# Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby resigns after being indicted on felony charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation
# President Bush severely criticized for his role in the domestic NSA wire tap program; Close advisor Karl Rove deeply involved in the same investigation that indicted Scooter Libby; Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been severely criticized for his role in the torture memos.
# Karl Rove is America's Joseph Goebbels. From his office in the West Wing of the White House, Rove runs the political dirty tricks and propaganda operation. He also leaked a CIA agents name, among other things.
# Jack Abramoff has been ordered to report to prison by June 29th, 2006. There are two separate prosecutions against Jack Abramoff.
The first is focused on Abramoff's defrauding of investors in his purchase, along with Adam Kidan, of SunCruz, a fleet of casino boats. That investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Florida. Abramoff was indicted for his involvement in the SunCruz fraud case August 11th, 2005 and pled guilty January 4th, 2006 to two counts (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Wire Fraud). He, along with Kidan, was sentenced March 29th to five years, 10 months in prison. Abramoff's yet to be sentenced in the other case.
The other case relates to bribing public officials and defrauding his Indian clients - it's being led by Justice Department prosecutors and is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Jack Abramoff pled guilty January 3rd, 2006 to three counts (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Mail Fraud, and Tax Evasion). A status conference is scheduled for June 6th.
# Tom DeLay, former GOP House Majority Leader already under indictment in Texas, suddenly resigned from Congress Tuesday under a swirling dark cloud of corruption speculation after two of his former senior aids copped pleas and a third may be about to follow suit.
# Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist is under investigation for possible securities violations regarding his stock in the company his family founded.
# Michael Brown was the unqualified FEMA director who was appointed by George W. Bush and resigned September 2005. Before joining FEMA, Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for a Horse Association.
# Leading Bush 2000 Campaign contributor and personal friend to the President, Ken Lay, currently being tried for his alleged role in the Enron debacle while he was CEO. According to Conspiracy of Fools, Lay was nearly chosen to be Secretary of the Treasury shortly after Bush's victory in 2000.
# Ohio Republican (And Bush Pioneer) Tom Noe indicted on 2/13/06 on 53 counts, including forgery, money laundering, and theft, related to Coingate. By some reports, Noe was on the verge of being put in charge of the U. S. Mint in some senior level capacity.
# Republican Congressman Randall (Duke) Cunningham sentenced to eight years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of accepting over two million dollars in bribes from a defense contractor while we were at war.
# Grover Norquist is a top Republican advisor for George W. Bush and friend of Jack Abramoff, he worked for Abramoff in college and in later years he had Republican fundraising events with Abramoff.
# Presidential Domestic Policy Advisor and self proclaimed Christian conservative Claude Allen arrested for shoplifting over $5,000 worth of items from Target stores.
# In August of 2005 Republican Gov. Bob Taft pleaded no contest to four criminal ethics charges for his failure to disclose golf outings paid for by lobbyists, as well as undisclosed gifts worth $5,800, he was fined $4,000 plus court costs.
# In September of 2005 Republican Ernie Fletcher fired 9 of his own staffers for a crony hiring scandal, all of whom he had recently pardoned. Among them was Richard Murgatroyd, Fletcher's deputy chief of staff.
# Department of Homeland Security Assistant Press Secretary Brian Doyle facing arrest on 23 charges related to soliciting sex from a 14 year-old minor in a police sting operation.
# Ed Buckham, former chief of staff to Tom DeLay and later Chairman of the lobbying firm Alexander Strategy Group, appeared in Tony Rudy's guilty plea as "Lobbyist B." According to the plea, Buckham helped in routing $50,000 in payments to Rudy's wife's consulting firm - the money was to bribe Rudy for his help defeating a bill on behalf of Jack Abramoff's client. Tony Rudy is another former staffer to Tom Delay, who has also plead guilty to charges in the Abramoff lobbyist scandal.
# John Colyandro was Executive Director of Tom DeLay's PAC Texans for a Republican Majority. He, along with Jim Ellis, was indicted for Money Laundering in 2004 alleging an illegal money swap with the Republican National State Elections Committee, an arm of the Republican National Committee. Colyandro also faces a charge for Unlawful Acceptance of a Contribution from a Corporation.
# Jim Ellis was Executive Director of DeLay's PAC Americans for a Republican Majority. He, along with John Colyandro, was indicted for Money Laundering in 2004 alleging an illegal money swap with the Republican National State Elections Committee, an arm of the Republican National Committee.
# Shaun Hansen, co-owner of Mylo Enterprises, was indicted March 8th on charges of conspiring to commit and aiding the commission of telephone harassment. He is set to stand trial on May 2nd.
