Sunday, June 10, 2007

Ethics Cloud Over California Republicans

By Erica Werner
The Associated Press

Saturday 09 June 2007

Washington - Hollywood party girls don't have a monopoly on trouble in California. A disproportionate number of the state's congressional Republicans are facing ethics questions that threaten to sink their careers and their party's political fortunes too.

Of 201 House Republicans, at least six are known to have attracted the attention of federal investigators - and four are from California. Their woes come in the wake of the lurid corruption scandal that sent ex-GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of San Diego to prison last year for taking $2.4 million in bribes.

Although their situations have a few common threads, some analysts attribute the cluster of California cases to coincidence, plus the state's large size and district lines drawn to protect incumbents.

"When your seat is so safe that you're not concerned about perception, you become too wedded to Washington and you lose touch with your constituency, and you lose touch with your real purpose," said Karen Hanretty, a Republican strategist and former California Republican Party spokeswoman.

Rep. John Doolittle, a nine-term Northern California conservative under investigation in the influence-peddling scandal around jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has his own theory about why federal corruption investigations seem to be concentrated in California.

"I think it's part of this manufactured culture of corruption that the Democrats have come up with and they decided to, given what's happened with Duke Cunningham, they decided that California Republicans on the Appropriations Committee would be a great place to start," said Doolittle, who plans to seek re-election next year.

The ethics cloud is discouraging the party faithful who've already watched the GOP shrink to minority status in California. And they add to the dilemmas of Republican strategists aiming to retake Congress next year following election losses blamed partly on GOP ethics problems.

"There is a sort of feeling among Republican activists who work hard to elect Republicans of, 'What the heck is going on here?'" said Los Angeles GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum.

Republican Rep. Richard Pombo was chairman of the House Resources Committee when he lost in a GOP-leaning Central California district last November amid questions about his ties to Abramoff.

That reduced the number of Republicans in the nation's largest congressional delegation to 19, the lowest since their numbers shrank from 24 once district lines were redrawn after the 2000 census.

There are 33 Democrats from California, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and none are known to be facing active FBI scrutiny. A 34th California Democratic seat is vacant after the cancer death in April of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald.

The GOP hopes to take back Pombo's seat next year. The districts of the four incumbents with ethics issues are heavily Republican, and will probably stay in GOP hands.

But their problems make them less valuable allies for Republican presidential candidates looking to compete in California's primary, newly advanced to February. And the ethics clouds discourage a GOP base already chafing at moderate Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's constant compromises with Democrats.

"This is presenting a huge distraction from the debate over ideas that really needs to happen in terms of who's going to control Congress," said Jon Fleischman, a GOP activist in Orange County. "It creates a degree of cynicism that is certainly real."

Besides Doolittle, California Republicans with ethics problems are:

_Rep. Jerry Lewis, now in his 15th term and chairman of the Appropriations Committee last year when federal prosecutors in Los Angeles began investigating his ties to a lobbyist with clients in his district.

_Rep. Gary Miller, in his fifth term, who's drawn scrutiny over a tax deferral strategy he used in a profitable real estate sale to a Southern California town outside his district.

_Rep. Ken Calvert, in his eighth term, who denies any conflict over pushing federal funding for a planned freeway interchange 16 miles from property he sold at a profit. The FBI pulled Calvert's financial disclosure forms a year ago, but he says there's no evidence he's under active investigation.

The four deny wrongdoing, and it's not clear that Miller, Calvert or Lewis are in immediate legal or political jeopardy. Not so with Doolittle, who barely won re-election last year in one of the most heavily Republican districts in California.

Many local officials still publicly back him, but some Republicans in Doolittle's district are starting to say they can't risk having him as their nominee.

"The fact of the matter is John Doolittle will be defeated by a Democratic candidate in an overwhelmingly Republican district because of the ethical morass of his own creation," said Steve Schmidt, a former White House adviser who backs a potential primary challenge by Eric Egland, a former Doolittle supporter.



