Nancy Pelosi

Timeline of Charles Rangel Ethics Scandal

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 07/26/2010 - 07:05

Scandals involving his personal ethics have now engulfed Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) for over two years. We peg the start of the present controversy to David Kocieniewski's New York Times story in July 2008. His article prompted us to begin our review of Rangel's finances, resulting in our exposé of Rangel's tax evasion and his acceptance of corporate-funded junkets.

It should be noted, however, that New York Post reporter Geoff Earle wrote a year earlier about Rangel's solicitation of corporate money for the Rangel Center, one of the matters under investigation by the Ethics Commitee. Here's the time line:

New York Papers Scrutinize Meeks Loan Scandal Figure

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 12:58

Meeks photo Edul Ahmad, the Guyanese-born businessman who made an unsecured $40,000 loan to Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), is today scrutinized by the New York Times and New York Post. Reporters started digging on Meeks after NLPC raised questions about the Queens congressman’s finances, beginning in January.

According to the New York Times piece by Danny Hakim:

Testy Meeks Disclosed Loan Only After FBI Inquiry

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 10:19

Meeks photo According to the New York Daily News today:

Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks made no payments for three years on a secret $40,000 personal loan - and repaid the cash only when the FBI started asking questions…

Meeks received a check for $40,000 from Queens businessman Ed Ahmad in January 2007 to finish paying off his new $830,000 home, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Meeks first disclosed the loan on his financial disclosure report that all members of Congress were required to file by May 17 for the preceding 2009 calendar year. Meeks filed late on June 15. Click here to download a 5-page pdf of the report. The Ahmad loan was made in 2007, meaning Meeks failed to disclose it on his 2007 and 2008 forms.

Speaker Pelosi Open to Reducing Power of House Ethics Board

Submitted by Alana Goodman on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 18:23

Pelosi and Clyburn photo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has signified that she’s open to reigning in the power of an independent congressional ethics board, even though she urged the creation of the board in 2008, reported The Hill.

Two years ago, House Speaker Pelosi strongly backed the establishment of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), a bipartisan board made up of private citizens, saying that it would “bring an additional measure of transparency to the ethics enforcement process.” But at a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus – a group which wants to "reform" the OCE – Pelosi and House Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC), in photo, reportedly indicated that they were willing to reconsider changing some of the OCE’s rules.

Flaherty: Pelosi Doesn't Know What She is Talking About

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sun, 06/13/2010 - 14:52

Friday, June 11, 2010- Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center, is interviewed by Sally Kidd of Hearst TV on the BP oil spill. Hearst TV provides news reports to 30 broadcast TV stations. Here's a transcript:

CNBC: Flaherty Slams Obama, Pelosi on BP Response

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Fri, 06/11/2010 - 21:16

On tonight’s Kudlow Report, I discussed the BP oil spill in the Gulf with CNBC host Larry Kudlow; Bruce Lanni of Nollenberger Capital Partners; and energy analyst John Kilduff. Our exchange begins at about 5:25 of the segment. Here is a transcript:

Washington Post: Mollohan Had ‘Worst Washington Week’

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sat, 05/15/2010 - 23:27

Political reporter Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has initiated a new “award,“ which, in his words, “honors, so to speak, that person, place or thing that had the most terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.”

The judge considered the Redskins' Albert Haynesworth, and the bureaucrats on whose watch the Gulf oil spill occurred. According to Cilliza:

But in the end, they were all in a race for second place. Rep. Alan Mollohan, a West Virginia Democrat who was defeated in Tuesday's primary, was our runaway selection.

Congressman Mollohan Loses Democratic Primary

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 05/12/2010 - 08:23

Mollohan photo Rep. Alan Mollohan, whose finances were the subject of a four-year federal probe triggered by NLPC, was defeated yesterday in the Democratic primary in West Virginia’s first Congressional District. The 14-term Congressman was beaten 56 to 44 percent by state Senator Mike Oliverio, who made corruption the centerpiece of his campaign. Mollohan accused Oliverio of “spreading right-wing smears.”

The investigation began in February 2006 after NLPC filed a 500-page Complaint with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia alleging that Mollohan failed to report millions in assets on his Congressional disclosure forms in order to conceal cozy financial relationships with recipients of earmarks he had arranged.

Rep. Gregory Meeks Reports Subpoena to House

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 11:30

subpoena photo On Tuesday, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) formally notified the House of Representatives that he had received a subpoena, as required by House rules. The subpoena was first reported by the New York Daily News on April 2 in the wake of our allegations that Meeks got a sweetheart deal on his house, and is involved with a charity that raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims who never saw it.

Did Meeks and/or Pelosi sit on the subpoena notification until after the March 21 health care vote? It depends on when Meeks got the subpoena. House Rule VIII states:

Ben Barnes Sued for $5 million by Stanford Receiver

Submitted by Alana Goodman on Wed, 03/24/2010 - 15:21

Democratic lobbyist and former Texas Lieutenant Gov. Ben Barnes has been slapped with a $5 million lawsuit over lobbying and consulting services he provided to R. Allen Stanford, the indicted financier accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

The suit was filed on Mar. 15 by Ralph Janvey, the receiver appointed by the court to recoup the investors’ losses. It alleges that Barnes raked in millions doing consulting and lobbying work for Stanford’s fraudulent investment empire since 2005. Stanford is accused of bilking tens of thousands of investors out of nearly $8 billion, in one of the largest phony investment schemes of all time.