The Congressional Culture of Corruption
Posted by: Emperor Misha I in Blogs and Blogging, Politics, Useless Swine3:45 pm
(Via LC & IB Al Maviva at Cold Fury in a post that you absolutely should not miss).
If you’re wondering what on Earth possessed the president to jump to the rescue of Rep. “Money Bags” Jefferson and why on Earth every single member of the House jumped up to defend him as well, you’re not the only one. But it gets better:
The Justice Department signaled to the White House this week that the nation’s top three law enforcement officials would resign or face firing rather than return documents seized from a Democratic congressman’s office in a bribery investigation, according to administration sources familiar with the discussions.
The possibility of resignations by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales; his deputy, Paul J. McNulty; and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III was communicated to the White House by several Justice officials in tense negotiations over the fate of the materials taken from Rep. William J. Jefferson’s office, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Justice prosecutors and FBI agents feared that the White House was ready to acquiesce to demands from House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other lawmakers that the materials be returned to the Louisiana congressman, who is the subject of a criminal probe by the FBI.
Let’s start out with the usual caveats: Yes, this is one of the usual “anonymous sources say” stories meaning that it may very well just be a load of crock cooked up in the fevered mind of a “professional” journalist in order to meet a deadline. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Yes, it’s a great pity that we always have to assume that everything the MSM say is a lie, including “the” and “and”, but they’ve brought that on themselves, they and their “famous” umpty-eleventeen layers of vigorously fact checking editors who always seem to be vacationing on the Bahamas.
With that in mind and with a heapin’ helping of crow on standby in case this turns out to be yet another “fake but accurate” story, let’s put on our tinfoil beanies:
We’re with Al Maviva on this one. If this is true, then the FBI have their hands on a lot more than just one corrupt, money-grubbing House thief from Louisiana. Call us silly if you want, but we somehow don’t see the top three law enforcement officials threatening to resign over one measly little snake slithering away with a hundred grand unmolested.
And that goes for the House getting up in a highly unusual show of bipartisanship screeching and howling like a toddler about to have his teddy bear taken away from him as well.
Not to mention the Commander-in-Chief jumping in to cover their asses with an equally unusual immediate executive order to freeze the evidence. It’s not like he’s been pro-active when it comes to acting unilaterally and on short notice in the past, to say the very least. Just ask his veto pen. If you can find the undisclosed location that he’s deposited it in, that is.
If there’s a quid, there has to be a quo somewhere.
Something strongly suggests to us that the entire legislative branch, with the support of the C-in-C, are busy covering something up that they really don’t want us to hear about and, considering these latest developments, it looks like the FBI have their hands on stuff that will blow the lid off of their collective cash-laden freezers if they’re allowed to continue doing their jobs.
But it’s really easy to settle this once and for all:
If the Congresscritters and Bush will just get off the FBI’s back and allow them to finish their investigation and quit obstructing justice, then we’re all a lot more likely to find out what’s really going on, aren’t we?
After all, if this is all just tinfoil stuff and they have nothing to hide, then they have nothing to fear either, do they?
So why don’t they want us to know for sure?
Unless you’re a particularly dumb species of krill, we’re sure you can come up with the answer to that one pretty quick.
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This is some very serious shit. I don’t care if every guilty SOB is a Republican, they need to get ‘em all out. Hey, that’s an idea. Maybe all 435 members of Congress are guilty. They’ll all get arrested and then we can start over!
First, By the way!
May 27th, 2006 at 3:54 pmExactly.
This is NOT a partisan issue and I, for one, will not under any circumstances try to turn it into one.
Not only would it be unfair and disgustingly dishonest, it would also be hugely detrimental to our nation and all of us who live in it.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:01 pmI fail to see how what Bush did was, “coming to the rescue,” of anyone. He temporarily froze the files, until the matter is resolved.
While this sounds very good, in principle, I doubt that it will ever happen, as I’m sure that there is evidence being destroyed right now, as we speak, which will never see the light of day–ever. While I agree that there must be a reason that (some of) the congress critters, both Dem. and Rep. are screaming about this, I’m not ready to
May 27th, 2006 at 4:28 pmjump to the conclusion that they are all guilty.
[…] UPDATE: Others wondering the same thing: Cold Fury, Tigerhawk, Instapundit, Darth Misha, […]
May 27th, 2006 at 4:33 pmThe only problem with that is, the house is the only thing standing between us and a tsunami of mexicans taking over our country.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:36 pmYes. That’s the official version. A lot of stuff can happen in 45 days, a lot of deals cut and favors promised, a lot of evidence somehow magically disappearing and, in the meantime, Jefferson is free from any of that being used against him.
I don’t think that the three highest ranking law enforcement officials in the country would threaten to resign over the outcome if we were merely talking about a “temporary freeze.”
Sorry, but I just don’t trust a single one of them anymore, and that’s not my fault.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:40 pmGood Ol Dubya…
That boy ..I say, I say, that boy is A’bout sharp as a bowlin’ ball!!
Ok let’s see here….I’ve been the president for going on 6 years…during those six years I’ve gotten beaten down, up, across, side to side, and upside down from Dems and Rhinos at every turn…I’ve got so many knifes in my back I leak when I drink water…
Then here comes senator so and so with a scalding hot scandle…could be there’s others invovled..my party is under fire in the press for coruption …what ever should I do?
Let the Sorry asses twist in the wind…Oh yeah YOU we’re the little shit that called my foriegn and domestic policy a joke wern’t you?!? Led that little charade in the basement to IMPEACH my ass ….Oh too bad so sad ..Pay Backs a cast iron cold bitch now ain’t it there Senator?