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1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Convicted/Pled Guilty
--------------
Republican Governor George Ryan - 4/17/2006 racketeering and bribery - (76 people convicted)
Republican Governor Bob Taft - 8/18/2005. 5 counts failure to report gifts from Lobbyists
Republican Governor John Rowland - 12/24/2004 Bribery
Republican Governor Sonny Perdue - Campaign ethics violations

NH GOP Chair Chuck McGee - conspiricy to make harrasing phone calls to block people from voting.
Republican Aide Allen Raymond
Republican James Tobin (NE Regional Dir., Bush campaign) - 12/15/05 conspiracy to commit telephone harassment, aiding and abetting of telephone harassment
Republican Charles McGee (Executive Director of the NH Republican State Committee )
Republican Shaun Hansen. GOP Marketing aide - conspiracy to commit telephone harassment and aiding and abetting telephone harassment

Republican Aide Scott Falwell - racketeering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice
Republican Aide Alexandra Prokos - Perjury
Republican Aide Jim Ellis - 13 counts of unlawful acceptance of a corporate political contribution, money laundering
Republican Aide John Colyandro - money laundering
Republican Brian Hicks - bribery
Republican Chief of Staff Peter Ellef - Bribery
Republican Roger G. Stillwell - Interior Department official - bribed by Abramoff

Republican Lobbyist Jack Abramoff - defrauding of American Indian tribes and corruption of public officials
Republican Tony Rudy (lobbyist and aide to Tom Delay) - conspiricy
Republican Representative Bob Ney - Conspiricy to defraud the United States and making false statements
Republican Neil Volz (lobbyist and aide to Bob Ney) - bribery and corruption
Republican William Heaton(Bob Ney's chief of staff) - Conspiricy
Republican Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham - conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion

Republican David Hossein Safavian. Lying, obstruction of Justice

Democratic Senator Traficant - bribery and forcing his aides to perform chores

Republican Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby - two counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice, and one of making false statements to federal investigators
Republican Tom Noe - Laundered money for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign, theft, corruption, party chairman and Bush Pioneer fundraiser
Republican Gov Ernie Fletcher - 13 aides indicted
Republican Micheal Scanlon (lobbyist and aide to Tom DeLay) - bribery
Deputy Secretary Steven Griles - bribery, perjury, obstrcting a congressional investigation.
Republican Congressional aide Mark Zachares - bribery


Confessed under grant of Immunity
---------------------------------
Monica Goodling, White House liaison for Alberto Gonzales - Hired federal prosecuters based upon party affiliation.


Indicted/Charged
----------------
Republican Tom Delay - conspiring to violate Texas state election law, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Reprimanded by House Ethics Committee
Republican Lawrence Novak
Republican Nathan Taylor
Kyle "Dusty" Foggo (George W Bush's CIA Executive Director) - 30 wide-ranging counts of fraud, conspiracy,
money laundering, leaking classified information.
Republican Lurita Alexis Doan, Administrator of the General Services Administration - violations of the Hatch act.
Democratic Senator William Jefferson - 16 counts of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering


Under investigation
---------------------------
Republican Senator Ben Stevens - bribery, corruption
Republican Karl Rove - Abramoff, interfering in federal investigations, obstruction of justice
Republican President George W. Bush - Abramoff, interfering in federal investigations, obstruction of justice
Republican Vice President Dick Cheney - Abramoff, interfering in federal investigations, obstruction of justice
Republican Governor and RNC Chairman Haley Barbour - Laundered money from foreign governments into presidential elections. Used non-profit organizations for illegal purposes. Perjury.
Republican Representive Mark Foley - Pediphilia
Republican Representive Mark Reynolds - Covered up for Mark Foley
Republican Representive Dennis Hastert - Covered up for Mark Foley
Republican Governor Mitt Romney - Made false statements to bondholders
Republican Governor/Ex Representative Jim Gibbons - Bribery
Republican Attorney General Gonzales - Fired US Attorneys for prosecuting Republicans, interfering in federal investigations, obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, perjury, witness tampering.
Republican Paul J. McNulty - Deputy Attorney General. Interfering in federal investigations, obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, perjury
Republican Senator Pete Domenici - Used influence to get a US Attorney fired
Republican Representative Heather Wilson - Used influence to get a US Attorney fired
Republican Representative Tom Feeney - bribery
Republican Representative Richard George Renzi - bribery, conflict on interest.
Republican Representative Jerry Lewis - Accepted gifts from Lobbyists, bribery, honest services fraud, dispensation of special favors
Republican Representative John Doolittle - Accepted money from Jack Abramoff in exchange for favors.
Democratic Representative Alan Mollohan -May have funnelled money to his own home-state foundations
Republican Representative Rick Renzi - bribery, sponsored legislation that dealt hundreds of millions of dollars to his father’s business
Republican Representative Tim Murphy - Ethics violations regarding use of Congressional staff for campaign purposes.
Republican Representative Gary Miller - Illegal land deals, tax fraud
Republican Representative Ken Calvert - Steered federal money to projects near his private real estate developments.
Republican Representative Don Young - bribery

