Rough Justice

The fall of Elliot Spitzer has brought the tactics of prosecutors and their media enablers into sharp focus. 

Mr. Spitzer's main offense as a prosecutor is that he violated the basic rules of fairness and due process: Innocent until proven guilty; the right to your day in court. The Spitzer method was to target public companies and officials, leak allegations and out-of-context emails to a compliant press, watch the stock price fall, threaten a corporate indictment (a death sentence), and then move in for a quick settlement kill. There was rarely a trial, fair or unfair, involved.

The cost of prosecutors ignoring the "basic rules of fairness" is even higher when the target is an elected official and his opponents suddenly perceive him a vulnerable.  The classic example is JD Hayworth

For an example of how it works, lets start with this March 2006 Republic article.

The national Democratic Party is shopping for a big name to oppose Rep. J.D. Hayworth in Arizona's 5th Congressional District this fall, suggesting that the six-term Republican is vulnerable in the wake of a Capitol Hill lobbying scandal to which he has been linked.

"Linked" is such a great word.  The word allows the media to claim a connection without actually saying that the elected official is being "investigated" or being "charged."  As Kevin Bacon will tell you, there is no way to claim that you are not "linked" to something. 

The article makes it clear that the Democratic Party recruited Mitchell because of the "linkage" and the subsequent story. 

Hayworth's Chief of Staff was adamant from the beginning that there was no truth to the story.

Eule said Hayworth never has been contacted by investigators, and Eule dismissed the Times story as "totally wrong."

He also had a prediction.

"By the time the election comes around, it will be proved that what Mr. Hayworth said is correct, that he did nothing wrong, that the charges are bogus," Eule said.

Democrats were quick to pounce on Hayworth's vulnerability and their vitriol was unbounded.

This still shot is part of this Mitchell commercial.  I argued at the time that this was a sniper scope and that it was totally inappropriate for Mitchell literally to put Hayworth in the crosshairs.  The local media ignored my story, but it went national and the sniper scope image was on Fox News the following day.

But that was only part of the coverage.  The local TV Stations were all JD, all the time.  Here's a montage of all the local television coverage of the Hayworth/Abramoff "linkage."

Hayworth, of course, lost to Mitchell by about 8,000 votes.  The Republic's Dan Nowicki offered the post mortem.

During the recently completed campaign, Democrat Harry Mitchell relentlessly pummeled incumbent Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth over his links to corrupt Capitol Hill lobbyist Jack Abramoff .

What about Joe Eule's prediction that "By the time the election comes around, it will be proved that what Mr. Hayworth said is correct, that he did nothing wrong, that the charges are bogus,"

Well, he was half right.  The Justice Department confirmed that Hayworth wasn't the target of an investigation, but it was well after the election.  Here's a copy of the letter that the DOJ sent to Hayworth's attorneys.  Here's the most interesting part. (funny, I can't find any mention of the exoneration in the Republic archives.)

So where does that leave Hayworth?  Out of office and paying off nearly $700,000 in legal bills. 

Hayworth recounts the ordeal here and is accepting contributions to help pay his legal bills. 

Checks can be issued to "The Freedom In Truth Trust," and mailed to:

The FIT Trust
P.O. Box 984
Willows, California 95988

Reporter Robbie Sherwood wrote this rather scathing epilogue of Hayworth's career.  (Sherwood is no longer with the Republic...he now works for Congressman Mitchell.)

In his years as a Valley sportscaster, J.D. Hayworth 's booming catchphrase for a home run was "Vapor!"
Now, that seems like the most apt description for the six-term congressman's once-invulnerable political career.

Hayworth , 48, was swept into office as part of the 1994 "Gingrich Revolution," and with Democratic President Clinton as a target, he quickly established himself as one of the most media-hungry barking dogs of the GOP Caucus.

So that's how the process of political destruction works: whispers of "linkage" and "scrutiny" followed by blaring headlines and endless B Roll,  recruiting of a high-profile opponent, commercials and mailers that refer to the headlines and news clips, an election defeat, exoneration that goes unprinted and unnoticed followed by unemployment and legal bills that the candidate can't possibly pay.

Ain't that America.

I'll leave you with a sentence from Sherwood's epilogue.

Love him or loathe him, Hayworth is a larger-than-life presence who is unlikely to stay out of the spotlight for long.

