Government Integrity Project

NLPC “blows the whistle” on government officials and interest groups engaged in questionable activities. NLPC has filed formal Complaints with a variety of authorities and regulators, including the Federal Election Commission, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congressional Ethics Committees.

NLPC supports government integrity in two additional ways: by promoting the First Amendment as the basis for campaign finance reform, and by promoting use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

RNC Chair Steele Should Withdraw From Sharpton Event

By: Peter Flaherty

04/04/2010 - 22:34

Steele NLPC today asked Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to cancel his scheduled participation in the annual conference of Al Sharpton’s group, the National Action Network (NAN). According to the conference agenda, Steele is scheduled to speak at a “Special Plenary Session” on Wednesday, April 14.

In a hand-delivered letter today, I write:

Just because Barack Obama and much of the media have made the mistake of treating Sharpton like a legitimate public figure, it doesn’t mean that you should.

By: Ken Boehm

04/02/2010 - 10:37

Meeks headshot According to the New York Daily News today, a federal grand jury is investigating some of Queens’ most prominent politicians, including Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). NLPC first exposed Meeks’ involvement with a charity called New Direction that raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims who never received it. NLPC also first exposed Meeks’ purchase of a home for far less than it is worth.

In a Complaint to the House Ethics Committee filed on March 19, NLPC asked for an investigation of Meeks’ purchase of the house. The Complaint detailed how a contractor named Robert Gaskin not only built the home for Meeks, but also did work for several other Queens politicians and nonprofits they control. At the same time, Gaskin received numerous contracts on taxpayer-funded projects.

By: NLPC Staff

04/01/2010 - 13:30

NLPC President Peter Flaherty and Democratic strategist Taylor West discuss JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's complaints about Obama demonizing the banks. CNBC hosts are Larry Kudlow and Trish Regan. Click here to download a 3-page pdf transcript.

By: Alana Goodman

03/25/2010 - 23:27

Don Young photo Undeterred by his recent ethics troubles, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) defied his House Republican colleagues' ban on earmark requests on Tuesday, posting his appeal for billions of dollars in funding for state and national projects on his website.

For the fiscal year 2011, Young's earmark requests include $1.1 billion for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, $30 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service programs, and $1 million for sea crab research.

Young's earmark requests fly in the face of a recent promise by House Republicans to abstain from all such applications for one year.

By: Peter Flaherty

03/25/2010 - 18:35

Meeks photo In today’s Queens Chronicle, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) attacked NLPC as “a right-wing, inside-the-Beltway organization with an explicitly stated partisan agenda.” As evidence, Meeks claimed that I “served as a top advisor to Mitt Romney during his presidential campaign.” The only problem is that Meeks got the wrong Peter Flaherty.

Maybe Meeks should learn how to aim before he fires. Or at least learn how to use Google. The Peter Flaherty who advised Romney is a principal in the Shawmut Group in Boston. He is a former assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, and served as Vice-President of Walden Media, a film production studio. Flaherty worked as a senior advisor to Mitt Romney while he was governor, and held a senior position in his 2008 presidential campaign. He is also credited with helping to engineer Scott Brown's upset Senate win this year.

By: Alana Goodman

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.

House Roll Call Vote on Health Care

By: NLPC Staff

03/23/2010 - 10:09

end back room deals photo Here is the state-by-state roll call vote on Obamacare which passed the House 219-212 on March 21, 2010.

Voting yes were 219 Democrats and 0 Republicans.

Voting no were 34 Democrats and 178 Republicans.

There are 4 vacancies in the 435-member House.

ALABAMA

Democrats -- Bright, N; Davis, N.

Republicans -- Aderholt, N; Bachus, N; Bonner, N; Griffith, N; Rogers, N.

ALASKA

Republicans -- Young, N.

ARIZONA

Democrats -- Giffords, Y; Grijalva, Y; Kirkpatrick, Y; Mitchell, Y; Pastor, Y.

Republicans -- Flake, N; Franks, N; Shadegg, N.

ARKANSAS

Democrats -- Berry, N; Ross, N; Snyder, Y.

Republicans -- Boozman, N.

CALIFORNIA

By: Ken Boehm

03/20/2010 - 17:01

Meeks photo On Friday, NLPC asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) for paying $830,000 for a newly-built home in 2006 that was worth more than $1.2 million. The home was built by Robert Gaskin, a contractor who does work on numerous projects for which Meeks has secured taxpayer funds. Click here to download a 26-page pdf of the Complaint.

Classified a “mansion” by the City of New York, the Queens home has about 6,000 square feet, meaning that Meeks paid $138 per square feet. That price is less than half the cost per square foot for homes in Queens in both 2006 and 2007 according to the Trulia Real Estate Search service.

By: Peter Flaherty

03/20/2010 - 10:24

According to a New York Times story today titled “Congressman Cries Poor, but Lifestyle May Disagree” by Eric Lipton and Ray Hernandez:

Money is so tight, Representative Gregory W. Meeks says, he does not have a savings account with more than a few thousand dollars in it. And yet Mr. Meeks, one of New York City’s most prominent Democrats, lives a life worthy of a jet-setter.

When he travels, he stays in luxury hotels like the Mondrian South Beach in Miami and the Ritz-Carlton in San Juan, P.R. He drives a Lexus, leased by the federal government, at a cost of $1,000 a month. He eats expensive meals at BLT Steak in Washington and Docks Oyster Bar in Manhattan, among other trendy spots.

Later in the Times article, Meeks attacks NLPC:

By: Peter Flaherty

03/17/2010 - 10:34

Dissent is American sign Barack Obama will speak “on the urgent need for Health reform” at an event on Friday morning at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in the Patriot Center, a basketball arena seating about 10,000.

The event is apparently open to all, ensuring that opponents of the plan will be there. But the White House announcement on Facebook reads:

Just as a heads up, no signs or banners are permitted, and those who come are encouraged to limit personal items and not bring bags or purses.

What a courteous “heads up.” Not satisfied to push a bill the public opposes, and threaten to use unconstitutional means to do so, the White House now helpfully informs us our First Amendment rights are null and void.

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