A Captain Renault post: Despite growing criticism in the press and on talk radio stations, Tom Corbett told KYW radio today that there will be no indictments or arrests in the Bonusgate investigation for at least the next 30 days--or longer. Corbett made the announcement about the continued delay in the Bonusgate investigation while doing his usual strip tease about some other corruption investigation he plans on announcing within a few days.The Bonusgate investigation has been going of for two years now and Republican Corbett has to date has indicted former members and staff of only House Democrat Caucus. There is growing criticism of the pace and quality of Corbett's investigation. Corbett continues to hint (or wink) that more indictments are coming and he is still "investigating all 4 caucuses" including the Republicans in the House and the Senate. More and more people are skeptical that Corbett intends to actually indict any Republicans at all.
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an editorial last week that criticized Corbett's Bonusgate investigation as "painfully slow" and "plodding". This is the first Inquirer editorial that directly and clearly criticized Corbett for how he is handling this investigation and we posted a story on it here last week.
The Inquirer editorial went further than just criticising Corbett on the pace of the investigation by stating that Corbett is using Bonusgate for his own political gain (No surprise to us -- we have been trying to make that point to all of the editorial boards in the state for months).
From the Inquirer:
"Republican Corbett says more charges are coming. He obviously hopes to use the drawn-out probe as a springboard into the governor's office in 2010."
This is a powerful indictment (pun intended) of Tom Corbett and his politicized investigation of the state legislature. With Corbett's announcement today that any additional Bonusgate indictments are are 30 days away at best, we hope more editorial writers, reporters, and PA citizens will hold Corbett accountable for bringing partisan and personal politics into the justice system.
http://stopcorbett.blogspot.com/2009/03/rap-on-tom-corbett-fugitive.html
ReplyDeleteOnce again, it is my belief some of the people indicted did not even know they were breaking the law by campaigning.
ReplyDeleteAmerica has become a nation where common people running for office require access to money and sponsors that give them money. God help any of them if they take a phone call in bathroom in the capital and a citizen says I want to send you money. They just broke the Law, a law that is burdensome and meant to keep common elected officials under control!
Yet, should they be in a street two-step from the Capitol, they can take the call and say thank you, and no break the law.
However, should a rich man want to run for office and use his own money like the late John Heinz, or New Jersey's Corzine, or Danforth, or DuPont, they are under no restrictions. Showing you America has created a House of Lords of Wealth.
Now God Help Veon for being a common person dependent on raising money for himself and colleagues needing money.
Furthermore, if all the Caucuses were investigated at the same time and Presentments given out the same time. It would have been fair from an investigation standpoint.
Therefore, stop these investigations, just announce that if everyone returns the Bonus Money and pay some fines, these public hanging should cease.
Should it happen again, no question indicts the people that violated the law after knowing what was against the law?
Nevertheless, for God Sakes quit making criminals out of decent citizens that enjoy public service, work hard for elected officials, and have to campaign to help them win elections.
We can come up with new laws that provide fines for mixing public and private money and working on campaigns with sloppy bookkeeping, but this should not rise to putting people in Prison.
Please let us bring sanity to our election laws and save dedicated public servants and employees from becoming criminals for using a phone in a state bathroom in accepting money for a campaign.
Sure, some of these things were beyond the deed I outline above, but all of this public money can be repaid without spending more public money to investigate, trials and convictions.
There should a law that will make people pay fines for violations the first time and then indictments the second time if it continues.
The Taxpayers can be made whole if the funds, bonuses, and expenses are returned, by those that are accused of crimes today.
We need to be decent to one another! Our laws should be too!