Comments

[Joe Eule]

Greg,

Nice job. I know my prediction that Hayworth would be cleared before the election turned out to be half-wrong, but at least I got the important half right! After seeing what the DoJ has done to Spitzer, I think it’s pretty safe to conclude that if Hayworth had done anything remotely wrong they’d have gone after him. But there was never the slightest hint of wrongdoing on the part of Hayworth, his staff, or his campaign, and the sad fact is that the Justice Department could have cleared this up in about two days if it had wanted to.

Those news clips brought back many unsavory memories. I have often said that I could have hired a full time staffer to do nothing but respond to erroneous news stories about J.D. Hayworth and Jack Abramoff. Trust me, it is hard to get major newspapers to print corrections. Yet I got the New York Times (twice), The Washington Post, and The Washington Times to do so. However, I could not get local TV stations to do likewise – even after proving to them that what they stated on air was factually incorrect.

One example. The New York Times reported, “Mr. Hayworth was the largest single Congressional recipient of donations from Mr. Abramoff and his family, his associates, his Indian tribe clients and a gambling cruise ship line that he owned, with more than $101,000 going to Mr. Hayworth and his political action committee since 1999.” That statement is factually incorrect in so many ways it’s not funny (it was the subject of a correction). But assume it’s true. Here’s how it was spun that night by one local TV news broadcast at 5 and again at 6: “Arizona Representative J.D. Hayworth reportedly received more than $100,000 from Abramoff and his family.” Gone is any mention of tribes, associates, etc. Just Abramoff and his family.

Sloppy? Lazy? Purposely misleading? You make the call. All I know is that it’s simply not true. The actual amount was $2,250 – if I recall just about the same amount Harry Mitchell received from Charles Keating.

Another station aired erroneous information about Mr. Hayworth and a certain Texas tribe represented by Abramoff, and when confronted with a mountain of evidence that what they reported was wrong, fell back on that infamous journalistic cop out: “We stand by our story.” And the media wonders why Americans are abandoning traditional news and heading for alternatives – like Espresso Pundit.

I hope your readers step up to help Hayworth out. Even if they have issues with him I would hope everyone can agree that no one deserves to go through what he did (not to mention his staff) and then be saddled with a mountain of debt. It’s Ray Donovan all over again and it’s wrong.

Cheers,

Joe Eule

[Walter]

You should also take a look at the flip side. During the 2006 campaign Harry could do no wrong (and had never done wrong) -- at least according to the newspapers. Interesting that Mark Flatten has admitted on Horizon that Harry was his teacher and he admires him; Paul Giblin writes the same story about Mitchell every quarter (grandpa, teacher, works in museum). The Republic is his biggest cheerleader -- a front page (Scottsdale Republic) story and article PREVIEWING a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce? No mention of Harry's role in the vote switch that is still being investigated internally in Congress? I can assure every CD5 candidate that they will face ads that show how incredibly popular Harry is -- the evidence will be the incredibly compliant headlines.

[Kathy]

I canceled my subscription to the Arizona Republic a long time ago, but it is outrageous that these stories pass for news in many publications.

J.D.: Hopefully, you can raise the money to pay your bills. And over time to restore your name and reputation.

[Taxkiller]

Nice piece Greg.

As has been the same since time immemorial, what we have here isn't only a media bias that leaves a Scorched Earth in the name of "fairness" but pure, unadulterated media laziness. This time, as times before,it resulted in the destruction of a fine officeholder's career and besmirched his name and reputation (for those who actually believed that hogwash).

The fact of the matter is that we haven't seen any real journalists since Ernie Pyle. The drivel that passes for curriculum in media school these days is simply laughable. Every outlet wants to tear the sheet from someone else's wire feed and then without verification, report it as fact. That's called tabloid sensationalism - not journalism. Thus the plummet in newspaper readership and local affiliate viewership.

I wonder if these same media trolls will report about Mitchell's multi-million dollar earmark for Scottsdale road projects or the fact that he has taken federal pork to a new level by placing his son's political career as the descendable and devisable end-recipient of taxpayer graft? intergenerational pork...now THAT is thinking outside the box! Man, someone like the late Mike Royko or John Kolbe would have a field day with these clowns.

Since Mitchell has to run right to retain his seat that he received as the result of ill-gotten gain, I wonder how many in the media will figure out that he votes in lockstep with Speaker Pelosi and that to distance himself from her on a percentage basis, he gets up nearly every day and votes against the house record? What a scam.

