GOP Culture of Corruption

James Trout files suit in Missouri

over passage of bill

HB 1900 gags candidates and removes

all donation caps

For the past three years, one member of Congress, Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.), has blocked a $10 million request to buy the land for a permanent memorial to the 40 heroes of Flight 93 who overpowered hijackers bent on crashing their jet into the Capitol or the White House.  Taylor’s excuse is that the federal government is already the largest landowner in the country, and he believes that no additional tax dollars should go to more land buying for this or any other memorial. 

Could Grover Norquist, America’s foremost advocate of cutting taxes, have forgotten about his?
 
Public documents suggest that Grover Norquist, president of the right-wing Americans for Tax Reform, has forgotten to pay his Washington, DC property taxes for the first half of this year.
 
As of April 18, 2006, Norquist’s taxes on his Washington, DC townhouse had not been paid for the period covering October 1, 2005 – March 31, 2006, the first half of the fiscal year. Norquist’s taxes were due on March 31.

Note: Norquist’s property has not received a late fee, so there’s a slim chance his check simply hasn’t been processed.
 
The anti-tax crusader currently owes $3,822.28 to the Office of Tax and Revenue, a figure that includes a charge of $394.21 in penalties and interest for failure to pay on time. More penalties will be added at the end of this month, should Norquist fail to submit payment.  While no payment appears in D.C. public records at TaxpayerServiceCenter.com, it's possible that the anti-tax crusader's check simply hasn't been processed. Washington D.C. property tax payments can be reviewed here.

According the Orlando Sentinel, Mitchell Wade, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribing former Rep. Duke Cunningham, also spent $2,800 on wine and food on Rep. Katherine Harris. 

"In her interview Wednesday, Harris acknowledged for the first time that Wade had paid for the dinner at Citronelle, reversing a statement from her congressional spokeswoman earlier this year."

In Wade's plea agreement, he also pleaded guilty to giving Harris $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions in 2004.  This recent dinner is yet another example of the GOP's Culture of Corruption.

Barbara Bonfiglio is treasurer to the GOP stars,  or at least she was.

TPM Muckraker reports that she is leaving lobbying powerhouse Williams & Jensen.   That's also the firm where DeLay's former Chief of Staff Susan Hirschmann hangs her hat.

TPM mentions that Bonfiglio was treasurer for Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum's charity, Richard Pombo and Duke Cunningham.

A casual review of FEC records indicates that Bonfiglio is, or was until very recently, also treasurer, deputy treasurer, or custodian of records for many other GOP luminaries.

Here's an advance copy of the Vanity Fair interview with Jack Abramoff.

It has been previewed by TPM Muckraker, Hotline Blog and ThinkProgress. 

The Billings Gazette has a blockbuster story today on Senator Conrad Burns and his ties to lobbyist Leo Giacometto.

From 1995 to 1998, former Alzada rancher Leo Giacometto worked as Sen. Conrad Burns' chief of staff in Washington, D.C. Six years later, after Giacometto had quit to work as a lobbyist, Burns called on him again.

In a move that Burns' office describes as innocuous and at least one observer described as ethically problematic, Burns proposed forming a nonprofit group with Giacometto in 2003. The group, started with $100 from Giacometto's personal bank account and run out of his D.C. lobbying firm, is called the U.S.-Asia Network and Burns, its chairman, has described the outfit as one of his top priorities.

Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said Burns' involvement with the group is unusual.

"It presents some problems because Burns is aligning himself with what is essentially a trade association run by lobbyists," he said.

Neither of the other members of Montana's congressional delegation has ever started a nonprofit group with lobbyists, according to representatives of Democrat Sen. Max Baucus and Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg.

The group was formed to promote international trade with an emphasis on high tech and telecommunications, according to a Burns newsletter. Giacometto's lobbying clients include communications companies such as Nextel and AT&T. Burns sits on the Commerce Committee and through 2004 chaired its Communications Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over telecommunications law.

Former Rep. Duke Cunningham was sentenced to 100 months in prison for taking bribes from defense contractors.

Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was taken into custody Friday after being sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for accepting bribes from defense contractors.

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence for Cunningham, the maximum available under his plea agreement. His lawyers asked for six years.

Rep. John Doolittle has been inducted into Public Citizen's Ethics Hall of Shame.  Here are the highlights of his record:

• Is under investigation by the Justice Department for his ties to Jack Abramoff. 
• Steered defense appropriations for technology the military did not request to a major campaign contributor. 
• Took action supporting Jack Abramoff tribal clients that contradicted his “anti-gaming position,” while taking tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Abramoff and his clients.
• Took action supported by two lobbying firms that employed his wife.
• Short-circuited an FDIC investigation into the primary owner of a failed S&L that cost taxpayers billions. 

Today is Public Citizen's "National Call Out Corruption Day."  To get more information on how to take part, click here.