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Jan-26-2011 11:26printcomments

Corruption at Supreme Court, White House

Will the Tea Party and the newly invigorated Republican Party rush in to make government bureaucrats pay for their crimes? Or will charges ever be brought?

Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas
Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas Photos: Wikipedia

(APTOS, Calif.) - Tea Partiers, Republicans, and protectors of public morality are right about corruption in government. The only problem is they are looking in the wrong place.

Antonin Scalia is the latest to cross the line with an announcement that he plans to address the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives. The New York Times Editorial Board accused Scalia of becoming a "Justice from the Tea Party," for his planned participation in the caucus seminar.

Scalia also spoke at a Koch Industries retreat, sponsored by two billionaire brothers with a history of financing extreme right-wing positions that promote the tea party, libertarianism, pollution, deregulation of all markets, abolition of income taxes, as well as sponsoring attacks on climate change theory.

Common Cause, a liberal advocacy group, raised questions about the participation of Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas in last year's Citizens United Supreme Court decision due to their support from Koch. The ruling allows corporations, such as Koch, to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns.

Normally when judges are involved in cases before the court, they recuse themselves, because they cannot give an unbiased opinion when they have a conflict of interest. Supreme Court Justices are legally exempt from this requirement, but few justices push their involvement with extremists as Scalia and Thomas have.

Thomas's breaches of judicial ethical practices are worse. Thomas's wife received almost $700,000 from the Heritage Foundation, a think-tank dedicated to pushing a conservative agenda that attacks welfare, taxes, government regulations, civil rights, social security, unions, and various forms of government assistance.

Additionally, Ms. Thomas founded Liberty Central, a radical Tea Party group dedicated to ousting Obama and defeating health care reform, and received $550,000 from the group. She refuses to disclose who provided the funds, raising the question that the money could be used to influence Thomas's decisions in Court cases.

Thomas claims he ignored over one million in income because he "misunderstood filing instructions." The president of Common Cause finds this excuse "implausible;" but Thomas raises questions about his mental ability to understand simple legal instructions, let alone the complex issues that come before the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) revealed even more egregious and illegal political misconduct in a detailed, 112-page report "Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials During the 2006 Midterm Elections." The independent federal investigative agency is empowered to oversee the political activities of government employees in accordance with the Hatch Act.

The report found that the Bush White House conducted political briefings of appointees in federal workplaces during work hours, coordinated activities with the Republican National Committee, and paid the expenses of high-level federal officials to attend political events supporting candidates, all illegal under the Hatch Act.

The Bush White House conducted 75 political briefings, involving 20 government agencies, gave employees secret RNC email accounts, and materially assisted the election of Republican candidates. The results found "that the electoral success of the Republican Party, and possible strategies for achieving it, were often on the agenda."

Although the Hatch Act specifically prohibits "engaging in political activity while on duty or in a federal workplace," the White House led by "coordinating, presenting, or attending the briefing." The briefings mobilized support during the election with information about "the overall political climate, the economic landscape, the President's job approval ratings, and the current and predicted makeup of Congress."

The activities were no simple "get out the vote" campaign, but included illegal actions by federal agency heads, the White House, and major Republican Party officials, orchestrated by Karl Rove.

With such clear-cut evidence, should we hold our breath until a case is brought against Rove and the others involved? Will Bush be indicted in the case?

Will the Tea Party and the newly invigorated Republican Party rush in to make government bureaucrats pay for their crimes? Or will charges ever be brought?

______________________________

Don Monkerud is an Aptos, California-based writer who follows cultural issues and politics and writes occasional satire.




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