Will the media stop painting Mitchell as a veterans advocate, or finally examine the record and find that he has done little if anything for them (other than committing to hold hearing after hearing), or will they continue to give him an open canvass to blame his poor record on a created fiction of his predecessor by claiming that Hayworth left him with a host of problems?

Moreover, it seems like the only ones that can hold the media's collective feet to the fire are alternative media like this. I ask thusly Mr. Patterson, what can we do to hold them and someone like Mitchell accountable?

[DJ]

Can we send Renzi money too? How about Abramoff(Gave millions in bribes)? Or Cunningham(Took millions in bribes)? Or Dusty Foggo(hookers in watergate hotel)? Or Bob Ney(corruption)? or Don Sherwood(choking teenage mistress)? or Mark Foley (Sex w/ boys)? or David Vitter(Sex w/ hookers)? or Larry Craig(Sex with Men)? or Ed Schrock (more gay sex)? or Richard Pombo (corruption)? or Tom Delay (corruption and gerrymandering)?

Those are just a few...but they're all Republicans so they must be innocent.

Oh yeah, what about former congressman, Republican Mark D. Siljander. Maybe you guys hadn't heard but he was CONVICTED OF FUNDING TERRORISM.

[Longtime fan]

Since when was gerrymandering a crime? Elbridge must be rolling in his grave.

I think Greg's point is not about politics or corruption, but about the ability of our government to put serious hurt on individuals WITHOUT the media calling them on it.

Funny how the New Times practically wins the Nobel Peace Prize for being wrongfully (rightfully) accused and JD gets a permanent strip search.

Mr. Manning, you may have a new client.

[DJ]

Longtime fan,

You're right, compared to having sex with young boys, choking your mistress, taking millions of dollars in bribes, and having a defense contractor give dozens of hookers to congressmen and CIA officials; gerrymandering isn't such a big deal.

It might be illegal but the sytematic disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of black and latino voters was a crime against democracy. Of couse, I would venture to guess that most on this site are in favor of this sort of disenfranchisement.

It's funny how Republicans in the last couple of years have been caught doing everything from embezzelment to literaly funding Al Qaeda, and all you guys can talk about is Spitzer and William Jefferson.

[DJ]

Oh yeah,

If you want to see someone who really was the target of a political hit job, then look at the gase of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

[John]

It's ironic that DG is whining about systematic disenfranchisement of Blacks and Latinos. After all, his party invented and institutionalized Jim Crow.

While we're at it, let's not forget the lasting legacy of the fine party of the people:

Ted Kennedy - Democrat - U. S. Senator from Massachusetts. Pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, after his car plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.

Barney Frank - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1981 to present. Admitted to having paid Stephen L. Gobie, a male prostitute, for sex and subsequently hiring Gobie as his personal assistant. Gobie used the congressman's Washington apartment for prostitution. A move to expel Frank from the House of Representatives failed and a motion to censure him failed.

DNC - The Federal Election Commission imposed $719,000 in fines against participants in the 1996 Democratic Party fundraising scandals involving contributions from China, Korea and other foreign sources. The Federal Election Commission said it decided to drop cases against contributors of more than $3 million in illegal DNC contributions because the respondents left the country or the corporations are defunct.

Sandy Berger - Democrat - National Security Advisor during the Clinton Administration. Berger became the focus of a criminal investigation after removing highly classified terrorism documents and handwritten notes from the National Archives during preparations for the Sept. 11 commission hearings.

Robert Torricelli - Democrat - Withdrew from the 2002 Senate race with less than 30 days before the election because of controversy over personal gifts he took from a major campaign donor and questions about campaign donations from 1996.

James McGreevey - Democrat - New Jersey Governor. Admitted to having a gay affair. Resigned after allegations of sexual harassment, rumors of being blackmailed on top of fundraising investigations and indictments.

Jesse Jackson - Democrat - Democratic candidate for President. Admitted to having an extramarital affair and fathering a illegitimate child.

Gary Condit - Democrat - US Democratic Congressman from California. Condit had an affair with an intern. Condit, covered up the affair and lied to police after she went missing. No charges were ever filed against Condit. Her remains were discovered in a Washington DC park..

Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde - Democrat - the son of newly elected U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, was booked on charges of criminal damage to property for allegedly slashing tires on 20 vans and cars rented by the Republican Party for use in Election Day voter turnout efforts.

