Common Cause Blog

How much to meet with Cheney?

About $250,000, apparently. The Times of London did an undercover investigation into prominent Republican fundraiser Stephen Payne.

They caught Payne on video saying that, in exchange for a contribution of $250,000 to the Bush presidential library fund, he could help coordinate this "former President" of a central Asian country (actually an undercover agent working for the paper) meeting with Vice President Cheney and perhaps Secretary of State Rice. (emphasis mine)

During an undercover investigation by The Sunday Times, Payne was asked to arrange meetings in Washington for an exiled former central Asian president. He outlined the cost of facilitating such access.

"The exact budget I will come up with, but it will be somewhere between $600,000 and $750,000, with about a third of it going directly to the Bush library," said Payne, who sits on the US homeland security advisory council.

At least he kept it under 40

This week the House considers creating an independent ethics commission to monitor Members' behavior.

The House is set to consider the creation of an independent ethics panel that supporters hope will restore credibility to efforts to police Congress internally.

The plan to allow people besides member of Congress to initiate inquiries into suspected wrongdoing by House members is a piece of unfinished business from Democratic efforts to overhaul ethics rules. It is also one of the most contentious, because lawmakers have traditionally resisted oversight by outsiders.

Rep. Rick Renzi provides a timely example of why the commission is such a good idea.

Representative Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona, was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on 35 counts of corruption, including fraud, money laundering, extortion and other crimes, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Federal prosecutors said Mr. Renzi had sought to enrich himself and to finance his re-election campaigns in part by selling fraudulent insurance policies.

A Fresh Start for Democracy

After years of war, corruption, abuse of power, and disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law, the American spirit has taken quite a beating.

It's time for renewal, time for civic-minded people all across America to join in launching a fresh start for democracy in 2008.

We need to lift our sights, renew our passion for participation and act together to restore democracy's promise.

That is what Common Cause's Fresh Start for Democracy Campaign is all about.

In this critical year of transition for our country, we can't settle for modest improvements. We need fundamental change. Rampant corruption doesn't need to be scaled back. It has to be ended. Abuses of power don't need to become less blatant. They need to disappear.

We're not looking to weaken the hold that special interests have on American politics. We're out to break their grip once and for all.

In 2008, we've got a fundamental choice to make: Will we settle for modest change and incremental gains? Or will we demand the broad, all-encompassing fresh start for democracy that our country so urgently needs?

As it should be in a democracy, it's up to us. I urge you to join Common Cause in an all-out effort to reclaim the full promise of our democracy.

Together, I know that we can spark a movement capable of producing the broad, powerful changes we need to enliven civic life in America and produce genuine, deep-seated progress on issues that will define our future.

That's the promise of democracy. Let's work together to achieve it.

What's your vision for a "Fresh Start for Democracy"? Please leave your answer as a comment.

And so, the saga ends

Embattled State Sen. Lou DeLuca, who admitted talking to an individual on the fringes of organized crime in an effort to intimidate his granddaughter's boyfriend, has resigned.

The resignation came hours before the Connecticut State Senate was expected to vote on a measure granting a Senate investigative committee subpoena powers in effort to secure an FBI audiotape of DeLuca and an undercover agent. With DeLuca's resignation, the investigative committee voted to end its inquiry.

So, a sad scandal that unfolded five months ago finally ends.

However, there are still so many unanswered questions. What was on the tapes that would apparently prompt DeLuca to resign? Why did he turn to organized crime instead of the multitude of officials he speaks to on a regular basis? What took the state Senate so long in setting up a committee of inquiry? Why wasn't the committee granted subpoena power or the ability to hire an independent counsel? What is the deal with Connecticut and corruption?

At least the people of Connecticut can take comfort that when the voters of the 32nd Senate district elect DeLuca's successor in a January special election, the candidates won't have to rely on campaign contributions bundled by organized crime. They can opt to the Citizens' Election Program, qualify for a $63,750 election grant and be beholden only to the people of Connecticut.

Embattled state senator to testify today

Sen. Lou DeLuca, the former minority leader who admitted to asking an individual believed to be on the fringes of organized crime to intimidate his granddaughter's boyfriend, will be testifying today at Legislative Office Building before a special Senate committee.

The bipartisan committee is meeting to decide by the end of the month what action - reprimand, censure or expulsion -- to take following Sen. DeLuca's criminal conviction.

To say that in the past four months or so the state has witnessed a drama of epic proportions is an understatement. For those of you just tuning in, here's what you missed:

The sad state of the Alaskan delegation

It must be a little strange for Alaskans these days. Their great state, widely known for it's beautiful scenery, fishing industry, and oil, is in danger of becoming known for an altogether less appealing reason - corrupt politicians.

Consider the following:

Sen. Ted Stevens (R) is under federal investigation for a couple different situations, including allegations of accepting bribes from an energy company.
Rep. Don Young (R) has been drawn into the same investigation. His long ties with uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff have also earned him unwanted attention.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) recently came under fire for her purchase of a vacant lot from a campaign supporter for well below market value.

For those of you keeping score, these three comprise the entire Alaskan Congressional delegation. Throw in a bunch of state legislators busted for corruption recently, and it all makes for a rather embarassing situation.

Court rules that the raid on Jefferson's office was illegal

A federal appeals court ruled today that the FBI's raid on Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) congressional office last year was unconstitutional. The court has ordered the DoJ to return all privileged documents to Jefferson for vetting, but allowed them to keep the other documents.

The nitty gritty:

Jefferson argued that the first-of-its-kind raid trampled congressional independence. The Justice Department said that declaring the search unconstitutional would essentially prohibit the FBI from ever looking at a lawmaker's documents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected that claim. The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the search itself was constitutional but that FBI agents crossed the line when they viewed every record in the office without giving Jefferson the chance to argue that some documents involved legislative business.

The constitutional issue is the "speech and debate" clause, which guarantees Congress the ability to operate independently of the executive. It's unclear how or whether this development will affect the government's case against Jefferson, as none of the seized material was used in his recent indictment on corruption charges.