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Democrat Crime Spree
Soul Crusher:
How did Sen. Feinstein get ATF gun trace data in violation of Tiahrt Amendment?
Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 11/28/11 | David Codrea
Posted on November 28, 2011 8:31:32 PM EST by Nachum
Persons within the Department of Justice whose identities are not yet publicly known apparently broke the law by leaking firearms trace data to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, which she introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee record in the hearing on Department of Justice oversight earlier this month.
“If I may,” Senator Feinstein requested at the beginning of her questioning of Attorney General Eric Holder (see webcast, at the 69:45 mark), I'd like to put in the record the official firearms trace data from the Department of Justice from 12/1/2006 to 2000...excuse me, 9/30/2011...this is guns [unintelligible] Mexico.”
Left unchallenged and unsaid is how Feinstein obtained the data, which is prohibited by the Tiahrt Amendment from being shared with anyone but law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and only then in the course of a criminal investigation. That prohibition extends even to Senator Feinstein, as evidenced by the failed attempt earlier this year by Rep. Adam Schiff “to allow Congressional committees to be included on the list of entities to which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms can disclose part or all of the contents of the Firearms Trace System database.”
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Soul Crusher:
3 Perdue associates indicted
By Dan Kane - dkane@newsobserver.com
By Dan Kane The News and Observer
A Wake County grand jury today handed down indictments alleging that a top aide to Gov. Bev Perdue's 2008 campaign schemed to pay a staffer $32,000 for work that was kept off the books in violation of state election laws.
The new charges, all felonies, are part of a long-running investigation into Perdue campaign activities that have focused on expenditures that would have triggered election law violations for exceeding the limit on personal donations if they had been reported. Earlier this year a retired state magistrate was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to hide an illegal campaign flight.
Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has said that Perdue, a former lieutenant governor and state lawmaker, is not a target of the probe, but today's indictment reached into the campaign's inner circle.
"The conduct of the governor has not been an issue, nor any other elected official," Willoughby said. "She cooperated in the investigation, was interviewed, we asked her not to talk about the facts of the case. We thought it might be inappropriate, and there might be additional charges."
Peter Reichard, a Greensboro businessman who served as the Perdue campaign's finance director, was charged with obstruction of justice. Reichard has been a key player in the gubernatorial campaigns of Perdue and her predecessor, Mike Easley, both Democrats. Reichard served as Easley's finance director for his 2000 gubernatorial campaign.
Reichard's attorney, Hart Miles, said in a statement that his client was disappointed to learn of the indictments. Miles urged the public to withhold judgment until all the facts are known.
"We are prepared to go to trial if necessary," Miles said. "But, Peter's goal is to work in good faith with the District Attorney to see if this case can be resolved without a lengthy and costly trial. Peter is a man who accepts responsibility for his actions."
The indictment against him said his business, Tryon Capital Ventures, received $32,000 in contributions or loans from Charles Michael Fulenwider, a Perdue contributor from Morganton who owns fast food restaurants and had arranged several campaign flights for her. Reichard used the $32,000, disguised as consulting services, to compensate Julia Leigh Sitton, who later became the director of the governor's Western office. She is also known as Juleigh Sitton.
Sitton was charged with obstruction of justice and causing the Perdue campaign to file false reports. She resigned from the director's position in August and had been making $50,000 a year. She is a Morganton attorney who has long been active in Democratic political campaigns. Perdue campaign finance records show she was reimbursed for roughly $4,500 in campaign expenses in the 2008 election.
Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs, a New Bern attorney who was a longtime law partner with Perdue's first husband, was charged with obstruction of justice and causing the filing of false campaign reports. The indictments say Stubbs caused the Perdue campaign to file false reports that did not disclose roughly $28,000 in campaign flights. Stubbs reported the flights as expenditures to the N.C. Democratic Party, when he knew that the flights benefited Perdue, the indictment said.
The unreported flights first turned up in a State Board of Elections investigation last year. Election laws prohibit giving more than $4,000 in cash or services to a candidate in an election cycle.
The election board investigation found that Stubbs wanted the travel he provided to be handled properly, but told investigators that he couldn't get the campaign to focus. One elections board report said Stubbs was "told of a variety of ways the travel payments could be handled and that he often was not comfortable with the information that he was being provided."
Stubbs said in a statement that he has cooperated "fully and voluntarily" with the state investigation and was saddened to learn of the indictments.
"It was never my intent to violate any law and I intend to plead not guilty," Stubbs said.
He added that he never sought or received any benefit for supporting Perdue's campaign.
The Perdue campaign was required to pay a $30,000 fine and return more than $20,000 in illegal campaign donations after election board probes.
Perdue issued a statement saying her campaign has cooperated fully with the investigation, but she would not comment on the charges. She said the investigation confirms that she "as a citizen, a candidate for public office, and an elected official" has "strived to follow the rules and laws."
Willoughby did not know when Reichard, Sitton or Stubbs would be required to appear in court.
Federal investigators have also been looking into the Perdue campaign.
Staff Writer Craig Jarvis contributed to this report
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Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/28/1676707/3-perdue-associates-indicted.html#ixzz1f7qAJnb8
Soul Crusher:
Fellow Democrat to Perdue: Step aside
WRAL News.com ^ | 11/29/2011 | Laura Leslie
Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby said Monday that Gov. Bev Perdue is not the focus of a year-long campaign finance investigation that led to the indictments of two of her former staffers and a longtime friend.
Still, the charges are apparently enough to embolden Rep. Bill Faison, who said earlier after some controversy that he would not challenge Perdue in a primary.
Faison, D-Orange, said Tuesday he believes Perdue will step aside.
“You have all these indictments. And the focus of the governor’s office ought to be on the people and ought to be dealing with the economic crisis we got,” Faison said.
“Clearly, the DA is saying that they’re still investigating this matter, so it’s not over. Clearly, the governor’s office is focused on those investigations and the consequences of them, and the focus ought to be on the people," he said.
"So I think, ultimately, Gov. Perdue will do the right thing and decide not to run. I don’t believe you’ll ever see her file,” Faison said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
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Another Obama donor convicted of fraud
Hotair ^ | 12/30/2011 | Tina Korbe
Posted on December 30, 2011 8:43:28 PM EST by SeekAndFind
File this one under culture of corruption. Obama supporters just can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can they? This latest scandal involves a former Tarheels basketball player and a $21 million bank fraud scheme. New York Daily News reports:
Courtney Dupree was convicted of vastly overstating the billings of his Long Island City-based lighting company GDC Acquisitions in order to fraudulently obtain a loan from Amalgamated Bank.
Dupree, 42, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read in Brooklyn Federal Court. He faces up to 30 years in prison and has to pay back at least $18 million. …
Dupree, who attended the elite Wharton School of Business, was a rainmaker in Democratic circles.
In 2008, Dupree hosted a $1,000-a-ticket fund-raiser for Barack Obama at his Broad St. apartment that was attended by top aide Valerie Jarrett.
His company counted NBC Universal and Goldman Sachs among its clients.
Such corruption occurs on either side of the aisle, of course, but that makes it no less disappointing when it happens.
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