credit: CounterCurrent News

The Crimes of Senators and Congressmen

I remember watching an old film, can't recall the title .. I was very young, and it may have spurred my first anti-government thought. An escaped Roman slave raised to the level of citizen for some deed, went to the senate in a rage about something or another .. he approached the in-progress gathering of white-robed old men and attempted to push into the group, so he could be noticed and allowed to speak - eventually the crowd turned on him and pushed him back - one of the old senators shouting at him, "Know Your Place, Dog!"

Let's think about this on a more personal level - you know people - you know at least one wealthy, educated, perhaps hard-working but definitely successful person, perhaps you are one yourself .. now, consider how many times that person, or yourself, have behaved like an absolute scumbag toward their perceived lessers - I mean, just some of the comments made after waiting too long to get your Starbucks ...

Now, consider someone like that but who has actual power, who is "protected" to a degree, who has not only material power, but real power, in the political sense, real influence - imagine the thoughts and actions of these folks, as they looked down upon the unwashed masses. There are those who are guided by clear ethical and moral principles, who are not interested in using their position to increase their personal wealth .. but they have been very few in number.

Inspired by @steembriefing's "Attention Plebians & Slaves - Right Wing Pedo Senator Caught in the Act!"

I decided to dig a little in order to create a visualization of the "spread" of crimes, on both sides of the isle in the United States .. and these are only the crimes that became known to the judicial system, where charges and convictions actually occurred .. imagine the countless many that never made it to court, for whatever reason - favors called in, settlements drafted, threats made, and many forms of violent action carried out .. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes

