grand jury

Indiana's Republican Secretary Of State Out Of A Job And Onto The Defense Stand

The state that lies a few miles from my house has just seen the outcome of a political scandal that I'm sure some on the right will try to blame on ACORN somehow:

A Marion County judge has ruled that Secretary of State Charlie White was ineligible to be a candidate and the office should go to Democrat Vop Osili, his challenger in the 2010 election.

The ruling, issued Wednesday by Marion Circuit Court Judge Louis Rosenberg, came in response to a civil lawsuit filed by Democrats that sought to have White declared ineligible for office because he allegedly committed voter fraud.

A Hamilton County grand jury indicted White on voter fraud and other charges in March. White, a Republican, has maintained his innocence and a trial is scheduled for September.

Indiana Democrats called for an investigation into White in September 2010 after discovering he voted in the Republican primary the prior spring while registered to vote at his ex-wife's house in Fishers.

“The fact that Mr. White knowingly registered in the wrong precinct is sufficient to render him ineligible for the office of Secretary of State,” Rosenberg wrote in the ruling. “Whether or not he believed that his registration complied with the law is not relevant.”

This comes at a time when states around the country are creating new laws making it harder for voters to prove their residency. Ironically all these states are GOP controlled, yet we have a GOP candidate who really needed his address verified.

Voter fraud is a bad thing, but even worst is this kind of fraud, where a politician commits said fraud against the voters. To compound that problem, White was doing this so that he could become the state's chief election officer. Hopefully he'll get a nice vacation behind bars for his crime.

News

McQueary Goes On Damage Control

Penn State coach Mike McQueary, who witnessed Jerry Sandusky anally raping a 10 year old boy in the locker room, is now in full damage control mode:

In the email obtained by The Morning Call, McQueary wrote that he "did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police" following the alleged incident involving Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach, and a boy. McQueary also wrote that he "is getting hammered for handling this the right way or what I thought at the time was right."

"I had to make tough impacting quick decisions," McQueary wrote.

I have read the grand jury report countless times (you can read the PDF file here). Not once in there does it say that McQueary told the police. Here's the abridged version of what happened, per the grand jury report:

Friday, March 1, 2002 - McQuery witnessed the crime. He called his father who told him to come to his house. His father said he had to "promptly" report it to Joe Paterno.
Saturday, March 2, 2002 - This is when the "prompt" reporting happened. McQueary went to JoePa's house to report what he had saw.
Sunday, March 3, 2002 - JoePa calls Tim Curley, the athletic director, to his home to tell him what happened.
Approx. 10 days later - McQuery was called to a meeting with Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz.

Schultz oversees the campus police as part of his duty, but he isn't the police. No where in the grand jury report does it mention McQueary actually talking to the police.

And then!

News

Constitution Party Candidate Indicted On Sex Charges With A Minor

A Tea Party favorite for the U.S. Senate in Ohio has just been indicted by a grand jury for unlawful conduct with a minor:

A New Lebanon man, running for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, has been indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on sex charges.

Eric Deaton was indicted on one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old girl between March 2006 and March 2007.

Perry Township police said Deaton met the victim at a church where Deaton served as an elder.

Deaton, who is due in court September 14, faces up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. This isn’t stopping Deaton though. He’s staying in the race and insisting that this is some big political setup:

“I think this is politically motivated,” said Deaton, blaming the indictment on his decision to run for political office.

“The powers that be don’t like that,” said Deaton, who said he intends to stay in the race.

Deaton has been pretty much an unknown in Ohio politics, well that is until now. He has only received a handful of endorsements, but one of those endorsements really sticks out:

Vote Family Values

Perhaps it’s just a day of major irony, but looking at the front page for Vote Family Values, I couldn’t help but notice one of their top news stories:

Cheney And Gonzo Get Indicted

Very, very interesting:

A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.

The indictment criticizes Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Sadly I don’t see this going anywhere. Justice is a joke in the U.S.

BREAKING: Sen. Ted Stevens Indicted On Seven Counts

Just now breaking on MSNBC. More as the details come out.

UPDATE 1:
The DOJ will be holding a news conference at 1:20pm est today to discuss the charges returned by the grand jury.

UPDATE 2 (and bumped)

A PDF of the indictment is available here. The news conference is just now starting (1/2 hour late).

Mukasey Refuses Grand Jury For Bolton And Miers

Chuck and Di's great pick for A.G. gives the administration another free pass on law breaking. Mukasey says he won't seat a grand jury to investigate Miers and Bolton refusing to show for Congres.

Justice?

I was working on a post about the FBI investigating if Roger Clemens lied to Congress and wondering what it takes to get an investigation when someone from the administration does the same.

Well it looks like someone was in my mind. The AP has just issued a breaking news alert that Nancy Pelosi is asking for a grand jury to investigate rather Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress.

From The Party Of Corruption

Comes this little gem:

In a case some say reveals political backscratching at the courthouse, a Texas Supreme Court justice saw his arson-related indictment thrown out Friday at the request of a scandal-plagued, but fellow Republican, prosecutor.

The move outraged the grand jury foreman, who threatened to reconvene the panel and issue the charges again.

State District Judge Brian Rains dismissed the indictment handed up Thursday against Justice David Medina and his wife related to a fire last summer that burned down their suburban Houston house and damaged a neighbor's. The Medinas were in serious financial trouble.

And the Republicans wonder why their base is staying at home or just leaving their party? It's because they have bred this culture of corruption deep into their roots. Thank people like Tom Delay for that.

