Scandals
Corruption probes hitting Dems across the country
A wave
of corruption arrests and investigations is roiling Democratic politicians,
posing a potential image problem in an election year.
The
latest were a pair of arrests earlier this week, snagging Charlotte Mayor
Patrick Cannon, who later resigned, and California state Sen. Leland Yee. The
latter involved a tangled web of allegations including claims that the gun
control-pushing lawmaker tried to connect an undercover agent with an
international arms dealer.
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So far,
these cases are confined to the state and local levels, so it remains to be
seen whether Democrats running in the congressional midterms will be
tarnished.
In
fact, the only major arrest of a U.S. congressman since the beginning of 2013
was that of a Republican, Florida Rep. Trey Radel, who was convicted for
cocaine possession and resigned early this year. Each party typically is
careful to throw stones when the other side finds itself on the wrong side of
the law, because corruption and other misbehavior is a bipartisan
problem.
For
every Anthony Weiner, there's a Mark Foley.
But
since Radel's October arrest, the bulk of the corruption cases have involved
Democrats.
In
California alone, Yee's case marked the third arrest or conviction in as many
months of a state Democratic official.
State
Republicans, who have been struggling to regain their political footing, have
sought to capitalize on the wave of criminal charges as a way to undo
Democrats' dominance in the Legislature. Republicans have repeatedly tried to
expel Sen. Rod Wright after he was convicted of perjury and voter fraud in
January for lying about his legal residence in Los Angeles County. Democratic
leaders have blocked those efforts. The state Senate, though, voted Friday to
suspend all three of the lawmakers in trouble.
The
other, Sen. Ron Calderon, was indicted on federal corruption charges in
February. Prosecutors say Calderon accepted about $100,000 for himself and
family members in exchange for promoting legislation to expand Hollywood tax
credits and protect the interest of a hospital that benefited from a provision
of the workers' compensation law.
Then
came Yee, whose alleged activities were more befitting Hollywood than his San
Francisco district.
The
criminal complaint contained dramatic details about Yee's alleged efforts to
connect an undercover agent with a firearms dealer.
"Do
I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money," the
senator allegedly said in one of the meetings.
The
cases, while involving local politicians, have put powerful Democrats in an
awkward position.
U.S.
Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California joined a growing list of
officials on Thursday in distancing themselves by demanding Yee's resignation.
The Democratic leader of the state Senate, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg,
warned Yee to resign or face suspension by his colleagues, saying "he
cannot come back."
Cannon,
meanwhile, was ensnared in an FBI sting and faces federal corruption charges
alleging he accepted more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room
and a luxury apartment from undercover agents posing as real estate developers
and investors. Cannon, while not a household Democratic name, led the city that
hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2012.
On top
of that case, Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox said Saturday he was
resigning from leadership and would not run for re-election, a day after
federal and state authorities raided his Statehouse office and home as part of
a criminal investigation that they would not detail.
The
Friday raids were carried out by the U.S. attorney's office, FBI, IRS and state
police. Boxes of evidence were carried off after agents spent hours at both his
home and office. Officials will not say whom or what they are
investigating.
The
52-year-old Providence Democrat, who became the nation's first openly gay House
speaker in 2010, said he planned to serve out the remainder of his term through
the end of the year, but that "my personal focus going forward will be on
my family and dealing with the investigation."
Meanwhile,
in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, the mayor of the District of Columbia, a
Democrat, is facing his own problems. A U.S. attorney claimed earlier this
month that Mayor Vincent Gray knew about an illegal, $668,000 "shadow
campaign" that helped propel him into office four years ago. Despite
denials from the mayor, who has not been accused of a crime, the revelation
further damaged him ahead of next week's primary.
"I
think the question politically is whether it becomes emblematic of the national
party," said Mary Katharine Ham, a Fox News contributor. "And that,
to some extent, depends on media coverage. In, for instance, 2006, there was
the drumbeat against Republicans was this culture of corruption; and that, to a
large extent, was effective because it was so consistently covered in the
media."
The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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