Deafening Silence from Republican Leaders on Scandalous Members

[flamingdem]

http://dccc.org/blog/entry/deafening_silence_from_republican_leaders_on_scandalous_members1/

As Republican Leaders returned to Washington from their five-week taxpayer funded vacation, they continue to stay silent about the growing investigations and scandals facing Members of their Conference. In the last five weeks, the scandals have grown more troubling for Congressmen Michael Grimm (NY-11), David Rivera (FL-26) and Vern Buchanan (FL-16), the NRCC Finance Chair:

Congressman Grimm’s top fundraiser was arrested and denied bail as part of an FBI investigation into Grimm’s fundraising;
Congressman Rivera was implicated in a new criminal investigation by the FBI and Miami-Dade police for helping to run a shadow political campaign and the prosecution’s chief witness has disappeared;
Congressman Buchanan skipped his own deposition, faces contempt of court charges and a new investigation reveals his involvement in another questionable land deal.

Republican leaders have said that “every single Republican” has “high character value” and called for a “zero-tolerance” policy on ethics.

======= * This is my personal favorite but they're all duzies - more at link

Congressman David Rivera (FL-26)

Rivera faces separate criminal investigations by the FBI and Miami-Dade police for allegedly helping run a shadow campaign against Democrat Joe Garcia. The FBI and Miami-Dade police have opened separate criminal investigations into the campaign of a Democratic congressional candidate who, vendors say, was aided by GOP Rep. David Rivera. Federal agents gathered campaign records, invoices and began interviewing employees at two mail and data companies used by Democrat Justin Lamar Sternad’s primary campaign. Sternad spent about $43,000 in unreported cash and checks on mail services, a witness told The Herald and authorities. Some of the money was stuffed in envelopes bulging with $100 bills. [Miami Herald, 8/23/12]

Rivera allegedly ran a shadowy campaign that might have broken federal laws. “Fueled with $43,000 in secret money, Republican Rep. David Rivera helped run a shadow campaign that might have broken federal laws in last week’s Democratic primary against his political nemesis Joe Garcia, according to campaign sources and finance records. As part of the effort, a political unknown named Justin Lamar Sternad campaigned against Garcia by running a sophisticated mail campaign that Rivera helped orchestrate and fund, campaign vendors said. “Among the revelations: The mailers were often paid in envelopes stuffed with crisp hundred-dollar bills.” [Miami Herald, 8/22/12]

A key witness in the federal investigation against Rivera failed to show up for interview with FBI agents and prosecutors and went missing. “A key witness in the federal investigation against U.S. Rep. David Rivera failed to show up for an interview with prosecutors and FBI agents, and her family says they are worried of her whereabouts. Ana Alliegro, a campaign manager for former Democratic congressional candidate Justin Lamar Sternad, is at the center of the federal probe of Sternad and Rivera. FBI agents are investigating whether the Republican congressman used Alliegro to secretly fund Sternad’s primary race against Rivera’s longtime rival, Joe Garcia.” [Miami Herald, 9/7/12]

[juajen]

1. Goodness gracious! I am shocked. I mean it, damnit!

[flamingdem]

2. Unreal! Rep. David Rivera was honored today in D.C. in the middle of this scandal!

http://rivera.house.gov/press-release/congressman-rivera-honored-guardian-small-business-national-federation-independent



Washington, DC- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the leading small and independent business association in the United States, named Congressman David Rivera a “Guardian of Small Business” this week for his outstanding voting record on behalf of America’s small business owners in the 112th Congress. Congressman Rivera earned a perfect score of 100 percent based on his votes on key small business issues in the House of Representatives.

“I am honored to be recognized by a great organization like the NFIB that dedicates itself to creating a better atmosphere for small and independent businesses—the backbone of America’s economy. I believe that Congress’ goal should be to create an environment where businesses of any size can grow and prosper. In the House of Representatives we are working to give small and independent businesses the confidence and access to resources they need to start up, grow and succeed.”

