Friday, October 9, 2009

GERLACH TO CORBETT TEAM: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

Congressman Jim Gerlach points out how one of partisan Republican Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett's staunchest allies agrees that prosecutors should resign if they decide to run for political office.

Allegheny County Republican Chair Jim Roddey opined yesterday that Western PA US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan should resign if she decideds to run for Congress. That is good advice for Buchanan and certainly good advice for Corbett.

Here is the Gerlach Campaign release in its entirety:

--- For Immediate Release: October 9, 2009 ---

ALLEGHENY GOP CHAIR MAKES CLEAR CASE FOR CORBETT RESIGNATION

(Exton, PA) - Allegheny County Republican Chair Jim Roddey, a major Corbett for Governor supporter, was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette today stating that prosecutors seeking political office should "step down" when they announce their candidacy to avoid "ethical qualms." Corbett, who is an announced candidate and sitting state attorney general, has refused to step down from his position, despite raising money and political support for months while simultaneously investigating political corruption in both parties. Roddey's comments came in reference to a sitting U.S. prosecutor rumored to be exploring a run for Congress in western Pennsylvania.

"We are glad that Chairman Roddey recognizes the 'ethical qualms' and clear conflict of interest that have existed for at least a month now, beginning on the day Corbett officially announced his campaign for governor," said Scott Migli, campaign manager for the Gerlach for Governor campaign. "We believe the same principle raised in the article applies to Corbett, and that's why we publicly asked for a suspension of his gubernatorial campaign or his resignation because it is very difficult to distinguish how Corbett separates his political investigation during the day from seeking political support at night."

In August, Congressman Jim Gerlach called on Corbett to either suspend his gubernatorial campaign or resign his position as Attorney General while conducting a wide-ranging political investigation into both parties. Despite raising money and political support for his gubernatorial effort since March from within the same political circles as those he is supposed to be investigating, Corbett officially announced his candidacy September 14th and has refused calls to step down as Attorney General.

Last month, the Patriot News, which first discovered the illegal bonuses that led to Corbett's investigation, raised further concerns about Corbett's political ambitions while trying to run a full-time investigation. The editorial board called on Corbett to make a decision by October, stating that "too much is at stake for taxpayers and good governance to see this critical investigation be called into question by election politics."

And while other editorial boards around the state have called on Corbett to drop his bid for Governor, the Chambersburg Public Opinion wrote that "it doesn't bode well for the state's highest office when a leading candidate seems to mix the pursuit of justice with his own ambitions."

Former US Attorney David Marston agreed. In an editorial he penned back in April, Marston said Corbett "does us all a disservice" by trying to campaign and prosecute at the same time, and that he needs to choose one over the other. He added that it raises too many questions: "if you were a state legislator under prosecutor Corbett's microscope, would it not seem prudent to support Corbett for governor?" "Is he advancing the public interest in honest government, or his personal interest in becoming governor?" "Worse, the trials of cases brought in Bonusgate could very well take place during the heat of the gubernatorial race, presenting defense attorneys with a potent argument that it really is all about politics."

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did Senator Casey resign from State Offices when running for higher office?

Doesn't the Casey Family including his late father worked at Dilworth Paxson Law Firm, the same Law Firm that benefited from Convicted Felon Senator Fumo?

Why has Corbett avoided investigating Dilworth Paxson Law Firm and how much have Dilworth Paxson and their Clients contributed to AG Corbett Campaign?

When Governor Rendell ran for Governor in 1984 he was still District Attorney in Philadelphia, and it when was Mayor, was he not?

Is Onerato going to resign his position Allegheny County Chief Executive as he runs for Governor?

Is Jack Wagner going to resign the Auditor General position as he runs for Governor?

Hhhhmmmnnnn, seems unfair only Corbett should resign!

If I missed any, put the others up!

Seese

Anonymous said...

Here is the big problem, the Primary and General Elections will be over before any of the new Trials happen from new Indictments.

