LegiStorm: Transparency's Sidekick

The scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff continues to reverberate as another former congressional aide was indicted by a federal grand jury on public corruption charges.

Horace Cooper, a frequent television commentator and former counsel to Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

The indictment alleges that from 2001 to 2005, Cooper conspired with Abramoff, "to defraud the United States of his honest services and of its right oto have federal executive branch business conducted without improper influence," a Department of Justice press release indicates. He did so by taking official actions while being rewarded by Abramoff with thousands of dollars in meals, sports tickets and other favors for himself and his associates. The indictment indicates that Cooper took thousands of dollars of such gifts from Abramoff from 1998 to 2000 while he was a congressional staffer.

read more ...

Illinois governor and former Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D) was arrested Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including the accusation he essentially put up the open Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama for the highest bidder.

Even before the arrest, Blagojevich has been under fire. A Chicago Tribune poll in October put his approval rating at 13 percent, and in another poll only 4 percent of respondents said he was doing a "good" job. Those numbers may have made him the most unpopular politician in the country. The latest revelations could make the situation even worse.

Because of the enormous interest in Blagojevich's financial dealings, LegiStorm has added Blagojevich's available state financial disclosures he filed as the governor of Illinois. Blagovich's financial disclosures as a member of Congress are not available as the House only keeps the disclosures on file for six years. Blagovich left his office to run for governor in 2002.

Yesterday's indictment of Kevin Ring, a former legislative director to Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and colleague of disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, is further evidence of the need for accurate financial disclosures by members of Congress and their top aides.

The 10-count indictment alleges that Ring made false statements about receiving a $135,000 kickback himself, as well as showering Doolittle and others with illegal gifts. Prosecutors say that congressional officials were filing false financial disclosures regarding these gifts because doing so would have been admitting to receiving illegal gifts.

The indictment says that Ring provided legislative and executive branch officials with gifts in exchange for official actions. They include all-expenses-paid domestic and international trael, fundraising assistance, meals, drinks, golf, sports tickets and employment opportunities to spouses, including Doolittle's wife.

read more ...

With his indictment today, the powerful and cantankerous Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is finding that it's often not the underlying deed that proves your undoing but the coverup.

Stevens would probably have been in a heap of legal trouble for taking more than $250,000 in gifts from a contractor in the form of home renovations and household goods. But it's the failure to report these gifts on his personal financial disclosures that makes it such an easy case for federal prosecutors, who just unveiled a seven-count indictment against the senior senator for making false statements.

There's no need for prosecutors to prove a quid pro quo. All they need to show is that Stevens took the gifts, knew he was taking gifts and that he knowingly failed to report it.

read more ...