Congressman Rivera was presented the award by NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner at a ceremony on Capitol Hill.

“The record shows that Congressman Rivera is a true champion of small business, having stood strong on the key small business votes in the 112th Congress,” Danner said. “This award reflects our members’ appreciation for supporting the NFIB pro-growth agenda for small business.”

[flamingdem]

3. The Repugs on the other hand accuse congressmen in order to smear them, but not always

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/249181-scandals-are-making-uphill-battles-even-steeper-for-some-lawmakers

** very obnoxious is the accusation of Linda McMahon who is running against Murphy -- she's been running lots of negative ads and now is accusing him of a sweetheart real estate deal, not provable or true from what I can tell but perfect for creating doubt in a very tight race for Senator of CT.

--- snip

Tisei is the GOP’s best hope at picking up a district in the staunchly blue state, and the race has remained tight, indicating that despite strong Democratic support there, Tierney’s family’s legal troubles could be taking a toll on his campaign.

Rep. David Ciccilline (D-R.I.) was targeted by the NRCC on Wednesday as its next corrupt Democrat, a day after winning a tough primary fight during which his opponent for the nomination, Anthony Gemma, alleged that the candidate had engaged in voter fraud. The NRCC’s attacks instead focused on Ciccilline’s time as mayor of Providence, R.I., during which he left the city deeply in debt, of which his administration might have obscured the level and degree.

What makes some of these charges more potent than a typical ad attacking a candidate’s policy positions is that they are often corroborated by third-party reports, or seem more severe because of independent investigations.

That’s why this time around, the city budget issue could dog Ciccilline. Though it was raised during his 2010 run, the controversy has since come to a head due to an independent audit of Providence’s budget released in 2011 that offers corroboration that Ciccilline’s administration managed the city’s finances poorly.

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), too, is facing an independent report that could hurt his reelection chances. Politico reported in August that the lawmaker might have inappropriately asked for campaign contributions after offering a constituent help through his office.

Sloan said that the report could be damning not because it found any clear evidence of wrongdoing — Bishop contests that he broke any rules — but because the race in New York’s 1st district was so close in 2010, and remains close. Bishop defeated Republican Randy Altschuler, whom he faces again this year, two years ago by fewer than 600 votes.

“We responded to the outrageous, over-the-top attack ad put on air by Randy Altschuler because people know Rep. Bishop, they know that he has conducted his entire adult life with integrity, and they know that outsourcer Randy Altschuler will stoop to any low to try to give his extreme Tea Party views … another voice in Congress,” said Bishop spokesman Robert Pierce. ...more

[duanover]

4. Vern Buchanan Congressman Florida

Nice to be given an award by local businesses when document after document shows Buchanan businesses ripped the consumers and state of Florida off of millions according to the testimony and Buchanan internal documents. These documents show that not only did Buchanan benefit , but must have had direct knowledge.

The web site we are still trying to get out to the public has key internal and external documents to will help the public make up their own minds about a key question.

IS ALL OF THE HYPE OVER BUCHANAN A POLITICAL BATTLE BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES OR JUST A MATTER OF RIGHT AND WRONG, HAVING A HONEST OR DISHONEST PERSON OR GROUP REPRESENT VOTERS INTERESTS.

IS IT NOT EN OUGHT THAT VOTERS PAY THE CONGRESSMAN'S SALARY; BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TO BE PAYING MORE FOR VEHICLES AT HIS DEALERSHIPS. THE MONEY GIVEN TO BUILD HOMES FOR THE POOR - MONEY GIVEN BY YOU THE PUBLIC - IS IT REALLY BEING USED TO PAD THE POCKETS OF A CONGRESSMAN.


Sorry about the delay for our new web site, but we were hacked and threatened with a lawsuit so we had to change the web site name. To access the data and make up your own mind about Vern Buchanan go to:

www.autofraudexpert.com

and use Press and Pass to access it ---- the site will be available to the public shortly.

Duane overholt