Abuse of Power

The latest chapter in the rousing success of Matt Blunt's crowning legislative achievement, the sale of assets from the state's student loan agency.

This good news about MOHELA's continued inability to make scheduled payments follows last month's good news about MOHELA seriously curtailing borrower benefits.

Uhh, can we officially call Blunt's asset sale a failure yet, or are we supposed to keep pretending until he leaves office?­

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Every once in a while we get a perfect illustration of why GOPers work so hard at obscuring facts. 

Today's example is a story from the AP's Lara Jakes Jordan about the prospective grand jury investigation into possible perjury by former U.S. Attorney Brad Schlozman.  Jordan notes the connection between Schlozman and predecessor Todd Graves, writing:

Schlozman had defended his decision as U.S. Attorney in Kansas City to bring a Missouri voter fraud case days before the 2006 election, despite guidelines that discourage such cases because of the chance they could influence voting.

Schlozman's predecessor in Kansas City, Todd Graves, testified at the same hearing that he was asked to resign his post after clashing with senior department officials over the handling of some high-profile cases, including the voter fraud case. Graves was one of nine U.S. attorneys who were ousted in 2006 in an unusual midterm purge that ignited charges of White House political meddling at the fiercely independent Justice Department.

Something is very much wrong in this excerpt.

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New Report reveals abuse/torture of detainees. "The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003. There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account." (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/18/gitmo.detainees/index.html)  Story Continued »

As former US Atty Brad Schlozman resurfaces as the likely focus of a federal grand jury investigation for perjury, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Perez buys into the Todd Graves spin on why he was forced out as US Attorney.  Perez writes:

Mr. Schlozman's promotion to the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City came after the department asked his predecessor, Todd P. Graves, to resign. Mr. Graves was among several U.S. attorneys who had shown reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases, according to testimony and documents gathered by Senate investigators last year.

What reluctance, exactly?  As we've pointed out here before, then-US Attorney Graves announced vote fraud charges only 10 days before the 2004 PRESIDENTIAL election, which had to be in violation of the Justice Department policy.  Yet the Wall Street Journal reports as fact Graves' supposed "reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases."  

Maybe while the investigators are looking into fibs made under oath, they should take a look at Graves' testimony too. 

Matt Blunt split town last Thursday, sending a letter to state agencies to let them know that he'd be gone and that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder would be charged with gubernatorial duties while he was out of the state.

In that role, Kinder has already mobilized the National Guard and signed a couple bills into law.

But even so, some duties are too important for Matty to leave to just anyone --even if he is the acting Governor.  That's why Blunt, despite having already handed the reins temporarily over to Kinder, continued last Friday carrying out the gubernatorial duty to which he now devotes most of his time: attacking Jay Nixon via his official office.

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Shorter Matt Blunt:

"My administration's retrospective responsibility for lawbreaking ceased the instant we decided to stop breaking the law prospectively."

I guess this is the "born-again" theory of legal culpability.   

Way back in March, the Associated Press had a story about Ethics Commission machinations and some odd contingencies surrounding whether elected officials would have to return above-limit contributions collected during the period before the legislature's repeal of individual giving limits was struck down by the state supreme court.

The story included a curious and (so far as I can tell) still unexplained loophole enunciated by the Ethics Commission (emphasis added):

In all, the commission is letting the 11 politicians keep more than $205,000 in over-limit donations. And if lawmakers approve new legislation to remove the fundraising limits, another $121,000 won’t have to be returned....

Richard, R-Joplin, doesn’t have to return $1,275, must refund $300 and will have to return about $83,000 if the lawmakers don’t repeal the fundraising limits this session. Tilley, R-Perryville, doesn’t have to return more than $31,000. Icet, R-Wildwood, doesn’t have to refund $1,275 but will have to repay $34,000 if the limits aren’t repealed.

Has any reporting on this been done since?  Has anyone explored what will happen now that the legislature has again passed a bill to repeal campaign finance giving limits? 