Daniel David Rostenkowski - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1959 to 1995. Indicted on 17 felony charges- pleaded guilty to two counts of misuse of public funds and sentenced to seventeen months in federal prison.

Melvin Jay Reynolds - U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1993 to 1995. Convicted on sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice charges and sentenced to five years in prison.

Charles Coles Diggs, Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Michigan from 1955 to 1980. Convicted on eleven counts of mail fraud and filing false payroll forms- sentenced to three years in prison.

George Rogers - Democrat - Massachusetts State House of Representatives from 1965 to 1970. M000ember of Massachusetts State Senate from 1975 to 1978. Convicted of bribery in 1978 and sentenced to two years in prison.

Don Siegelman - Democrat Governor Alabama - indicted in a bid-rigging scheme involving a maternity-care program. The charges accused Siegelman and his former chief of staff of helping Tuscaloosa physician Phillip Bobo rig bids. Siegelman was accused of moving $550,000 from the state education budget to the State Fire College in Tuscaloosa so Bobo could use the money to pay off a competitor for a state contract for maternity care.

John Murtha, Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania. Implicated in the Abscam sting, in which FBI agents impersonating Arab businessmen offered bribes to political figures; Murtha was cited as an unindicted co-conspirator

Gerry Eastman Studds - Democrat - Censured by the House of Representatives for having sexual relations with a teenage House page.

James C. Green - Democrat - North Carolina State House of Representatives from 1961 to 1977. Charged with accepting a bribe from an undercover FBI agent, but was acquitted. Convicted of tax evasion in 1997.

Frederick Richmond - Democrat - U.S. Representative from New York from 1975 to 1982. Arrested in Washington, D.C., in 1978 for soliciting sex from a minor and from an undercover police officer - pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Also - charged with tax evasion, marijuana possession, and improper payments to a federal employee - pleaded guilty.

Raymond Lederer - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1981. Implicated in the Abscam sting - convicted of bribery and sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000.

Harrison Arlington Williams, Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Senator from New Jersey from 1959 to 1970. Implicated in the Abscam sting. Allegedly accepted an 18% interest in a titanium mine. Convicted of nine counts of bribery, conspiracy, receiving an unlawful gratuity, conflict of interest, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. Sentenced to three years in prison and fined $50,000.

Frank Thompson, Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1955 to 1980. Implicated in the Abscam sting, convicted on bribery and conspiracy charges. Sentenced to three years in prison

Michael Joseph Myers - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1976 to 1980. Implicated in the Abscam sting - convicted of bribery and conspiracy; sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000; expelled from the House of Representatives on October 2, 1980.

John Michael Murphy - Democrat - U.S. Representative from New York from 1963 to 1981. Implicated in the Abscam sting. Convicted of conspiracy, conflict of interest, and accepting an illegal gratuity. Sentenced to three years in prison and fined $20,000.

John Wilson Jenrette, Jr - Democrat - U.S. Representative from South Carolina from 1975 to 1980. Implicated in the Abscam sting. Convicted on bribery and conspiracy charges and sentenced to prison

Neil Goldschmidt - Democrat - Oregon governor. Admitted to having an illegal sexual relationship with a 14-year-old teenager while he was serving as Mayor of Portland.

Alcee Lamar Hastings - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Florida. Impeached and removed from office as federal judge in 1989 over bribery charges.

Marion Barry - Democrat - mayor of Washington, D.C., from 1979 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 1999. Convicted of cocaine possession after being caught on videotape smoking crack cocaine. Sentenced to six months in prison.

Mario Biaggi - Democrat - U.S. Representative from New York from 1969 to 1988. Indicted on federal charges that he had accepted bribes in return for influence on federal contracts.Convicted of obstructing justice and accepting illegal gratuities. Tried in 1988 on federal racketeering charges and convicted on 15 felony counts.

Lee Alexander - Democrat - Mayor of Syracuse, N.Y. from 1970 to 1985. Was indicted over a $1.5 million kickback scandal. Pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax evasion charges. Served six years in prison.

Bill Campbell - Democrat - Mayor of Atlanta. Indicted and charged with fraud over claims he accepted improper payments from contractors seeking city contracts.

Frank Ballance - Democrat - Congressman North Carolina. Pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering related to mishandling of money by his charitable foundation.

