Statement by DNC Chair on the Retirement
of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Washington, DC -- DNC Chair Howard Dean today applauded Supreme
Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's service to the nation. He
called on President Bush to follow the example set when President
Reagan nominated Justice O'Connor by choosing consensus over conflict
in selecting a nominee to fill the vacancy:
"As the first woman on the Court, Justice O'Connor is one
of our nation's most important historical figures. Her retirement
marks a truly significant moment. While we might not have agreed
with all of her decisions, she has been a voice of moderation
whose career was marked by a commitment to placing the law ahead
of partisanship and ideology. It is crucial that the next Supreme
Court Justice bring this philosophy to the highest court in the
land."
"All Americans today are united in expressing our gratitude
to Justice O'Connor for her service to our country: President
Bush should choose to continue that unity. Americans deserve a
dignified process, one that puts our democracy and the rights
of all Americans ahead of partisanship and ideology.
"President Bush should follow the example established by
President Reagan when he nominated Justice O'Connor. President
Reagan had the courage to stand up to the right wing extremists
in his party by choosing a moderate, thoughtful jurist.
"A President faces no more important decision in terms of
protecting the rights and liberties of all Americans than nominating
a Supreme Court Justice. President Bush has a constitutional responsibility
to do what presidents before him have done -- seek the advice
of senators from both parties before making a nomination, and
choose a mainstream nominee who will protect our most important
rights and freedoms.
"Democrats hope this process can be one of consensus, rather
than confrontation, but that will be up to President Bush."
House Speaker Doug Mays Compares
KS Supreme Court to Saddam Hussein
Topeka, KS – In an outrageous move, House Speaker Doug
Mays on Saturday compared the Kansas Supreme Court to deposed
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime.
In a speech to the Kansas House, Mays said the Legislature was
being made a “puppet” and said the situation was similar
to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq:
"In Iraq, they had a Parliament and anyone that didn’t
vote the way they were told by one branch of the government, that
being the administration there, was taken out and tortured and
shot and in some way killed. That’s not a democracy. That’s
not going to happen here. But there is a real principle at stake
here.”
“Once again, Speaker Mays resorts to outrageous, irresponsible
name-calling to shift blame for the conservative Republican legislators
not addressing the needs of Kansas schoolchildren. Kansans expect
more from their leaders.” Kansas Democratic Party Chairman
Larry Gates said.
“This just shows how far Doug Mays is willing to go to
avoid supporting Kansas schoolchildren. Doug Mays needs to stop
the reckless rhetoric and get to work on supporting our kids’
education because the future of the Kansas economy is at stake,”
Larry Gates said.
Dean: Time for Bush to Return Dirty
Money
June 30, 2005
With the arrival of the second quarter fundraising deadline,
DNC Chairman Howard Dean called on President Bush to return the
$2.4 million in tainted money that his campaign has collected
over the last six years. From scandal plagued lobbyist Jack Abramoff
to disgraced coin dealer Thomas Noe, the Bush team gobbled up
funds from anyone willing to pay for access. Numerous Republicans
lawmakers in Ohio have already returned money that Noe raised
for their campaigns, but the President of the United States has
refused to do the same.
“President Bush should do the right thing, follow the lead
of numerous lower-level officeholders and return the money raised
by his disgraced donors and fundraisers,” said Dean. “The
appearance of corruption is seeping into this White House because
George Bush and the Republicans have refused to return money raised
and sever their ties to people like Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed
and Tom Noe, all under federal investigation. By accepting millions
in campaign cash from donors now facing federal investigations,
the Bush-Cheney campaign looked the other way while their coffers
were filled with dirty money."
See below for a new document from DNC Research:
PARTY FOR SALE! SLIGHTLY USED BY THE RIGHT WING, OPEN
FOR BUSINESS WITH
CORPORATE SPECIAL INTERESTS
Today is the end of the second fundraising quarter of the 2006
election season. In the coming days, Republican campaigns nationwide
will be touting their fundraising numbers. In their rush to release
their triumphant press releases, they probably won't remind you
of their recent fundraising scandals or the fact that since 2000
Republicans have received over $2.4 million from donors who are
currently under Federal investigation. Never ones to miss an opportunity
to help our Republican colleagues, those donations are detailed
below.
Republicans Received Over $2.4 Million in Campaign Donations
Since 2000 From Donors Under Federal Investigations.
