Hmm… I thought only republicans were corrupt (sarcasm.) If Mr. Sharpton were a republican, the party would either force him to resign or refrain from running for office. Democrats, on the other hand, will probably encourage Sharpton to run for a Congressional seat or maybe advise the Hillary Clinton campaign.
From today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:
With a hidden FBI camera rolling inside a New York hotel suite in 2003, an unsuspecting Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic candidate for president, spoke candidly.
Sharpton offered to help Philadelphia fund-raiser Ronald A. White win a multimillion-dollar business deal, if White helped him raise $50,000 for politics.
White offered $25,000. “If you bring my guys up on this hedge fund, and I have the right conversation,” White said, “I’ll give you what you need.”
“Cool,” Sharpton said.
The Inquirer obtained an account of the May 9, 2003, conversation, which was recorded as part of the Philadelphia City Hall corruption case. The tape helped spark a separate inquiry into Sharpton’s 2004 campaign and his civil-rights organization, the National Action Network. The FBI-IRS probe resurfaced publicly Wednesday, when Sharpton aides received subpoenas.
In an interview yesterday, Sharpton said there is “absolutely nothing illegal” about tying business deals to fund-raising because he is not a public official.
“The tapes vindicate me,” Sharpton said. “They show that I did not talk about bribing a public official or paying money under the table.”
The video was recorded by an FBI camera hidden in a lamp inside Suite 34A at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. Sharpton and White were introduced by La-Van Hawkins, a Detroit businessman.
At the time, FBI agents were investigating White and Hawkins, suspecting that they were involved in pay-to-play in Philadelphia - raising campaign funds for Mayor Street and others in order to win municipal contracts for favored donors. Later FBI agents in the case infamously placed a bug in Street’s office, but it was discovered before it recorded anything.
Read more: Videotape shows Sharpton cutting a deal.
“The tapes vindicate me,” Sharpton said. Vindicate??? Hey Al, you were caught on tape making a deal with two people who were being investigated for political corruption. Someone please explain to me how that vindicates Mr. Sharpton.
Posted on:
December 15, 2007 , by
newyank • Trackback
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Corruption, Domestic Politics, Liberalism . •
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This story is too close to home for me to ignore. Plus, I’m an anonymous blogger too.
Manalapan, New Jersey
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an organization devoted to protecting our freedoms in the virtual realm of all things Internet, an anonymous blogger has publicly criticized a malpractice suit bought and paid for by the Township of Manalapan, New Jersey, over a controversial land deal involving a former public official.
Manalapan, NJ - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a Superior Court judge in New Jersey today to preserve the free speech rights of an anonymous blogger facing legal threats from local government officials.
The blogger, writing as “daTruthSquad” on a site hosted on Google’s Blogspot service, has criticized a controversial lawsuit filed by the township of Manalapan, as well as the officials who decided to pursue the case. The township subpoenaed Google for “daTruthSquad’s” identity — as well as for any emails, blog drafts, and other information Google has about the blogger — claiming that the defendant in the case is actually writing the posts. The defendant, however, has already sworn under penalty of perjury that he is not “daTruthSquad.”
More about this from the EFF web site.
Below is an excerpt from daTruthSquad’s own blog:
Any Truthteller will tell you that you never shout “He’s guilty” in a crowded political room because da police will run out of handcuffs dragging out those who have supposedly violated da law. DaTruth cannot be hidden or manipulated as some would try to do. That is why daTruthSquad continue to seek out daTruth and present it so it cannot be hidden in da crevases that would attempt to tuck it away.
Interesting. I hope the matter is resolved in favor of “daTruthSquad.” Because New Jersey, being one of the most corrupt, Democratic-run States in the country, needs more people like him or her.
Posted on:
December 3, 2007 , by
newyank • Trackback
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Corruption, Domestic Politics . •
1 Comment • .
From The Crypt:
Budget bills contain $20 billion in pork
It looks like Congress won’t even come close to giving up those irresistible earmarks.
Citizens Against Government Waste, which closely monitors federal spending, is putting the finishing touches on its tally of pork projects in the pending spending bills — and the picture isn’t pretty. The group estimates that there will be at least 8,000 earmarks this year, costing U.S. taxpayers, $18 billion to $20 billion.
Democrats and Republicans alike had promised to curtail the practice of directing money to specific projects.
They have, but not nearly as dramatically as their campaign rhetoric had suggested. In the last fiscal year, when Republicans controlled Congress, there were $29 billion in total earmarks.
Full post link: Budget bills contain $20 billion in pork.
Another good reason for Term Limits.
Posted on:
November 16, 2007 , by
newyank • Trackback
Filed in:
Corruption, Domestic Politics . •
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