Blue Spot

Jack Abramoff sentenced to 48 months - Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- Jack A. Abramoff, the once-powerful Republican super-lobbyist, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in a corruption scandal that rocked Congress and the Bush administration.

U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle pronounced the sentence as a tearful Abramoff stood before her with his lawyers this afternoon in a courtroom that included both victims and family members.


The sentence was far below the 121 months that Abramoff could have received under federal sentencing guidelines but more than either the Justice Department or his lawyers had requested.

Huvelle said Abramoff deserved the sharp reduction in sentence because of his help in aiding prosecutors pursue other targets in the lobbying scandal.

But she also said she wanted to send a strong signal that compromising the integrity of public officials would not be taken lightly.


Huvelle said Abramoff had "corrupted the political process and deprived the public of the honest services" of officials in the executive and legislative branches.

Labels: corruption, Ethics reform, GOP Hypocrisy, Lobbyists, Political donations

NY1: Politics

There may be more fallout from Congressman Vito Fossella's admission he fathered a daughter with a woman in Virginia.

The Daily News says congressional officials are looking into several of Fossella's overseas trips, including a January 2003 stay in France.

Though he was the only legislator authorized to go on the trip, billed as a "fact finding" mission to a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, the Daily News says the woman he fathered a child with is suspected of joining him. In early 2003, Laura Fay was an Air Force legislative liaison officer who often traveled with congressional delegations.

NY1 has reached out to Fossella's office for comment on the allegations, but so far have not heard back.

Labels: corruption, Fossella, Local, NY-13

The Honorable Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 11, discusses waste, fraud and corruption.

Labels: corruption, Iraq War, Iraqi government

From americanprogress.org/issues/security/iraq

...But other military leaders who are looking at the larger national security picture need to be consulted. They know well how maintaining an average of 130,000 troops in Iraq over the last five years has not only decimated our ground forces, it also has compromised our security interests around the globe.

"The Army is out of balance," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee last fall. That's a polite way of saying it's broken. Casey, who is responsible for the Army's overall health, is rightfully concerned.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, echoed Casey's unease. In January, Mullen told the Marine Corps Times that there was reserve capacity in the Navy and Air Force but that ground troops were a different story. "Clearly, if we had to do something with our ground forces, a significant substitute would be a big challenge," he said. Mullen's predecessor, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, also has expressed his discomfort with our ability to respond to other crises. Before leaving his post last October, Pace, stated that the troop commitment to Iraq would "make a large difference in our ability to be prepared for unforeseen contingencies" in the region and elsewhere.

A small clip of a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, March 11, 2008. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) on fraud, waste and courruption in Iraq.

Labels: corruption, Iraq War, Military secrets, Oil, Senate, Troops