Implicated - May be under investigation
---------------------------------------
Richard Shelby (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - AL)
Robert Riley (REPUBLICAN GOVENOR- AL)
J. D. Hayworth (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - AZ)
Dana Rohrabacher (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CA)
Doug Ose (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CA)
Richard Pombo (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CA)
John Doolittle (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CA)
Ed Royce (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CA)
Scott McInnis (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CO)
Rob Simmons (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - CT)
Tom Feeney (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - FL)
Ric Keller (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - FL)
John Isakson (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - GA)
Saxby Chambliss (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - CA)
Jack Kingston (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - GA)
Michael Simpson (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - ID)
Butch Otter (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - ID)
Jerry Walker (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - IL)
Dan Burton (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - IN)
Charles Grassley (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - IA)
BOB EHRLICH (REPUBLICAN GOVENOR- MD)
Dave Camp (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - MI)
Gil Gutknecht (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - MN)
Christopher Bind (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- MO)
Jim Talent (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- MO)
Charles Pickering (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - MS)
Roger Wicker (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - MS)
Thad Cochran (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- MS)
Dennis Rehberg (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- MT)
Jon Christensen (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NE)
John Ensign (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NV)
Roger Wicker (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - MS)
Jim Saxton (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NJ)
Frank LoBiondo (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NJ)
Mike Ferguson (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NJ)
Heather Wilson (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NM)
Charles Taylor (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NC)
Walter Jones (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NC)
Jean Schmidt (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - OH)
Ralph Regula (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - OH)
Ernest Istook (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - OK)
James Inhofe (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- OK)
Tom Coburn (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - OK)
Gordon Smith (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- OR)
Arlen Specter (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- PA)
Curt Weldon (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - PA)
Joe Pitts (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - PA)
John Thune (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - SD)
Bill Janklow (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - SD)
Van Hilleary (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - TN)
Chris Cannon (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- UT)
Eric Canter (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - VA)
Randy Forbes (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - VA)
George Allen (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- VA)
Tom Davis (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - VA)
George Nethercutt (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WA)
Doc Hastings (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WA)
Dave Reichert (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WA)
Mark Green (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WI)
Paul Ryan (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WI)
Shelly Moore Capito (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WV)
Mike Enzi (REPUBLICAN SENATOR- WY)
Barbara Cubin (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - WY)
Robert Riley (REPUBLICAN GOVENOR - AL)
Marilyn Musgrave (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE- CO)
Jim Nussle (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - IA)
Matt Blunt (REPUBLICAN GOVENTOR- MO)
Roy Blunt (REPUBLICAN MAJORITY LEADER - MO)
Jon Christensen (FORMER REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE- NE)
Jeb Bradley (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - NH)
John E Sununu (REPUBLICAN SENATOR - NH)
Jean Schmidt (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - OH)
Joe Wilson(REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - SC)
Gresham Barrett (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - SC)
Henry Brown (REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE - SC)

Convicted: 102 Republicans. 1 Democrat
Indicted: 5 Republicans. 1 Democrats
Confessed under grant of Immunity: 1 Republican. 0 Democrats.
Under investigation: 21 Republicans. 1 Democrat.
implicated: 75 Republicans. 0 Democrats
Total: 204 Republicans. 3 Democrats.

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