Hazel O'Leary - Democrat - Secretary of Energy during the Clinton Administration - O'leary took trips all over the world as Secretary with as many 50 staff members and at times rented a plane, which was used by Madonna during her concert tours.

Lafayette Thomas - Democrat - Candidate for Tennessee State House of Representatives in 1954. Sheriff of Davidson County, from 1972 to 1990. Indicted in federal court on 54 counts of abusing his power as sheriff. Pleaded guilty to theft and mail fraud; sentenced to five years in prison.

Mary Rose Oakar - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1977 to 1993. Pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of funneling $16,000 through fake donors.

David Giles - Democrat - candidate for U.S. Representative from Washington in 1986 and 1990. Convicted in June 2000 of child rape.

Gary Siplin - Democrat state senator Florida- found guilty of third-degree grand theft of $5,000 or more, a felony, and using services of employees for his candidacy.

Edward Mezvinsky - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Iowa from 1973 to 1977. Indicted on 56 federal fraud charges.

Lena Swanson - Democrat - Member of Washington State Senate in 1997. Pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting unlawful payments from veterans and former prisoners of war.

Abraham J. Hirschfeld - Democrat - candidate in Democratic primary for U.S. Senator from New York in 1974 and 1976. Offered Paula Jones $1 million to drop her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton. Convicted in 2000 of trying to hire a hit man to kill his business partner.

Henry Cisneros - Democrat - U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997. Pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lying to the FBI.

James A. Traficant Jr. - Member of House of Representatives from Ohio. Expelled from Congress after being convicted of corruption charges. Sentenced today to eight years in prison for accepting bribes and kickbacks.

John Doug Hays - Democrat - member of Kentucky State Senate from 1980 to 1982 Found guilty of mail fraud for submitting false campaign reports stemming from an unsuccessful run for judge. He was sentenced to six months in prison to be followed by six months of home confinement and three years of probation.

Henry J. Cianfrani - Democrat - Pennsylvania State Senate from 1967 to 1976. Convicted on federal charges of racketeering and mail fraud for padding his Senate payroll. Sentenced to five years in federal prison.

David Hall - Democrat - Governor of Oklahoma from 1971 to 1975. Indicted on extortion and conspiracy charges. Convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

John A. Celona - Democrat - A former state senator was charged with the three counts of mail fraud. Federal prosecutors accused him of defrauding the state and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from CVS Corp. and others while serving in the legislature. Celona has agreed to plead guilty to taking money from the CVS pharmacy chain and other companies that had interest in legislation. Under the deal, Celona agreed to cooperate with investigators. He faces up to five years in federal prison on each of the three counts and a $250,000 fine

Allan Turner Howe - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Utah from 1975 to 1977. Arrested for soliciting a policewoman posing as a prostitute.

Jerry Cosentino - Democrat - Illinois State Treasurer. Pleaded guilty to bank fraud - fined $5,000 and sentenced to nine months home confinement.

Joseph Waggonner Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1961 to 19 79. Arrested in Washington, D.C. for soliciting a policewoman posing as a prostitute

Albert G. Bustamante - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Texas from 1985 to 1993. Convicted in 1993 on racketeering and bribery charges and sentenced to prison.

Lawrence Jack Smith - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Florida from 1983 to 1993. Sentenced to three months in federal prison for tax evasion.

David Lee Walters - Democrat - Governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor election law violation.

James Guy Tucker, Jr. - Democrat - Governor of Arkansas from 1992 to 1996. Resigned in July 1996 after conviction on federal fraud charges as part of the Whitewater investigation.

Walter Rayford Tucker - Democrat - Mayor of Compton, California from 1991 to 1992; U.S. Representative from California from 1993 to 1995. Sentenced to 27 months in prison for extortion and tax evasion.

William McCuen - Democrat - Secretary of State of Arkansas from 1985 to 1995. Admitted accepting kickbacks from two supporters he gave jobs, and not paying taxes on the money. Admitted to conspiring with a political consultant to split $53,560 embezzled from the state in a sham transaction. He was indicted on corruption charges. Pleaded guilty to felony counts tax evasion and accepting a kickback. Sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Walter Fauntroy - Democrat - Delegate to U.S. Congress from the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1991. Charged in federal court with making false statements on financial disclosure forms. Pleaded guilty to one felony count and sentenced to probation.