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A steady stream of tipsters and correspondents have weighed in on the child porn scandal in Peter Kinder's office, with a number of experienced state government managers and Jefferson City lifers pointing out some severe dissonance between the Friday self-exonerations from the Lieutenant Governor's office and the way state government ordinarily runs.  

These folks in the know point to the statements that were rushed out of Kinder's office late Friday afternoon, in which a Kinder spokesman stated...

"This morning, following the immediate resignation of Eric Feltner our office began a prompt review of Mr. Feltner’s time cards and request for leave forms.

“Office records indicate that Mr. Feltner was on compensatory leave for both days in question listed in court documents. May 25, 2007, Mr. Feltner took compensatory leave from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. On July 5, 2007, Mr. Feltner took an entire work day of compensatory time."

As many have noted, Eric Feltner was an exempt management employee, a type not ordinarily entitled to or eligible for compensatory time.  

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Ever since Fired Up broke Friday's news about the pornography charges pending against Kinder chief of staff Eric Feltner, capitol observers have been quick to point out the unusual manner in which the charges against Feltner have been handled.

Specific critiques have focused on Republican Cole County prosecutor Mark Richardson's course of action regarding the Feltner case.  Among the good questions that have been asked...

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Is there a more factually sparse or logically bankrupt argument than the one Republicans continue to make in defense of their lifting of voter-approved campaign contribution limits?  As Mike Gibbons demonstrates for the Webster-Kirkwood Times, there probably isn't:

State Sen. Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, who is campaigning to replace Nixon as the state attorney general, said he expects outgoing Gov. Matt Blunt to sign the campaign finance legislation as a means to increase transparency as well as accountability in elections.

"What motivated those of us who supported the bill was a desire to end all the money that goes through the parties, their organizations and the political action committees," said Gibbons. "Right now, unless you are a forensic scientist, you don't know where all the money is coming from in our elections.

Gibbons cites the desire to stanch the flow of "anonymous" campaign money through party committees as the big reason underlying his party's removal of contribution limits.  He makes that case in spite of the fact that the law he passed does nothing to shut down the operation of the party committees as a conduit for the non-transparent flow of political dollars.

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And so this afternoon --in a news story by the Star's Dave Helling, natch-- comes the inevitable response by Trailer Lawyer Todd Graves to news that he's been disqualified from a federal lawsuit in Mississippi against State Farm.  The choice cut:

Graves said the ruling would likely be appealed but noted that the judge did not find that he or Robertson had improperly viewed the stolen documents, as State Farm alleged in its request to have the firms disqualified.

“The allegations were ridiculous and over the top,” Graves said.

Okay.  Nor did the judge find that Graves had dead bodies buried under his porch.  What he did find is that Graves and friends acted in a fashion which does not comport with the model rules of professional conduct nor with the ethical standards that are expected of an officer of the court.  Story Continued »

http://mofairelections.blogspot.com/

Check out the new Missourians for Fair Elections website:  

http://mofairelections.blogspot.com/

And call your Senator and tell them not to mess with the constitution and our voting rights.

Although there were many other worthy submissions of offensive quotes, the Heartless Quote of the Week goes to Senator John Loudon, hands down:

Republican Sen. John Loudon ridiculed concerns [voiced by nuns, elderly, disabled, student, poor and minority voters] that the photo ID requirement amounted to a tax on voters.

"The only thing taxing is you have to get off your duff and get an ID that's given away for free," Loudon said.

Yes, Loudon told that to Kathleen Weinschenk, who has cerebral palsy and doesn’t drive -  and who wouldn’t be able to vote without a government-issued photo ID if the heartless GOP has their way.  Story Continued »

Delbert Scott finally says what we’ve all known.  The mean GOP knows it might not control the legislature and Governor’s mansion so, before they are ousted, they are going to force through a constitutional amendment to weaken our voting rights, as well as an extremely unpopular accompanying measure that could disenfranchise as many as 240,000 registered, law-abiding Missouri voters – including the elderly, disabled, poor, students, nuns, Lillie Lewis and Kathleen Weinschenk.  From CDT's Rosenbaum:  Story Continued »