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Corruption Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 28, 2016 14 Comments
I watched the new documentary film "Clinton Cash" based on the book by Peter Schweizer this week and all I can say is the Clintons' corruption is worse than most people know. As a full time blogger, I watch cable news and monitor political news all day every day and even I didn't know the extent of the Clintons' influence and the way they've used it to enrich themselves and others. I think most members of the general public would be horrified by what's presented in this film.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 21, 2016 6 Comments
The Turkish parliament has formally approved a three month state of emergency after a failed coup last Friday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promises its needed to protect Turkey's democracy:
“The aim is to rapidly and effectively take all steps needed to eliminate the threat against democracy, the rule of law and the people’s rights and freedoms,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 19, 2016 7 Comments
Russia prides itself in sports, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended agencies ban the country due to a massive doping scandal that reaches the government. They found:
1. The Moscow laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the Report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 13, 2016 9 Comments
The UN's Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) has found during their nine month investigation that the organization simply ignores corruption when it comes to light. The investigators found that UN officials remain in a "state of near denial" about this corruption:
“The report is pretty devastating,” observes Brett Schaefer, an expert on U.N. finances at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The U.N. apparently has very little interest in policing fraud, and there is very little reason to believe its own figures and data about it.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 27, 2016 13 Comments
The Supreme Court unanimously overturned Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's bribery conviction. They do not think the prosecutors proved "he took significant official actions in exchange for the $175,000 in gifts and loans he received from a wealthy businessman."

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 11, 2016 6 Comments
Hillary Clinton has a brand new scandal to deal with. The ongoing investigation into her emails has revealed that a donor to the Clinton Foundation landed a plum appointment with a government intelligence board despite the fact that he had no relevant experience. ABC News has the story:
How Clinton Donor Got on Sensitive Intelligence Board Newly released State Department emails help reveal how a major Clinton Foundation donor was placed on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board even though he had no obvious experience in the field, a decision that appeared to baffle the department’s professional staff. The emails further reveal how, after inquiries from ABC News, the Clinton staff sought to “protect the name” of the Secretary, “stall” the ABC News reporter and ultimately accept the resignation of the donor just two days later.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 28, 2016 8 Comments
The U.S. has investigated numerous naval officers over possible connections to a Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn "Fat Leonard" Francis, who bribed leaders with whiskey, prostitutes, and cash. A California court unsealed three indictments on Friday against three Naval soldiers to face charges of working with Fat Leonard. The courts already charged Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khiem Misiewicz, 48, with bribery and conspiracy. From The Los Angeles Times:
Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khiem Misiewicz, 48, pleaded guilty earlier to one charge of conspiracy and one charge of bribery. Prosecutors said that for nearly two years, he accepted gifts, travel, stays at fancy hotels and the services of prostitutes — all paid for by Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis, the owner of a port servicing company that supplied Navy ships across the Pacific. In exchange, Misiewicz gave Francis confidential information on ship schedules for the U.S. 7th Fleet, for which he served as deputy operations officer in 2011 and 2012. He also used his influence to try to steer ships to ports in Asia that were controlled by Francis’ company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, prosecutors said.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 24, 2016 34 Comments
Cleta Mitchell is a conservative activist who has been very vocal about the IRS scandal which involved the targeting of conservative Tea Party groups in the run-up to the 2012 election. She recently appeared on C-Span and an alleged IRS employee called into the show and explained to her that he would target these groups because they want to abolish the IRS. Ali Meyer reported at the Washington Free Beacon:
IRS Employee Admits He Would Go After, Target, and Try to End Conservative Groups A self-identified IRS employee admitted he would go after, target and try to end conservative groups who wanted to abolish the IRS, to Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing those groups, on a Washington Journal segment on C-SPAN.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 21, 2016 3 Comments
The new film "Hillary's America" is opening this summer right before the Democratic convention and so is a documentary called "Clinton Cash" which has an obvious focus. The New York Post provides an overview:
First look at explosive Hillary documentary, ‘Clinton Cash’ Hillary Clinton says that when she and her husband moved out of the White House 15 years ago, they were “dead broke.” Today, they’re worth more than $150 million. In the new documentary “Clinton Cash,” it becomes all too clear how the former first couple went from rags to filthy rich — with the emphasis on filthy.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 13, 2016 3 Comments
Brazil's senate voted to begin an impeachment trial for President Dilma Rousseff over alleged budget violations. She must relinquish her presidential duties for at least six months. Rousseff said the actions amount to a coup and called herself a "victim of a great injustice."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 11, 2016 6 Comments
Brazil soccer star Rivaldo used his Instagram to encourage tourists to skip the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio due to violence and corruption. Translation via Google Translate:
Bandits in Rio de Janeiro killed this 17-year-old girl. Things are getting uglier in Brazil. I advise everyone who wants to visit Brazil or come to the Olympics in Rio to remain in their country of origin. Your life will be in danger here. Not to mention the fact that the public hospitals are useless and the mess in Brazilian politics. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil.
