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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 22, 2011 8:05:37 GMT -5
Alcee Hastings’ (D, FL-23) sexual harassment investigation. You cannot win if you never try. Alcee Hastings’ (D, FL-23) sexual harassment investigation. You cannot win if you never try. This is a preliminary investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, and it’s done in the wake of a March lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of former U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Commission) staffer Winsome Packer. The suit alleges sexual harassment, attempted extortion (for Hastings’ re-election campaign), and acts of retaliation against Ms. Packer’s attempts at whistle-blowing. According to the Judicial Watch suit (via Left Coast Rebel), informing then Commission Staff Director Fred Turner resulted in Turner’s joining with Rep. Hastings in said acts of retaliation; according to the Huffington Post, Sen. Ben Cardin (D, MD) (co-chair of the Helsinki Commission, then and now) and the then-Democratic-controlled House Ethics committee were likewise allegedly informed and did nothing (a Cardin spokeswoman declined to comment). It should also be noted that Turner is currently the “Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Co-Chairman at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe” and one of Sen. Cardin’s key people. In a better world, I could have some hope that the ultimate conclusion would be in doubt, but here is a hard truth: no matter what the investigation discovers or the lawsuit concludes, Alcee Hastings will probably still be a Congressman afterward. This is for three interconnected reasons: 1.Winsome Parker has the misfortune of being a Republican woman from Jamaica. This fairly thorough combination of adjectives means that Democratic female politicians like Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and/or DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz will have precisely zero interest in either helping the race/gender traitor, or speaking out against Rep. Hastings; and that Democratic male politicians will be more interested in either emulating Hastings’ alleged behavior, or else Turner’s. All in all, Cardin’s cowering in his office and sending out a spokeswoman to say nothing is the ultimate pinnacle of ethical behavior that Ms. Parker can expect from the Democratic party. So Hastings won’t feel pressured by his colleagues to leave. 2.Even if Ms. Parker had been a liberal Democrat female, Rep. Alcee Hastings is still a powerful Democrat; unlike the soon-to-be-ex-Rep. Antony Weiner, he has connections. Put it this way: he’s still on the Rules Committee, which should tell you everything that you need to know about how powerful he is in Democratic circles. So Hastings won’t feel the need to leave voluntarily. 3.If the voters of Florida’s 23rd Congressional District will forgive the fact that their Congressman was (back when he was a judge) impeached and convicted for bribery and perjury – and, judging from the fact that Hastings was elected to Congress in 1992 and has cruised to re-election in every election since, they do – then they’ll probably forgive Hastings for allegedly using his position to sexually harass and threaten a woman. They’ll probably even forgive Hastings if he’s found guilty (and probably censured). So Hastings won’t be fretting about getting thrown out of office. www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57508.html |
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 22, 2011 8:09:30 GMT -5
When the suit was filed in March, Hastings said in a statement that it was full of “inaccuracies” and he had not behaved improperly. “I have never sexually harassed anyone. In fact, I am insulted that these ludicrous allegations are being made against me. When all the facts are known in this case, the prevailing sentiment will be, ‘How bizarre!’” he said. “I will win this lawsuit. That is a certainty. In a race with a lie, the truth always wins. And when the truth comes to light and the personal agendas of my accusers are exposed, I will be vindicated.” This case is not the first time Hastings has had a run-in with federal ethics rules. As a U.S. District Judge in south Florida, he was impeached and convicted by the Senate for bribery and perjury in 1989, and removed from office. He was acquitted in a criminal trial on the same charges because his alleged co-conspirator refused to testify. He was also one of six lawmakers who was being investigated for possible misuse of federal overseas travel funds, though the House ethics committee dropped its probe earlier this year. Read more: www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57508.html#ixzz1Q0gF5uXp |
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handyman2
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 29, 2010 23:56:33 GMT -5
Posts: 3,087
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Post by handyman2 on Jun 22, 2011 8:11:18 GMT -5
Hastings has more political lives than a cat. Be interesting to see if it works this time.
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 22, 2011 8:15:56 GMT -5
Hastings has more political lives than a cat. Be interesting to see if it works this time. Let's see how Ms Pelosi deals with another one of her old boys screwing up again...and the list goes on and on.... According to my highly unreliable sources this is just the tip of the iceberg and the sharp knives are out to name a few more dems who got caught screwing around again... Pete Stark Dem congressman in the East Bay CA is under investigation for tax cheating...but he is too old to sexually harass any young ladies, I think??? |
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