According to FEC filings, Republican candidates and the Republican
Party have received $2,447,490 from individuals who are currently
under federal investigation. These individuals include Sam and
Charles Wyly (tax evasion), Thomas Noe (illegal campaign donations),
Ralph Reed (corrupt lobbying practices), and Jack Abramoff (corrupt
lobbying practices). [www.opensecrets.org]
The Wyly Brothers:
Charles Wyly Personal Donations= $985,763
Sam Wyly Personal Donations= $629,469
Bush Pioneer Money= $100,000
Wyly Brother Total Since 2000 = $1,715,232
$ Wyly Brothers Involved in a State and Federal Tax
Investigation. According to news reports Sam and Charles
Wyly, better known as the "Wyly Brothers" are under
investigation for tax evasion. In early 2005 Michaels Stores Inc.
revealed that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the
New York County District Attorney were investigating the stock
transactions of Charles and Sam Wyly, the company's President
and Vice-President. The Billionaire Bush patrons are accused of
setting up offshore trusts on the Isle of Man, a noted tax shelter
in the Irish Sea, in an attempt to evade paying taxes on stock
options. [Dallas Morning News, 6/4/05]
$ Wyly Brothers Set Up Trusts in Family's Name for Purpose
of Tax Evasion. In the 1990's the Wyly brothers, while
being advised by Bank of America on tax issues, set up trusts
in the names of some of their family members. The trusts, which
were set up on the Isle of Man a noted tax shelter, were supposedly
set up to benefit members of the Wyly family, but are now under
investigation by federal and state officials as possible tax evasion
schemes.
[Dallas Morning News, 6/4/05]
$ IRS Accused Wiley of Laundering Money Through Trusts
to Avoid Taxes. While writing about the Wyly's scandal
the Dallas Morning News attempted to explain the Wyly's complicated
tax evasion scheme. "First a public company grants stock
options to a senior executive. The executive then transfers the
options to a trust or partnership controlled by the executive's
family. The parties structure the transfer as a 'sale' and the
trust then 'pays' the executive for the options with a long-term
or deferred note -- say due in 30 years. Shortly after the options
are transferred, the trust exercises the stock options and sells
the stock in the open market. The executive then takes the position
that tax is not owned until the date of the deferred payment --
in this case 30 years -- although the executive has access to
the partnership assets." [Dallas Morning News, 6/4/05]
Thomas Noe:
Personal Donations= $43,200
Bush Pioneer Money= $100,000
Total Since 2000 = $143,200
$ Republican Chairman Under at Least Six Separate Investigations.
Noe was tapped by the Voinovich Administration to manage
a portion of the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau's pension funds.
"He also happened to be a dealer in rare coins. And in 1998,
the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau agreed to invest in a rare-coin
fund that he controlled as a way to hedge its holdings in stocks
and bonds, an investment that experts have called highly unorthodox.
But this week, Mr. Noe's lawyers said that as much as $13 million
of the state's $50 million investment in his two funds could not
be accounted for. Mr. Noe, meanwhile, has become the focus of
at least six investigations or audits involving either his handling
of the coin investments or his campaign fund-raising. Federal
investigators are also looking into his contributions to President
Bush's 2004 campaign as a 'Pioneer,' raising more than $100,000."
[New York Times, 5/28/05, Emphasis Added]
$ While Noe Collected Millions, State Assets Went Missing.
According to a Toledo Blade investigation "two coins worth
$300,000 had been lost in 2003. Then state officials acknowledged
that another 119 coins worth $93,000 were missing." It is
unclear to Ohio officials if Noe had the legal authority to invest
the state's money on collectibles or whether the state was even
the rightful owner of those items. During his time as administrator
of the fund Noe collected over $3 million in fees to the state.
[New York Times, 5/28/05]
Jack Abramoff:
Personal Donations= $173,688
Bush Pioneer Money= $100,000
Total Since 2000 = $273,688
$ Abramoff Insulted Native American Leaders in Emails
With His Lobbying Partner. During a Senate investigation
into Abramoff's lobbying practices, an email exchange between
Jack Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon was discovered,
in which the two men refer to their Native American clients as
"troglodytes" adding in smiley faces for effect. "'The
[expletive] troglodytes didn't vote on you today,' Abramoff responded.
'What's a troglodyte?' Scanlon asked. ...'What am I, a dictionary?
:) It's a lower form of existence, basically,' Abramoff wrote."
[New York Times, 5/1/05]
$ Criminal Taskforce of Investigators From FBI, IRS,
Department of the Interior, Senate and Justice Department Investigating
Abramoff. According to the Washington Post, "A criminal
task force of investigators from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service,
the Justice Department's public integrity section, the National
Indian Gaming Commission and the Interior Department inspector
general's office is looking into payments Abramoff and Scanlon
received from an array of clients, including 11 wealthy Indian
tribes that operate gambling casinos, according to officials familiar
with the investigation." [Washington Post, 7/16/04]
$ Scanlon and Abramoff Hand Picked Tribal Candidates,
Got Them Elected, Then Lobbied for Million Dollar Contracts. Emails
uncovered during a Senate investigation show that Abramoff and
fellow lobbyist Michael Scanlon hand picked candidates for tribal
councils, backed the candidates with money for campaigning, and
then cashed in on lucrative contracts after the individuals were
elected. "Lawmakers said the emails and other documents show
that the two men spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailings
and other materials for candidates in tribal elections."