Carroll Hubbard, Jr. - Democrat - Kentucky State Senate from 1968 to 1975 and U.S. Representative from Kentucky from 1975 to 1993. Pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Elections Commission and to theft of government property; sentenced to three years in prison.

Joseph Kolter - Democrat - member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1969 to 1982 and U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1983 to 1993. Indicted by a Federal grand jury on five felony charges of embezzlement at the U.S. House post office. Pleaded guilty.

Webster Hubbell - Democrat - Chief Justice of Arkansas State Supreme Court in 1983. Pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges - sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Nicholas Mavroules - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1979 to 1993. Pleaded guilty to charges of tax fraud and accepting gratuities while in office.

Carl Christopher Perkins - Democrat - Kentucky State House of Representatives from 1981 to 1984 and U.S. Representative from Kentucky from 1985 to 1993. Pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with the House banking scandal. Perkins wrote overdrafts totaling about $300,000. Pleaded guilty to charges of filing false statements with the Federal Election Commission and false financial disclosure reports. Sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Richard Hanna - Democrat - U.S. Representative from California from 1963 to 1974. Received payments of about $200,000 from a Korean businessman in what became known as the "Koreagate" influence buying scandal. Pleaded guilty and sentenced to federal prison.

Angelo Errichetti - Democrat - New Jersey State Senator was sentenced to six years in prison and fined $40,000 for his involvement in Abscam.

Daniel Baugh Brewster - Democrat - U.S. Senator from Maryland. Indicted on charges of accepting illegal gratuity while in Senate.

Thomas Joseph Dodd - Democrat - U.S. Senator from Connecticut. Censured by the Senate for financial improprieties, having diverted $116,000 in campaign and testimonial funds to his own use

Edward Fretwell Prichard, Jr. - Democrat - Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky. Convicted of vote fraud in federal court in connection with ballot-box stuffing. Served five months in prison.

Jerry Springer - Democrat - Resigned from Cincinnati City Council in 1974 after admitting to paying a prostitute with a personal check, which was found in a police raid on a massage parlor.

Guy Hamilton Jones, Sr. - Democrat -Arkansas State Senate. Convicted on federal tax charges and expelled from the Arkansas Senate.

Daniel Flood - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1945 to 1947, 1949 to 1953 and 1955 to 1980. Pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge involving payoffs and sentenced to probation.

Otto Kerner, Jr - Democrat - Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968. While serving as Governor, he and another official made a gain of over $300,000 in a stock deal. Convicted on 17 counts of bribery, conspiracy, perjury, and related charges. Sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $50,000.

George Crockett, Jr. - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Michigan. Served four months in federal prison for contempt of court following his defense of a Communist leader on trial for advocating the overthrow of the government.

Cornelius Edward Gallagher - Democrat - U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1959 to 1973. Indicted on federal charges of income tax evasion, conspiracy, and perjury

Mark B. Jimenez - Democrat fundraiser - sentenced to 27 months in prison on charges of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit election financing offenses.

Bobby Lee Rush - Democrat - U.S. Representative from Illinois. As a Black Panther, spent six months in prison on a weapons charge.

Bolley ''Bo'' Johnson - Democrat - Former Florida House Speaker - received a two-year term for tax evasion.

Roger L. Green - Democrat - Brooklyn Democrat Assemblyman. Pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for accepting travel reimbursement for trips he did not pay for and was sentenced to fines and probation.

Gloria Davis - Democrat - Bronx assemblywoman. Pleaded guilty to second-degree bribe-taking.

[Paul]

Folks, this game of oneupmanship is not very helpful. Of course there's scum, crooks, and sinners on both sides of the aisle. And, there are saints, hard working people, and honest folk as well. We ought to use our "scrubbing bubbles" on the scum, and help the good guys shine.

That said, remember the point of this article: there was a concerted effort to paint JD Hayworth as a crook - worked by both the Mitchell campaign and the MSM. And, in the end, JD was CLEARED!

[Mo]

Let's not forget that Greg's post is about how anonymous sources at Dept of Justice and their cohorts in the media use their power to convict individuals in the court of public opinion.

There are plenty of examples of politicians that have broken the law, but there's never been a single shred of evidence that JD did so.

[ron]

Greg,

Re-reading this post, I am unsure with whom I am supposed to be more upset: prosecutors or the press.

Frankly, I am more afraid of the former than the latter.

[DJ]

John,

If I wanted to make a list of every Republican crime in the last century I could do that. I was simply pointing out how you guys don't even know about half of the republican crooks, yet you obsess over Spitzer.