Ramley and Veon will be in pleas, jail or hopefully acquitted.

Manzo, Foreman, Lavelle will be convicted felons on probation.

So, it will not matter if Corbett resigns or stays.

Anonymous said...

Did Fumo ever lose his Pension based on his convictions, does anybody know and post a link?

Signor Ferrari said...

Were Casey, Rendell, Onorato or Wagner serving as prosecutors while they were running for Governor? Were they conducting high-profile investigations involving their own political allies and adversaries?

Anonymous said...

"Signor Ferrari said...
Were Casey, Rendell, Onorato or Wagner serving as prosecutors while they were running for Governor? Were they conducting high-profile investigations involving their own political allies and adversaries? October 10, 2009 10:38 AM"

Rendell as DA of Philly was prosecuting as he was collecting Traffic Citations for his illegal parking.

Casey ran for Governor 4 Times while being other State Offices.

Wagner and Casey were Auditor Generals auditing many state, county and local offices while running for office.

They all conducted High Profile Investigations and findings especially in the years they were running for Higher Office from school districts to county offices to organize crime in the case of Rendell.

Signor Ferrari said...

So, in other words, no. They were not prosecutors running for Governor, conducting high-profile criminal investigations of their political allies and adversaries.

Anonymous said...

RE: " Anonymous said...
Did Fumo ever lose his Pension based on his convictions, does anybody know and post a link?"

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/07/convicted_exsen_vince_fumo_los.html

Convicted ex-Sen. Vince Fumo loses state pension
By DUSTIN HOCKENSMITH, The Patriot-News
July 31, 2009, 5:57PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A former Pennsylvania state senator about to serve more than four years in federal prison for corruption charges has lost his legislative pension.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that Vincent Fumo was notified this week that he was losing his pension due to his July 14 sentencing. The newspaper cited information obtained through Pennsylvania's open-records law.

Fumo's pension from the State Employees' Retirement System had been $100,500 a year. The Philadelphia Democrat began collecting on it when he retired from the Senate in December.



http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20090808_Fumo_loses_Pa__Senate_health-care_benefits.html

Fumo loses Pa. Senate health-care benefits
By Mario F. Cattabiani

Inquirer Staff Writer

HARRISBURG - The state Senate is stripping Vincent J. Fumo of his lifetime state-paid health benefits, in the latest financial aftershock from his public corruption conviction.

But losing the top-of-the-line benefits - which cost taxpayers about $15,000 annually -

Anonymous said...

The Corbett charade/farce is about over. Let's not lose sight of the fact that he is right that public funds should not reward political work. Unfortunately, in typical Karl Rove fashion, Corbett chose just to chase Democrats. He is now between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. He do anything against Republicans while Gerlach is in the race. They day they decided to pursue these cases they needed to know whether they were really "going to go where the evidence led." Those chose not to do that, and in the end, it is why Corbett won't be Governor.

Anonymous said...

I have been deeply impressed by the citizen outrage that spilled out into these blogs this year.

And I remain shocked at the priggish derision of the mainstream media, locked in their urban enclaves, toward our events about bonuses and public abuses.

These are moving spectacles of grassroots Pennsylvanians in battle.

Aggrieved voters have a perfect right to shout at their incompetent and irresponsible representatives, OAG employees, and judicial branch bums.

Citizens of the Keystone State are under no duty whatever to sit in reverent silence to be fed propaganda and half-truths.

It is bizarre that liberals or conservatives who celebrate the unruly demonstrations of our youth would malign or impugn the motivation of today's protestors with opposing views, as seen on this website.

The mainstream media's failure to honestly cover last month's mass excuses and the Piroli Trial are a disgrace.

The focus on anti-Corbett placards, combined with the grotesque attempt to equate criticism of Corbett with injustice, simply illustrated why the old guard urban daily newspapers are slowly dying.

Only a simpleton would believe what they say.