[Washington Post, 9/30/04]
$ Abramoff Boasted To Scanlon That One Scheme Would
Help Them Make "Millions." During the Saginaw
Chippewas' tribal election, Abramoff sent Scanlon an email boasting
that millions would be made once their candidates took control
of the tribal council. "I had dinner tonight with Chris Petras
(legislative director) of Sag Chip (Saginaw Chippewas). He was
salivating at the $4-5 million program I described to him. He
is going to come in after the primary with the guy who will be
chief if they win (a big fan of ours already) and we are going
to help him win. If he wins, they take over in January, and we
have millions." [Washington Post, 9/30/04]
$ Abramoff and Scanlon Took $66 Million From Tribes.
Contrary to a Washington Post report that noted Abramoff and Scanlon
receiving about $10 million in compensation from tribes, Sen.
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo), a leading Senator on the Senate
Indian Affairs Committee, said, "The truth is it's much worse."
Campbell unveiled figures that showed Scanlon's PR firms took
in $66 million from six tribes. [Roll Call, 3/23/04]
$ The Senate Indian Affairs Committee uncovered embarrassing
and questionable details of Abramoff's dealings. "At
least one tribe, the Agua Caliente of California, paid $300,000
into a pool of money Abramoff used to rent box suites at FedEx
Field, the MCI Center and Camden Yards...A Jan. 16, 2002, email
from Abramoff to Scanlon talked about needing 'moolah' and set
a goal of making '$50M this year (our cut!)' In one nine-month
period in 2002, Scanlon's Capitol Campaign Strategies sent more
than $12 million to Abramoff's Kay Gold Inc." [Roll Call,
3/23/04]
$ Abramoff's Political Ties to Members of Congress Are
Also Being Investigated. According to the Washington
Post, "Government sources and people who have been interviewed
said the twin investigations are examining tens of millions of
dollars in fees that Abramoff and Scanlon received from clients,
including, in Abramoff's case, a number of foreign entities. Investigators
also are looking into ties the two have to members of Congress,
into campaign donations and into whether criminal or tax codes
were violated in the work they contracted to do or by the fees
they collected, the sources said." [Washington Post, 7/16/04]
Ralph Reed:
Personal Donations= $15,370
Bush Pioneer Money (2000)= $100,000
Bush Ranger Money (2004)= $200,000
Total Since 2000 = $315,370
$ Ralph Reed Named in Investigation of Abramoff Payments.
The Indian Affairs Committee, as part of its ongoing
investigation of Jack Abramoff, subpoenaed Reed. In addition,
investigators are looking into a $4 million payment that Abramoff
made to lobbyist Ralph Reed, a key player in the president's reelection
operation who raised more than $300,000 for Bush's two presidential
campaigns. [Washington Post, 4/27/05; 4/22/05]
$ Reed Paid Millions By Scanlon and Abramoff To Rally
Support To Close Texas Casino. During an ongoing investigation
involving Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon and Ralph Reed, The Washington
Post obtained emails showing the trio manipulating a Texas Casino
for millions of dollars. "The emails reveal how closely Abramoff
and Scanlon worked in tandem with Reed, whose longtime opposition
to casino gambling and his connections to churches made him a
powerful ally in Texas's effort to shut down the Tigua casino
that Cornyn said was operating illegally. Reed was paid $4.2 million
by Abramoff and Scanlon for his work opposing several tribal casinos
in southern states from 2001 to 2003, government sources said."
[Washington Post, 8/30/04, Emphasis Added]
$ Once Reed Had Successfully Helped Close The Casino,
Abramoff and Scanlon Would Offer The Tribe Its Lobbying Services
At A Hefty Price. According to emails between Reed, Abramoff
and Scanlon obtained by The Washington Post, Reed "built
public support for then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn's effort
to get the courts to close the Tigua tribe's Speaking Rock Casino
in El Paso in late 2001 and early 2002. The emails also reveal
what appears to be an effort on the part of Abramoff and Scanlon
to then exploit the financial crisis they were helping to create
for the tribe by securing both the multimillion-dollar fee and
$300,000 in federal political contributions, which the tribe paid."
[Washington Post, 9/26/04]
$ Reed, Abramoff and Scanlon Took Millions From Casino
They Quietly Worked To Shut Down. The Washington Post
reports that Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and Jack Abramoff worked
with then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn to help shut down
the Tigua tribe's Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso. "Then
the two (Scanlon and Abramoff) quickly persuaded the tribe to
pay $4.2 million to try to get Congress to reopen it."
[Washington Post, 9/26/04]