But nope not Dubya…He’ll stick his damn fingers in the dam and try to keep the water back…all the while every rep on the hill is backstabbing and undermining him at every juncture…
I’ve finally decided … Bush is dumber then a box of rocks….LOL.
Dubya could of gained 10 freaking points in the polls by just washing his hands of the whole thing and saying to the Justice Department ///SIC ‘EM boys…
Unless of course…he’s got something to hide…then of course you put your big red cape on and jump to the rescue…Co-ink -a- dink? hmmmmmmmmmmm
May 27th, 2006 at 4:53 pm[…] Also, the Rottweiler: If you’re wondering what on Earth possessed the president to jump to the rescue of Rep. “Money Bags” Jefferson and why on Earth every single member of the House jumped up to defend him as well, you’re not the only one. […]
May 27th, 2006 at 7:43 pmKinda’ reminds me of what I read here…boning everyone and anyone they can.
May 27th, 2006 at 8:31 pmhttp://www.local6.com/news/9283707/detail.html
If you look at Dubya’s track record for investigations that are politically tainted, there is absolutely nothing to give any hope to the notion that Bill Jefferson or anyone else will swing for their crimes.
So okay, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Lock up the Frigidaire and throw away the keys. Everyone else go home and move the cash to where any self respecting politician knows it belongs, under his mistress’s mattress…
May 27th, 2006 at 9:06 pmOf course, the media is studiously failing to notice that this is serious enough that the top people at Justice and the FBI are threatening to quit. Between the President’s extraordinary action and those threats, I think we have all the confirmation we need that they are all up to no good and clearly have forgotten who put them there. I hope they enjoy retirement. Bastards.
May 27th, 2006 at 9:41 pmBut he isn’t free from being on the FBI candid camera accepting $90k in recorded bills found stashed in his freezer next to the leftover scandal caserole. As far as anyone trying to dispose of the evidence, I doubt that any of the leadership in the House is going to stand for that. Remember, this whole investigation was initially instigated through a request by Nancy Pelosi who had concerns that Jefferson might be dirty.
I think the part at issue about the search has more to do with all of the other non-related documents that were taken to be sifted through by FBI agents, and I think that is going to be where the compromise is going to focus on. The Justice Department, by way of the FBI, is looking for specific documents relating to the corruption investigation. The compromise might consist of another member being present during the “filtering” process.
Gonzales, McNulty, and Mueller resigning over this because they don’t get their way? That’s ludicrous. If it isn’t a ploy to assert pressure on the President, it might be that they figure they might have gone too far. If anyone thinks these three are going to actually resign, I have a Space Needle and the box it came in for sale.
May 27th, 2006 at 10:27 pmI see this shit and go back to that huge honking barstool boy, Tip O’Neill: “All politics is local.”
I regularly berate my friends that, before ever pulling the trigger and giving some mope their vote, they need to take a look in said mook’s eye. My Congressdroid, Vito “GoombattaCheese” Fossella, was easy, since I used to kick him when we were kids. ‘Vito,” I said, when he first announced for Congress, “I will fucking kill you if you turn into a douchebag.”
“Red, I’ll never do that,” he said.
“Look, skippy,” I said. “The ‘douche’ part is already all over you. Don’t let me find you wearing the bag.”
May 28th, 2006 at 1:17 amAcknowledged.
No, he won’t be able to slither away from the camera footage, although it’s still doubtful if he’ll ever face any real consequences of it, but that’s another point entirely and I won’t derail the discussion with it.
What bothers me is that the evidence acquired in his office may very well implicate others as well, it’d be highly unusual if it didn’t, and they will then be able to escape consequences for sure.
And what bothers me even more is the precedent established if the evidence acquired from his office is declared inadmissable or just plain old “disappears.”
Like you, I am under no illusions that the rot of corruption stops with Jefferson, he’s just the one who was stupid enough to be caught red-handed, and I want them all to face justice, Democrats AND Republicans, and declaring their offices off-limits forever will only serve as an almost insurmountable barrier to that.
After all, if the House gets away with their little hissy fit, there’s nothing stopping them from hiding anything up to and including dead bodies in their offices. Yes, that’s taking it a bit far since bodies tend to stink up the place after a while, but I’m sure you get the idea.
I agree with you that it would be very unfortunate if one branch could get away with unreasonably bullying another into submission, but from everything I’ve read and learned about this incident, the FBI showed restraint well above and beyond that which is afforded “ordinary” citizens. The ordinary being in quotes because all citizens are citizens as far as I’m concerned, none more than others.
If they cannot or will not play by the same rules that the rest of us have to follow, then they’re no longer representative of us and I have no use for them.
That system has already been tried numerous times, and it leads to nothing but misery.
May 28th, 2006 at 1:49 amBut since he’s a miiiinooority, whaddya want to bet he’ll play the race card like any typical sniveling, snot-nosed liberal?
May 28th, 2006 at 7:18 amAre any of them “representing” us? This coruption is directly related to the vast swarms of money pouring into the beltway. Money has become the “voice”. The more money, the louder that “voice”.
Most of our “leaders” follow the “law” and use this “voice” to get their sorry asses re-elected. Others, like Jefferson get a little greedy and decide to pocket some of the cash for personal gain.
I am finding it harder and harder to distinguish between the two.
Most of the money flowing into Washington is from corporations seeking influence and favorable votes on pet legislation. In exchange for those votes, they pump millions into the re-election coffers. You cannot consider this anything but a legal bribe for a vote.
May 28th, 2006 at 12:15 pm