Conservative Talking Points despises those who are elected to represent us and end up breaking the law along with the trust of the people. On either side of the isle all politicians should be absolutely held accountable for their actions.
Recent Violators
· A House panel found Democrat Representative Charles B. Rangel guilty of 11 counts of ethical violations, ruling that his failure to pay taxes, improper solicitation of charitable donations and failure to accurately report his personal income had brought dishonor to the House. (Source: NY Times – Nov 2010)
· Democrat Maxine Waters was accused of three ethics violations allegations along with her chief of staff and grandson who was accused of being 'actively involved' in helping a bank with ties to her husband. (Source: Los Angeles Times – Aug 2010)
· Democrat Rep. Laura Richardson could face jail time for ethics violations over using official taxpayer resources for political events, including fundraisers. (Source: Daily Caller – Jun 2011)
Above the Law
· July 18, 1969 just before midnight Mary Jo Kopechne was riding in a car driven by Senator Ted Kennedy on Chappaquiddick Island when their car went off a bridge and began sinking in the water. He lived, she died, and Kennedy waited 10 hours to call the police. You do the math. (Source: Boston Globe - July 2009)
· At least 20 criminally convicted members of Congress continue to get their federal pensions to the tune of $1 million a year to American taxpayers. (Source: Associated Content - May 2007)
Criminal Congressmen - Mostly Democrats (Source: AP - Jul 2002)
· Rep. Charles Diggs Jr., D-Mich., was convicted in 1978 of operating a payroll kickback scheme in his congressional office.
· Rep. Andrew J. Hinshaw, R-Calif., was convicted in 1976 of accepting bribes when he was county tax assessor. He lost the primary election and resigned at the end of his term.
· Rep. Michael Myers, D-Pa., was convicted in 1980 of accepting bribes from FBI agents impersonating Arab businessmen.
· Also convicted in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal were four Democrat House members: John Murphy of New York, Frank Thompson of New Jersey, John Jenrette of South Carolina and Raymond Lederer of Pennsylvania.
· Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-N.Y., was convicted in 1988 of extorting nearly $2 million from defense contractor Wedtech Corp.
· Rep. Mel Reynolds, D-Ill., was convicted in 1995 for having sex with an underage campaign worker.
· Rep. Walter Tucker III, D-Calif., was convicted in 1995 for accepting and demanding bribes while serving as mayor of a Los Angeles suburb.
· Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., pleaded guilty in 1996 to two felony mail fraud charges.
· Rep. Randy "Duke' Cunningham, R-Calf., pleaded guilty November 28, 2005 to conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion.
· Rep. William Jefferson, D-LA, who was caught with $90,000 in cash in his freezer, was convicted on multiple charges of bribery and money laundering in August 2009. (Source: Reuters - Aug 2009)
Check Bouncers
· Our nation's General Accounting Office released information that lawmakers had overdrawn their accounts 8,331 times between July 1989 and June 1990. (Source: Time - Apr 1992)
· Out of the top 22 congressional offenders who kited over 11,400 checks for an average time of 17 months, 19 (86%) of them were Democrats. (Source: USA Today - Apr 1992)