When we read the statement from Senate GOP hired gun Matthew Haverstick that evidence in the Jane Orie case was turned over "as part of a prearranged and cooperative effort," we couldn't help but reflect upon craven liar Bill DeWeese's "cooperative effort" with Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett.
Believing he had nothing to fear from prosecutors, DeWeese turned over a massive cache of documents and emails to be used as evidence against his former colleague Mike Veon and others. He made at least a halfhearted effort to exclude some of the blatantly incriminating evidence, such as emails showing two of his top staffers coordinating political work with a state-paid contractor - emails that unfortunately for him turned up among the small amount of evidence gathered from other sources.
But a person who believes he has nothing to fear is a person who lets his guard down. Plenty of incriminating emails were among the evidence DeWeese himself turned over, including the smoking-gun "U R welcome" email in which he acknowledges awarding bonuses for campaign work.
DeWeese's sloppiness in voluntarily handing over evidence that incriminated himself did not have direct legal consequences - even after public disclosure of his complicity in awarding bonuses for campaign work, using a state-paid contractor for politicking, using state resources for petition challenges and overseeing other state-paid political work, DeWeese never was indicted on any of it.
But public disclosure of the unindicted DeWeese's criminal activities created a huge public-relations problem for Gubernatorial Candidate Corbett. Unable to act upon the incriminating evidence within his very grasp, Corbett was forced to conduct a separate investigation to ferret out crimes not covered by his previous deal with DeWeese.
Now, it's certainly not difficult to be smarter than Bill DeWeese. And Senate GOP leaders may not feel as bulletproof as DeWeese did in the fall of 2007. Perhaps they learned a lesson from DeWeese's stumbles. On the other hand, this investigation is being conducted by the District Attorney of Allegheny County, not the GOP candidate for Governor. Senate GOP leaders presumably weren't able to cover their asses with this prosecutor by funneling campaign contributions through his running mate's commitee.
And the Republicans talk about the Democrats and the Rendell Administration. Please! I'm begging! Someone give the Republican Party and Republican Elected Officials a mirror - they need to look at themselves. Computergate is a terrible misuse of taxpayer money and still, the Republicans use this program and data base for their personal gain.
ReplyDeleteI don't hear any of these "tea party candidates" and "do gooder" freshman and sophmore House Members calling for any accountability of this financial abuse of the taxpayers money. Not to mention the personal benefit that they got from it.
The programs and data must be made available to any PA taxpayer that wants to use it since the taxpayers paid for it. I'd like to have access to this these programs and data too - I'm a taxpayer taken advantage of by the Republicans, but my tax money helped pay for these progams & data.
Mike Long On Deck:
ReplyDeleteA figure in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal who made a rare and unsuccessful attempt to fight criminal conviction is finding out whether he'll be heading to jail.
In this June 22, 2005, Kevin Ring testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Former lobbyist Ring is scheduled for sentencing Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011, on a jury’s finding that he was guilty of bribing public officials with meals and event tickets.
Prosecutors are requesting he get more than four years of imprisonment, which would give him one of the stiffest sentences in the far-reaching investigation. Only the ringleader, Jack Abramoff, got a harsher penalty, with a six-year sentence.
Former lobbyist Kevin Ring is scheduled for sentencing Wednesday on a jury's finding that he was guilty of bribing public officials with meals and event tickets. Prosecutors are requesting he get more than four years of imprisonment, which would give him one of the stiffest sentences in the far-reaching investigation. Only the ringleader, Abramoff, got a harsher penalty, with a six-year sentence.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle has ruled that Ring's guideline range should be three to five years, but she is free to give him a lesser sentence. He wrote to the judge maintaining his innocence and asking for probation.
If Sam Smith did not know everything and the Attorney General believed him, and did not prosecute him, the same Defense should be available to Bill DeWeese, it is clearly fair and no other conclusion can differ!
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