The U.S.A. Firings Go All The Way To The Top

Today we find out that the firings of the United States Attorneys went all the way to the oval office:

The White House was deeply involved in the decision late last year to dismiss federal prosecutors, including some who had been criticized by Republican lawmakers, administration officials said Monday.

Last October, President Bush spoke with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official.

The president did not call for the removal of any specific United States attorneys, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. She said she had â€œno indicationâ€ that the president had been personally aware that a process was already under way to identify prosecutors who would be fired.

Josh points out that these claims of voter fraud by the Republicans have been nothing more than a red herring used by Republicans for years. One of the fired U.S.As, David McKay, said he is "stunned" at this revelation and that "There was no evidence, and I am not going to drag innocent people in front of a grand jury.".

"The Cloud Over Cheney"

That is the latest piece by Froomkin in today's WaPo talking about the Libby trial:

There is a cloud over the vice president . . . And that cloud remains because this defendant obstructed justice," Fitzgerald said.

"There is a cloud over the White House. Don't you think the FBI and the grand jury and the American people are entitled to straight answers?" Fitzgerald asked the jury.

Libby, Fitzgerald continued, "stole the truth from the justice system."

This is a must read article that does a good job at summing the climax the month long trial. Marcy has done a great job at putting together a chronological list of Cheney's involvement and even said Fitzgerald is free to use it if he needs it to indict Cheney.

While the case of Scooter Libby is coming to a close, I got a feeling the entire Plame investigation is still far from over. The wingnuts have tried to say that the investigation ended when Fitzgerald announced his indictments against Libby, but Fitzgerald made it clear that this case was not closed and things could still come out, even in the trial.

Fitzgerald his the nail on the head by saying "Don't you think the FBI and the grand jury and the American people are entitled to straight answers?". Yes they do, but even more so, the families of the 3,100 plus soldiers that have died in Iraq deserve the truth. This case is about one of the key arguments for the Iraq war, an argument which has since been debunked. Perhaps it is time for the Democrats in Congress to put Cheney and Bush under oath and have them testify.

The Witch Hunt Is Off - McKinney Not Being Charged

I remember the night that this happened and Drudge saying she was going to be arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer. Guess they will have to look harder to find someone else now:

WASHINGTON (AP) A grand jury has declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney in a March incident in which she admitted hitting a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building.

Gee so sorry Drudge.

Another Fine Pick By George

Remember when this guy was Bush's pick to head Homeland Security?

Bernard Kerik once enjoyed a national reputation as a brash, self-made law enforcer. As New York's police commissioner, he was at Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's side during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. By late 2004, President Bush wanted him for homeland security chief.

Kerik's fame faded after allegations of ethical lapses doomed his nomination. His troubles, however, have endured.

A grand jury in the Bronx has been hearing testimony about a possible corruption case against Kerik involving reputed mob associates, alleged influence peddling and a questionable home-renovation project.

Amazing isn't it? Bush sure does pick from the great ones for the top positions in our country.

BREAKING: Ky Gov. Indicted

Just now coming in that a grand jury in Frankfort, Kentucky has indicted Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher on misdemeanor charges in connection with state hiring practices. The corruption keeps coming from the GOP.

Hey KY - Welcome to Ohio now where we can share in the dis-honor of having criminals in the governor's mansion.

I will have more on this after dinner.

Rove's Day Yesterday - 'HELL'

Raw Story has the full transcript, but here are the parts that stuck out to me:

Karl Rove has described his three and a half hour fifth meeting with a grand jury as "hell," and is more worried about being prosecuted than ever, MSNBC is reporting.

The three and a half hour duration is considered highly unusual for a fifth appearance before a grand jury, MSNBC's David Shuster reported. Shuster will be giving an updated report at 7pm EST.

One MSNBC commentator claimed that the fifth appearnce also ties the record held by Betty Currie, former President Bill Clinton's personal secretary.

Also not boding well for Rove is the fact that the grand jury plans to meet tomorrow. Some are speculating that an indictment for Rove may be handed up tomorrow, though others have claimed such a fast turnaround time is unlikely.

...SNIP....

Time For Turd Blossom To Worry

Every day seems to bring new stories of how Rove is closer to being indicted in the Plame case. Take this from today's LA Times:

Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald is believed to be considering perjury or obstruction charges against Rove or charges that he offered misstatements to investigators.

A grand jury in the case indicted former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in October on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Libby's trial is to begin in January.

A source said that Fitzgerald is interested in matters that have arisen since Rove last appeared before the grand jury in October. Today's appearance is believed to be Rove's fifth before the grand jury.

Rove is believed to have headed off a possible indictment last fall after his attorney offered to Fitzgerald a new explanation for why Rove waited a year to tell investigators about a conversation he had with Time magazine correspondent Matt Cooper about Plame.

What is interesting is the main stream media is now reporting what we have known for months. We would read reports by people such as Jason Leopold and knew what was coming. The right would dismiss them as "left wing smears". Well I hate to tell you right wingers (ok no I don't) but this wasn't smearing, it was reporting fact. It seems the left is taking pride in knowing what is going on in our country and won't bow down to GOP talking points or Administration mouth pieces.

Funny how we are now unpatriotic to holding our leaders to a higher level of accountability. The Republicans sure didn't have any problems going after Clinton and calling him a liar publicly. I guess our nation is 100% unpatriotic by Republican standards.