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S.E. Wood ... And justic for all. Well, not quite Now let me see if I have this straight. New
Jersey businessman David A. Chang has pleaded guilty and is awaiting
sentencing for donating more than $50,000 in illegal cash and
gifts to Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, D-NJ, in return for political
favors. Senate rules prohibit a member to accept more
than $250 in gifts from any one person in a year, and campaign
contributions are limited to $1,000 per person per year. The
source and amount of all gifts must be included in annual Senate
financial disclosure statements. Sen. Torricelli's disclosures
have never included any gifts from Mr. Chang. So if Mr. Chang
has been found guilty of donating the illegal gifts, wouldn't
you think it reasonable that Sen. Torricelli might be similarly
guilty of receiving them? In keeping with that assumption, charges of
financial wrongdoing were brought against Sen. Torricelli by
Manhattan District Attorney, Mary Jo White, a Clinton appointee.
But after an "exhaustive investigation," Ms. White
announced her office would not seek an indictment against Sen.
Torricelli, and is dropping all charges. Ms. White refused to
discuss her reasons, but did say her files would be turned over
to the Senate Ethics Committee for possible disciplinary action.
The Senate Ethics Committee consists of three
Republicans and three Democrats. Any disciplinary action requires
a majority vote, which, of course, isn't very likely. The committee
is also chaired by Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-NV) who
last spring contributed $500 to Torricelli's legal defense fund.
So we can forget that one! But it does sound a little familiar, doesn't
it? Remember the Chinese funny-money donations, delivered by
Johnnie Chung, Charlie Trie and the Buddhist Temple monks, among
others? These illegal donors either got fined, sentenced to prison,
copped a plea or fled the country to avoid prosecution. But you
didn't see any action taken against the recipients of their illegal
generosity, did you? If our politicians are so adamant about the need for campaign finance reform, this just might be a good place to start. · · · |