | Chicago


Giles Slade

Last Tuesday, Al Gore, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were upstaged by Governor Rod Blagojevich who appears destined for the same prison that currently houses his predecessor.

Nothing About the Prosecution of Don Siegelman Escapes the Taint of Corruption

David Fiderer | Posted 12.04.2008 | Politics


David Fiderer

Louis Franklin's indictment of Siegelman is a recurring stunt that you see over and over in Alabama and elsewhere in the South.

Scandals Surrounding Don Siegelman's Prosecution: A Quick and Easy Primer, Part I

David Fiderer | Posted 11.26.2008 | Politics


David Fiderer

We know, based on definitive evidence, precisely how certain Bush appointees lied and colluded in order to subvert due process in the Siegelman trial.