Scarcity

As we, of an age, have seen through the years, there are scoundrels in the Republican party (like Denny Hastert) and there are honorable Democrats (like Barbara Jordan). However, it recently struck me that the proportion of bad-apple GOPers seems to closely approximate those Dems who are statesmen ... scarce in both instances.

Strange Justice

From what I can put together, here's what seems to have gone down in the Denny Hastert, former Republican Speaker of the House, recent indictment by the Obama Justice Department:

- Many years ago, when Hastert was a high school teacher and wrestling coach, he had sexual relations of some type with a male student ... and probably a wrestler. The statute of limitations may well have expired on this crime.
- After Hastert left Congress, and was making big bucks as a lobbyist for a Washington, DC law firm, this student started blackmailing Hastert to keep this incident quiet ... to the tune of $3.5 million.
- Instead of trying to launder this money, Hastert was withdrawing this cash from his bank in sums less than $10,000 to avoid banking and, I think, IRS regulations. When caught, he had paid his blackmailer about 1/2 the amount demanded.
- The blackmailer was discovered ... perhaps by the IRS ... and probably ratted out Hastert.
- The FBI came after Hastert about these cash withdrawals and he made up a story as to why he was doing it.
- Hastert has now been indicted for violating banking laws and lying to the FBI (the Martha Stewart crime) ... not for his diddling of this student.
- Hasert's blackmailer may well be skating because of his turning state's evidence in this matter.

I am not a lawyer, but this seems a strange type of vindictive justice ... not that Hastert was lily white in this matter ... but we have seen many Democrat congressmen do much worse and avoid any retribution whatsoever. Perhaps if Hastert were just to change his party affiliation?

A New Broom

A grand jury, under the new Attorney General (AG) Loretta Lynch, has just indicted Denny Hastert, the former Republican Speaker of the House on the strange charge of violating banking laws to pay hush money to some unnamed person ... see: Washington Post Story. This coupled with the previous indictment of that rogue New Jersey Democrat Senator Robert Manendez on corruption charges ... see: Washington Post Story ... suggests that the Obama administration may be using its Justice Department as a political hammer.

Since, to me, it is clear that Washington is chock-a-block full of crooks of all stripes, the real test for our new AG will be how many more of these miscreants she brings before the docks. How about Representative Charlie Rangel on tax evasion? How about Senator Harry Reid on misusing the IRS? How about Representative Nancy Pelosi on corruption? How about that presidential confidant Al Sharpton on tax evasion? How about Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation on RICO charges? How about our president himself for flaunting his oath of office and numerous crony-capitalism payoffs?

If Loretta Lynch has brought a new broom with her into her new job, I would love to see her begin to sweep clean that snake pit of our nation's capital. How about it, AG?