Rivaldo used a picture of 17-year-old Ana Beatriz Pereira Frade. Armed robbers surrounded Frade and her stepfather on their way to the airport. One of the men shot her in the head after her stepfather attempted to run into the gang to escape. A baby in the back of the car did not receive any injuries.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 04, 2016 2 Comments
A judge in Spain's National Court has sent out international arrest warrants for Russian citizens, including some close to President Vladimir Putin, allegedly linked to the mafia. Judge Jose de la Mata, who investigates organized crime, found "very serious facts" against each of the men stemming from the Troika operation. The court opened that investigation in in 2008 two mafias in Eastern Europe: Tambov and Malyshev. "(The Tambov group) maintains strong links with political, economic, legal and security powers in Russia and also with members of other international criminal organizations," he said in his report.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 23, 2016 9 Comments
A new report from the Associated Press says that a significant number of companies which paid Hillary Clinton for speeches had interests in government business. This may explain why she has been so reluctant to release her speech transcripts. Here's an excerpt from the report:
Firms that paid for Clinton speeches have US gov't interests WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just Wall Street banks. Most companies and groups that paid Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to speak between 2013 and 2015 have lobbied federal agencies in recent years, and more than one-third are government contractors, an Associated Press review has found. Their interests are sprawling and would follow Clinton to the White House should she win election this fall.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 11, 2016 6 Comments
Hillary Clinton no longer has to feel singled out for being investigated by the FBI. She is now joined by New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Mayor Bill de Blasio Defends Fundraising as Probe Widens New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his fundraising activities on Sunday after reports surfaced about a federal investigation into the matter, and said neither he nor his aides have been contacted by investigators. “Everything we’ve done is appropriate and carefully done with many, many lawyers, I assure you,” Mr. de Blasio said during an interview on NBC.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 15, 2016 9 Comments
As the scandal surrounding her private email server and her apparent mishandling of classified information and FBI suspicion involving her possible public corruption mount, Hillary Clinton bounds joyfully along the Democrat presidential primary trail seemingly without a care in the world. However, not everyone thinks she should be in the presidential race at all given the FBI investigations swirling around her.  Indeed, retired Defense Intelligence Agency chief, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, is calling for Hillary to drop out of the presidential race while she is under investigation by the FBI. CNN reports:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 17, 2016 8 Comments
Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell was indicted back in January of 2014 for accepting gifts in exchange for political influence, and now the Supreme Court will be reviewing his case. The Washington Post reports:
The McDonnells, who were convicted in 2014, were accused of intervening with state officials on Williams’s behalf in exchange for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods. The former governor was sentenced to two years in prison; Maureen McDonnell received a year and a day. . . . . The Supreme Court will decide whether former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell was rightly convicted of corruption for his efforts on behalf of a businessman who bestowed money and gifts on the governor and his family. The court announced Friday that it would intervene in the long-running saga of McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, and the case provides the justices a fresh opportunity to define what kind of political conduct crosses the line into criminal behavior.
McDonnell issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's announcement.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 05, 2016 9 Comments
Corruption is inimical to rule of law and rule of law is the sine qua non of good governance and a free society.  So it is that the FCPA Blog's list of the eight most important developments from 2015 that provides insight into the state of U.S. efforts to promote good governance abroad. FCPA stands for the "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" (15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1, et seq.), the principle tool for the U.S. government to penalize companies engaged in corrupt practices abroad.  The FCPA Blog was founded and is run by Richard Cassin, a former law partner with wide experience in Asia.  While Asia may not be the most susceptible to graft, it is at least competitive with South America and Africa.  But Asia's vastly greater economic relevance make its endemic corruption the most serious. FCPA Blog's Top-Eight:

Posted by Amy Miller on November 30, 2015 6 Comments
One of the favorite opposition tactics of operatives on both sides of the aisle is to present the actions of a politician in an out-of-context format. It's effective; you want that first public reaction to your enemy's various foibles and power plays to sprout from a place of distrust. This is why, even in 2015 when we have candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz who, at least on the surface, don't give a damn what the opposition has to say, operatives are so careful to advise their clients about how this looks. It's not fair, but it's important. Hillary Clinton, by and large, has broken every rule in the book covering how this looks. The woman has spent a great deal of valuable campaign time defending her tenure as Secretary of State as it relates to the Benghazi attacks, defending her use of a private, unsecured email server, and defending the Clinton Foundation's financial practices, when she could have saved herself a lot of trouble if she would have bothered to care about public perception from the get-go. The Associated Press has obtained calendars used during Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State that show she opened her office to Democratic party fundraisers, former Clinton administration and campaign allies, and corporate donors to the family's Foundation. According to the AP, these meetings were "formally scheduled" and many of them occurred between Clinton and power players seeking to influence Obama Administration policy. What she did was not out of the ordinary, but it does fall into her pattern of doing exactly as she pleases while assuming a zero-consequences end game.
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