Hansen's firm was hired by Allen Raymond's consulting firm, GOP Marketplace, to jam the phone lines of Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts on Election Day, November 5, 2002. Raymond was hired by Chuck McGee, executive director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, based on a referral by James Tobin, New England Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee. Both McGee and Raymond pled guilty and testified against Tobin, who was convicted.
# Chuck McGee, the former Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, pled guilty July 28th, 2004 to one count: Conspiracy to engage in interstate telephone communications with the intent to annoy or harass. On March 11th, 2005, he was sentenced to 7 months in prison, which he began serving April 26th, 2005. He served his time and has been released.
# Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is being investigated for accepting bribes from Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon. He was named as a coconspirator ("Representative #1") in Abramoff's plea and ("Legislator #1") in Scanlon's plea and (Representative #1) in Tony Rudy's plea.
# Allen Raymond, president of GOP Marketplace, pled guilty June 30th, 2004 to one count: Conspiracy to engage in interstate telephone communications with the intent to annoy or harass. On February 8th, 2005, he was sentenced to 5 months in prison. He made a motion to reduce his sentence; on February 2nd, he was sentenced to 3 months in prison, even though the prosecution only asked for house arrest.
# Warren RoBold was a fundraiser for Tom DeLay's PACs (TRMPAC and ARMPAC) and was indicted in 2004 for taking illegal corporate money for TRMPAC - nine counts of Unlawful Acceptance of a Political Contribution from a Corporation. RoBold is charged with nine separate third-degree felonies, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
# Tony Rudy pled guilty March 31 to one count of Conspiracy. He was a former aide to Tom DeLay, a colleague of Jack Abramoff's and then a lobbyist at Alexander Strategy Group. He was named ("Staffer A") as a coconspirator in Abramoff's plea.
# David Safavian was indicted October 5th, 2005 for Obstruction of Proceedings before an Agency and Making False Statements. He is accused of lying to investigators about his dealings with Jack Abramoff while he was chief of staff for the General Services Administration. He went on to be the government's top procurement officer in the Office of Management and Budget until he had to step down because of the investigation.
# On November 21st, 2005, Michael Scanlon, Jack Abramoff's partner in the Indian fraud and bribery schemes, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States.
# James Tobin, the former New England Regional Political Director for the Republian National Committee, was found guilty December 15th, 2005 of two counts: Conspiracy to commit the commission of interstate telephone harassment and Aiding and abetting the commission of interstate telephone harassment. He was acquitted of a third count, Conspiracy against voters' rights.
# Neil Volz, a former aide to Bob Ney and member of Team Abramoff, was named ("Staffer B") as a coconspirator in Abramoff's plea.
# Mitchell Wade, President of the defense contracting firm MZM, Inc., pled guilty on February 24th, 2006 to one count of conspiring both to bribe Congressman Randall "Duke" Cunningham and to tax evasion; one count of Use of Interstate Facilities to Promote Bribery; one count of conspiring to deprive the Defense Department of the honest services of its employees; and one count of election fraud.
# Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger involved in ethics probe for accepting salary from two men?s fitness magazines while governor, possible kickback from American Media publisher to Schwarzenegger charity and silence money to a woman who had an extramarital affair with Schwarzenegger. This probe may go criminal.
# Republican George Ryan was the Governor of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. Ryan's term in office was marked by a scandal involving the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State; in the wake of numerous convictions of former aides, he chose not to run for reelection in 2002. In December 2003 he was indicted on 18 federal racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges. His trial got underway in September 2005.
# Bob Livingston (R-Louisiana) was about to replace Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House until he resigned in disgrace when it was revealed that he admitted to had been involved in several adulterous affairs, (while attempting to crucify Democratic President Clinton for having done much less).
# Religious right Republican Ralph Reed, candidate for Lt. Gov. in Georgia. Under investigation for involvement in Abramoff, Kidan, DeLay Indian casino money laundering scandal.
# Republican Congressman, Bill Janklow, who has been elected by his Republican supporters for years either as Governor, Attorney General or Congressman. Janklow has a long series of charges against him, including a dozen speeding charges, the most recent of which involved driving some 70 miles over the speed limit (i.e. through a stop sign) and killing another motorist.
# John Roland, Connecticut's Republican governor was forced to resign and went to Federal prison for corruption.
# Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels under investigation for soliciting campaign donations in return for INDOT (Indiana Dept. of Transportation contracts).
# Former Republican Illinois House Leader Rep. Lee Daniels is under Federal investigation for misuse of state employees for political activity and state contract kickbacks.
# Republican Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Kenneth Tomlinson, investigated for violating the Public Broadcasting Act, resigned after the results of the investigation were published.
# Republican Adam Taff, a 2004 congressional candidate from Kansas was indicted for campaign violations and wire fraud.
# Lawrence Novak, Vice Chair, state GOP, Arrested by FBI for drug money laundering.
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