Half of your list is composed of affairs. Don't get me started about republican infidelity. At least when democrats cheat on their spouses it is consensual and heterosexual sex. Most republicans are cheating on their wives with either children or male prostitutes.

You also mentioned Don Seigelman. If he is so guilty, why did the judge release him from prison this week because of troubling evidence of political prosecution?

Also, it is true that Democrats invented Jim Crow Laws, however, Republicans inherited them after LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act and the "Dixicrats" changed to the Republican Party.

This whole post doesn't make sense, why would the Republican DOJ go after a Republican Congressman and try to make him lose his race. Why not focus on the the most obvious case of political prosecution by the DOJ, Don Sigelman. Greg doesn't even mention him.

[John]

Let's run down the previous post:

Paragraph 1 -- baseless attack

Paragraph 2 -- more baseless attacks and slander. The gay pederast angle is nice.

Paragraph 3 -- Siegelman is out on bond pending appeal. Stark contrast with the word "released." He's still a convicted felon. But in the words of your messiah, that would be an inconvenient truth.

Paragraph 4 -- a magic fairy must have appeared in 1968 and wished all of the Democratic sins of the previous 100 years away and pinned them on the Republicans. Never mind that shifting political allegiences in the South and Sun Belt were much more tied to economics and in-migration, rather than simple party switching.

Paragraph 5 -- more whining about the Siegelman case. Apples and oranges. Hayworth was never even indicted. Sigelman was *convicted* by a jury of his peers.

[DJ]

John,

Why do you think the Republican DOJ went after Hayworth? It doesn't make sense.

As far as Siegelman goes, did you read the latest judges decision to allow him out on bond? Why don't you check back after the light of day is shed on this case. You'll see that Karl Rove's fingerprints were all over it.

By the way, the Civil Rights Act was 1964, not 1968. My guess is that you don't support it, which means you should probably be quiet about Democrats having problems with race issues. You really have to be in a dreamland to think that the Cival Rights Act wasn't responsible for the mass migration of white Southern males to the Republican party.

What about Strom Thurmond? He left after the first attempt for a Civil Rights bill. He even stated that as a reason. When LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act he said that "We have lost the South for a generation". If anything the poulation shifts has bennefited the Democrats because the areas that the shift is occuring in have started to become more Democratic leaning. Atlanta is a perfect example of this.

The final point I would make is that the party-shift in the South is definately a byproduct of the Civil Rights Act because many of the aforementioned Southern white males are still Keynesian in economic matters. Even Strom Thurmond seemed to remain a Keynsian, which leaves the only reason for the their switch, revisionism not withstanding, the Civil Rights Act.

[John]

Yawn. The ace of spades in the Libcard deck -- play the "racist" card when one cannot debate honestly, factually, or intellectually.

[DJ]

ok rocket scientist,

Why don't you look back at and see that you were the one who asked what was wrong with gerrymandering.

I've yet to see anything intellectual about any of your arguments. I was merely responding to your "1968 magic fairy" comment.

You seem unable to answer any of my points, such as why a former Republican congressman is financing Al Qaeda, or why you think JD Hayworth is the subject of a political prosecution from members of his own party.

If you don't want to talk about 1968 or 1964, then don't bring it up. The only fairies in this story are members of the Republican congressional caucus who repress their hidden sexuality into a hatred of homosexuality.

[Blake]

Greg,

You are in law school. Any comments about Bittner's threat to sue blogs over comments about her HOA lean?

http://156.42.40.50/UnOfficialDocs/pdf/20071271965.pdf

[Ann]

Party affiliation does not make one perpetually right or wrong. D or R does not infer absolution and redemption.

The action of the individual is the point. Where they right or wrong? Was the individual wronged and left to deal with the damage?

JD, love him or not, got the very bad and unjustified end of what was a right and necessary action.

As for Bittner; this is a tempest in a teapot. She posted her private info, not the address, but enough information to obtain more through very public and accessible means. She should not be surprised someone did. That is her fault. That someone chose to make it more publicly viewed and accessible is not. The “poster” owns that one.

Hey folks, call it karma, sowing and reaping, or what goes around comes around....we have got to stop this “gotcha” mentality! Don’t complain about an R getting horribly treated with some devastating results and then revel at a Dem getting embarrassed in the blogoshpere.