Category Archives: Government Ethics

The Little Noticed Part of the OIG Report on the Clinton E-Mail Investigation: Peter Kadzik

Posted on July 21, 2018 by mmjdiary

Thanks to Eric Felten, I turned to p. 461 of the OIG Report on the FBI/Justice investigation of the Clinton e-mail issues and found one Peter Kadzik. Mr. Kadzik did not recuse himself from the investigation despite several issues outlined … Continue reading →

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Oops! Found Lois Lerner’s E-mails!

Posted on November 25, 2014 by mmjdiary

The long, lost Lois Lerner e-mails — 30,000 of them — have been found on back-up tape. We are assured that it will take some time to sort through them. The Barometer suggests making a copy before the sorting begins. … Continue reading →

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Solyndra – The Little Company That Couldn’t – Something Even Its Employees and External Auditors Knew

Posted on September 10, 2011 by mmjdiary

The Barometer heard a caller on a talk show discussing two things: (1) She was one of 1,100 employees laid off from the failing solar-panel maker, Solyndra LLC; and (2) She and the other employees knew as the company’s facilities … Continue reading →

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The Grassley Letter on Hedge Fund Connections with the Department of Education

Posted on August 4, 2011 by mmjdiary

Senators Charles Grassley and Tom Coburn have raised questions that are disturbing on so many levels. In a letter to Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, Senator Grassley asks whether insiders at the Department of Education tipped off hedge fund … Continue reading →

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The Softer Side of the Justice Department: The Civil Settlement and Deferred Prosecution

Posted on July 9, 2011 by mmjdiary

There is a dearth of criminal cases targeting the executives involved in the 2008 investment banking house collapses and its seeds of destruction planted in the subprime mortgage market. The void has raised questions throughout the hallowed halls of law … Continue reading →

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The Rangel Round-Up Update

Posted on July 25, 2010 by mmjdiary

The Barometer has been covering each painful incident about Representative Charles Rangel as they percolated out in dribs and drabs.  Rangel is now in settlement contentions (apparently not talks) with the ethics committee on his pending ethics charges and hearings.  Here are … Continue reading →

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“There have been numerous, repeated instances in the past when prior Administrations — both Democratic and Republican, and motivated by the same goals — discussed alternative paths to service for qualified individuals also considering campaigns for public office. Such discussions are fully consistent with the relevant law and ethical requirements.” Robert F. Bauer, White House Counsel, offering an “Everybody does it,” and “That’s the way it has always been done” explanation for the offer of an advisory board position to Congressman Joe Sestak in exchange for his pulling out of the Pennsylvania Senate Democrat Primary. Mr. Sestak won the race and ended Sen. Arlen Specter’s long-term career.

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary
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Billions in Cash Leave Afghanistan

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Cash is flowing out of Afghanistan – about $10 million per day (that’s $3.65 billion) – and it ends up in the hands of terrorist groups.  The irony is that a good portion of the cash comes from U.S. reconstruction … Continue reading →

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The Congressmen Who Bet Against the U.S.

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Here’s some good news on the faith our elected representatives have in our markets:  Several members of congress and/or their spouses positioned themselves short in the market.  Their bets, by buying call options in 2008, were that the value of … Continue reading →

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The SEC and Porn

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mmjdiary

Over the past five years, 33 SEC employees viewed pornographic materials on either or both their desktop computers or laptops. Seventeen of the 33 were senior SEC employees who earned between $99,000 and $222,000 per year. The employees have been … Continue reading →

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The Prosecutors and the Senator: A Credo Would Have Helped

Posted on April 11, 2009 by mmjdiary

Judge Emmet Sullivan said he had never seen “mishandling and misconduct” like that of the prosecutors in the U.S. v. Stevens case.  The Barometer has no doubt that former Senator Ted Stevens (R. Alaska) crossed a few ethical lines in … Continue reading →

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Roland Burris, We Hardly Knew Ye

Posted on February 18, 2009 by mmjdiary

He seems almost elf-like, this Blago-appointed senator from Illinois.  Teeny-tiny, when his towering attorney stands next to him at the microphones.  Small in stature and even smaller in commanding respect.  Like so many in Washington these days, Senator Burris is … Continue reading →

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Rangel Round-Up Redux

Posted on January 8, 2009 by mmjdiary

We now have a connection between AIG, the insurance giant we taxpayers now own a portion of, and Rep. Charles Rangel (D. N.Y.).  Maurice Greenberg (former CEO of AIG) has pledged $5 million to the City College of New York … Continue reading →

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The Rangel Round-Up

Posted on December 8, 2008 by mmjdiary

For those of you keeping score, Charles Rangel has become to Washington, D.C. and Harlem what Kwame Kilpatrick was to Detroit during his mayoral days there.  You just didn’t know from day to day what new charges of ethical and/or … Continue reading →

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