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| CREW Cuts | November 2007/ Issue #7 | |
CREW FEC Complaint Against MZM and Mitchell Wade Results in $1,000,000 Penalty  Prompted by a CREW complaint, this week the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced that the second largest fine in FEC history -- $1,000,000 -- had been imposed against defense contracting firm MZM, Inc. and its former CEO Mitchell Wade. In June 2005, CREW filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that MZM and Wade, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. CREW's complaint alleged that Wade had funneled corporate funds to reimburse MZM employees for contributions made to members of Congress who Wade believed could be helpful to MZM. MZM and Wade have entered into an agreement with the FEC admitting that MZM made corporate conduit contributions to the campaigns of Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and former Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) and agreeing to pay $1,000,000 to settle the matter. matter. Read more Read the Roll Call story CREW Lawsuit -- Magistrate Judge Issues Recomendation for Temporary Restraining Order Against the White House Last month, CREW sued the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Administration, and the National Archives and Records Administration, challenging the administration's failure to preserve at least 5 million e-mail deleted from White House servers since March 2003, a violation of federal law. After the White House failed to provide assurances that it was keeping backup copies of the records, CREW filed a restraining order against the Bush administration, resulting in a recommendation by a magistrate judge that a temporary restraining order be issued to prevent the destruction of federal records. The White House has filed an objection to this recommendation and Judge Henry Kennedy is expected to issue an order early next week. Read more Read the Associated Press story   |
Charges Dismissed Against African-American Minister Targeted and Tackled by Capitol Police CREW represents Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus, who was charged with assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct after he was refused admittance to a hearing in the House Representatives. On October 1st, CREW persuaded the U.S. Attorney's Office to dismiss the assault charge. On September 10th, Rev. Yearwood waited in the line for several hours in order to watch General David Petraeus testify before Congress. Minutes before the start of the hearing, Rev. Yearwood was told by Capitol Police that he would not be allowed to enter. When Rev. Yearwood questioned why he was being excluded from the open hearing, he was surrounded by officers and tackled to the ground. He suffered torn ligaments and a sprained ankle. Rev. Yearwood still faces charges of disorderly conduct stemming from this incident. Read more See the YouTube video of the incident Read the story from The Hill CREW Asks Sen. Grassley to Investigate Front Group for Long-Term Care Industry CREW sent a letter to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) on October 27th asking that he investigate the activities of the Seattle-based Center for Long-Term Care Reform and the Center's director Stephen Moses. Moses has spent the past decade posing as an independent expert from a respected think tank that analyzes the need for long-term care insurance, but is in fact serving as a front for the long-term care industry. According to his website, Moses has testified as an independent expert on long-term care before two-thirds of the nation's state legislatures. He has been quoted in stories around the country and has been actively working to create legislation to benefit the industry in states including Kansas and Texas. Moses is not, however, actually independent. When he launched the Center for Long-Term Care Reform in 1998, he began actively soliciting the industry for contributions, stating "The long-term care insurance industry -- and LTC providers whose financial survival spends on the growth of private financing -- must take steps to encourage private sector solutions. The Center for Long-Term Financing is uniquely positioned to promote this effort." and, "the Center increases long-term care insurance sales remarkably." He has touted his appearance as an impartial expert claiming, "our established credibility as an independent third-party voice allows us to perform in essential roles that no one else can fill for reasons of perceived bias and self-interest." Read CREW's letter to Sen. Grassley |
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| (c) 2007 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, all rights reserved. | |||
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