Judicial Watch’s Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politician List
Watchdog group Judicial Watch recently released their Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politician list for 2007. Though I’m a bit perturbed that George Bush and Dick Cheney aren’t included (presumably because they are in the all-time hall of infamy), you may be surprised to see who made the list.
Take special note of how many presidential candidates made the cut. Here they are in alphabetical order:
1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): In addition to her long and sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 – and rightly so – for blocking the release of her official White House records. Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March 2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And Hillary’s top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilt to one count of grand theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
2. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI): House Judiciary Chairman Conyers of Detroit reportedly repeatedly violated the law and House ethics rules, forcing his staff to serve as his personal servants, babysitters, valets and campaign workers while on the government payroll. While the House Ethics Committee investigated these allegations in 2006, and substantiated a number of the accusations against Conyers, the committee blamed the staff and required additional administrative record-keeping and employee training. Judicial Watch obtained documentation in 2007 from a former Conyers staffer that sheds new light on the activities and conduct on the part of the Michigan congressman, which appear to be at a minimum inappropriate and likely unlawful. Judicial Watch called on the Attorney General in 2007 to investigate the matter. [Is it possible that Conyers’ failure to press for the impeachment of Cheney and Bush has something to do with the skeletons in his own closet?] Continue reading
I first encountered Les Nubians in 1998 at a listening station in the now defunct Tower Records store in Nashville, Tennessee. I pressed the play button while examining the cover art of the Afropean soul duo’s debut album, Princesses Nubiennes.