Corruption

26 June 2007 -- A new book entitled Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics Of African Oil claims Africa's oil has contributed to poverty, corruption and conflict on the continent.

West African nations, including Nigeria, Angola, Gabon and Guinea, produce about 5 million barrels of oil per day, or 15 percent of the oil on the world market. The resource has pumped billions of dollars into the hands of West African governments and multi-national oil companies.    » read more »

June 25, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – A former Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserves was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy and money laundering scheme involving contracts in the reconstruction of Iraq, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 - The Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “Bank”) met today to select a new President of the Bank. In doing so, the Executive Directors expressed appreciation to Mr. Paul Wolfowitz as departing President of the World Bank Group.    » read more »

Current and Former Members of W. Las Vegas Schools

June 22, 2007 -- (SANTA FE, NM)— New Mexico Attorney General Gary King today filed grand jury indictments against Roberta Vigil, Ralph Garcia, Joe Baca and Beverly Ortega on government corruption charges. All have ties to the West Las Vegas School District.    » read more »

June 22, 2007 -- As President Bush offers Americans more of the same failed special interest energy agenda today at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama, a facility shut down just weeks ago due to safety concerns, Democrats in Congress are working to enact smart energy reforms to make our country safer, more secure and energy independent. For the past six years, the Republican’s energy policy has been written by their special interest friends, leaving Americans paying record high gas prices and no closer to achieving energy independence.    » read more »

June 22, 2007 -- An article in today’s Washington Post sheds new light on Republican efforts to politicize the Bush Justice Department by weeding out employees who were not considered loyal Republican foot soldiers. The article highlights the role of Acting Assistant Attorney General Brad Schlozman in the politically motivated hirings and firings in the civil rights division of the Justice Department. The civil rights division of the Justice Department is responsible for fighting racial discrimination.    » read more »

June 22, 2007 -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement today following news that Vice President Cheney, over the objections of the National Archives, exempted his office from a presidential order establishing a standard procedure for safeguarding classified national security information:

“Once again, Dick Cheney and the Bush White House think the rules don’t apply to them. There seems to be no limit to the lengths the Bush Administration will go to hide from public scrutiny.    » read more »

June 20, 2007 -- “The very essence of our democracy rests on elected officials’ honoring the sacred trust of the people they represent. For that reason, in light of Johnny Winton’s plea of no contest to misdemeanors that represent behavior unbecoming of an elected official, I have chosen to remove Mr. Winton as a Miami City Commissioner.

“The people have chosen Marc Sarnoff to complete the remainder of Mr. Winton’s term, and the will of the people should prevail.”

Source: Florida Governor

June 19, 2007 -- The Bush Administration's culture of lawlessness is alive and thriving. As the Washington Post today writes, “President Bush has asserted that he is not necessarily bound by the bills he signs into law,” and a recent report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found "multiple examples in which the administration has not complied with the requirements of the new statutes."    » read more »

June 19, 2007 -- (SANTA FE, NM) — New Mexico Attorney General Gary King today began the legislative process of trying to root out government corruption by presenting several proposals to the Joint Interim Committee on Courts, Corrections & Justice. The AG expects the following ideas to be sponsored and formally presented to the 2008 New Mexico Legislature.

* Increase penalties for public corruption, including a provision that automatically disqualifies public officials from holding office after conviction.    » read more »

June 19, 2007, Juneau, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today released the following statement on the resignation of Representative Vic Kohring:

"I do think that Representative Vic Kohring’s resignation is not only in his best interest, but it’s also in the state’s best interest,” said Governor Sarah Palin. “He has a lot on his plate in terms of a defense that he has to mount, and Kohring’s constituents expect full-time representation."    » read more »

Kennedy, Whitehouse Ask Whether Justice Officials Knew Former Rove Aide Allegedly Engaged in Illegal “Vote Caging” Before Naming Him Interim U.S. Attorney

June 18, 2007 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today called for a Justice Department investigation into allegations of illegal voter suppression tactics by Republican political operatives, including former Karl Rove aide Tim Griffin, during the 2004 elections. Griffin is now serving as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.    » read more »

15 June 2007 -- The long-running corruption trial of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada has ended, and the country now awaits a verdict in the high-profile case. VOA's Heda Bayron reports from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong on the trial that has come to symbolize the Philippines' fight against graft.

It took over seven hours for defense and prosecution lawyers to finish their final arguments Friday in the corruption trial of the former president.    » read more »

Social order, economic growth suffer when justice fails

06 June 2007 -- Washington -- Systemic corruption of judicial systems not only denies citizens their basic human rights, but hinders economic development and sometimes pushes aggrieved populations to violence, according to a recent report.    » read more »

June 4, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – United States Congressman William J. Jefferson was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges including bribery and racketeering for allegedly using his office to corruptly solicit bribes and for paying bribes to a foreign official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.    » read more »