Prosecutors mull pre-election indictments in Congress

[kpete]

With election season kicking into high gear, federal prosecutors investigating a handful of lawmakers may face a tough call on whether to secure indictments that could throw their congressional races into disarray.

While several lawmakers face continued scrutiny, two have publicly confirmed they are targets of criminal investigations: Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney, who has been mentioned in guilty pleas by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates; and Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who is being investigated for taking bribes.

.......

"This is a really difficult issue for prosecutors," says Randall Eliason, who oversaw public-corruption cases in the U.S. attorney's office here during the Clinton administration. "You are damned if you do and damned if you don't, and either course is going to potentially affect the election."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Prosecutors_mull_preelection_indictments_in_Congress_0804.html

[rock]

1. How about doing what's right?

and called for by law. And "damned" be damned.

[chimpymustgo]

2. What you said!

Do the right thing. Novel idea these days.

[RufusEarl]

5. Here are some real men, that did the right thing !

http://www.dojgov.net/Liberty_Watch.htm

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

[babylonsister]

3. I miss the good old days when doing the right thing was acceptable

and expected, damn the consequences. They're prosecutors, so prosecute already! :grr:

[Toots]

4. Politics should have absolutely no bearing on these investigation at all

For them to even suggest that they were thinking about politics is an indication they are not doing their job. Law should not know politics at all. The military should not either. There is absolutley no justifiable reason for politicizing the military or the justice system. That we allow it (Rush Limbaugh on Armed Forces Radio) shows how much trouble the USA is truly in.