1981 - 2017

• General David Petraeus () - providing classified information to Lieutenant Colonel Paula Broadwell.(2015)[2]
• Chaka Fattah (-PA) was convicted on 23 counts of racketeering, fraud, and other corruption charges. (2016)[3]
• Dennis Hastert (-IL) Speaker of the United States House of Representatives pleaded guilty in court for illegally structuring bank transactions related to payment of $3.5 million to quash allegations of sexual misconduct with a student when he was a high school teacher and coach decades ago.[4] (2016)
• Michael Grimm (-NY) pleaded guilty of felony tax evasion. This was the fourth count in a 20-count indictment brought against him for improper use of campaign funds. The guilty plea had a maximum sentence of three years; he was sentenced to eight months in prison. (2015)[5][6]
• Trey Radel (-FL) was convicted of possession of cocaine in November 2013. As a first-time offender, he was sentenced to one year probation and fined $250. Radel announced he would take a leave of absence, but did not resign. Later, under pressure from a number of leaders, he announced through a spokesperson that he would resign. (2013)[7][8][9]
• Rick Renzi (-AZ) was found guilty on 17 of 32 counts against him June 12, 2013, including wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering, money laundering and making false statements to insurance regulators. (2013)[10]
• Jesse Jackson, Jr. (-IL) pleaded guilty February 20, 2013, to one count of wire and mail fraud in connection with his misuse of $750,000 in campaign funds. Jackson was sentenced to two and one-half years' imprisonment. (2013)[11]
  Laura Richardson (-CA) was found guilty on seven counts of violating US House rules by improperly using her staff to campaign for her, destroying the evidence and tampering with witness testimony. The House Ethics Committee ordered Richardson to pay a fine of $10,000. (2012)[12][13]
• Mark E. Fuller () U.S. District Judge was found guilty of domestic violence and sentenced to 24 weeks of family and domestic training and forced to resign his position. (2015)[14][15][16]
• Scott Bloch () United States Special Counsel. pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of Congress for "willfully and unlawfully withholding pertinent information from a House Committee investigating his decision to have several government computers wiped ..."[17][18] On June 24, 2013, U. S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins sentenced Bloch to one day in jail and two years' probation, and also ordered him to pay a $5000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.(2010) [19]
• David Safavian () Administrator for the Office of Management and Budget[20] where he set purchasing policy for the entire government.[21][22] He was found guilty of blocking justice and lying,[23] and sentenced to 18 months. (2008)[24][25]
• Lewis Libby () Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R). 'Scooter' was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame Affair on March 6, 2007 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000. His sentence was commuted by George W. Bush (R) on July 1, 2007. (2007)[26]
• Lester Crawford () Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned after 2 months. Pleaded guilty to conflict of interest and received 3 years suspended sentence and fined $90,000. (2006) [27]
• Claude Allen () Director of the Domestic Policy Council, was arrested for a series of felony thefts in retail stores. (2006) He was convicted on one count and resigned soon after.[28]
• William J. Jefferson (-LA) was charged in August 2005 after the FBI seized $90,000 in cash from his home freezer. He was re-elected to the House in 2006, but lost in 2008. He was convicted November 13, 2009, of 11 counts of bribery and sentenced to 13 years in prison. (2009)[29] Jefferson's Chief of Staff Brett Pfeffer, was sentenced to 84 months for bribery. (2006) [30]
  Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal involves the efforts of Abramoff to influence Congressional action concerning U.S. immigration and minimum wage laws. See Executive branch convictions. Congressmen convicted in the Abramoff scandal include:
• Bob Ney (-OH) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements as a result of his receiving trips from Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors. Ney received 30 months in prison. (2007)[31]
• Duke Cunningham (-CA) pleaded guilty November 28, 2005, to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in what came to be called the Cunningham scandal and was sentenced to over eight years in prison. (2005)[32]
• Frank Ballance (-NC) admitted to federal charges of money laundering and mail fraud in October 2005 and was sentenced to four years in prison. (2005)[33]
• Bill Janklow (-SD) was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for running a stop sign and killing a motorcyclist. Resigned from the House and given 100 days in the county jail and three years probation. (2003)[34]
• Jim Traficant (-OH) was found guilty on ten felony counts of financial corruption, sentenced to eight years in prison and expelled from the House of Representatives. (2002) [35]
• Wade Sanders (), Deputy Assistant United States Secretary of the Navy, for Reserve Affairs, was sentenced to 37 months in prison on one charge of possession of child pornography. (2009)[36][37][38]
• Darleen A. Druyun (), Principal Deputy United States Under Secretary of the Air Force.[39] She pleaded guilty to inflating the price of contracts to favor her future employer, Boeing. In October 2004, she was sentenced to nine months in jail for corruption, fined $5,000, given three years of supervised release and 150 hours of community service.(2005).[40] CBS News called it "the biggest Pentagon scandal in 20 years" and said that she pleaded guilty to a felony.[41]
• Mel Reynolds (-IL) was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. (1997) He was later convicted of 12 counts of bank fraud. (1999) Reynolds served his entire sentence stemming from the first conviction and served 42 months in prison for the bank fraud conviction at which point his sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton.[42] As a result, Reynolds was released from prison and served his remaining time in a halfway house.[43][44]
• Walter R. Tucker III (-CA) was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1996 for extortion and tax evasion. (1995)[45]
• Bob Packwood (-OR), 19 women accused him of sexual misconduct. He fought the allegations, but eventually, the US Senate Ethics Committee found him guilty of a "pattern of abuse of his position of power and authority” and recommended that he be expelled from the Senate. He resigned on Sept. 7, 1995.[46]
• Wes Cooley (-OR), was convicted of having lied on the 1994 voter information pamphlet about his service in the Army. He was fined and sentenced to two years probation (1997)[47] After leaving office, Cooley was convicted of income tax fraud connected to an investment scheme. He was sentenced to one year in prison and to pay restitution of $3.5 million to investors and $138,000 to the IRS.[48]
• Austin Murphy (-PA) was convicted of one count of voter fraud for filling out absentee ballots for members of a nursing home. (1999) [49]
  House banking scandal [50] The House of Representatives Bank found that 450 members had overdrawn their checking accounts, but not been penalized. Six were convicted of charges, most only tangentially related to the House Bank itself. Twenty two more of the most prolific over-drafters were singled out by the House Ethics Committee. (1992)
• Buz Lukens (-Ohio) convicted of bribery and conspiracy.[51]
• Carl C. Perkins (-Kentucky) pleaded guilty to a check kiting scheme involving several financial institutions (including the House Bank).[52]
• Carroll Hubbard (-Kentucky) was convicted of illegally funneling money to his wife's 1992 campaign to succeed him in congress.[53]
• Mary Rose Oakar (-Ohio) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge not related to the House Bank.[54]
• Walter Fauntroy (-District of Columbia) was convicted of filing false disclosure forms to hide unauthorized income.[55]
  Congressional Post Office scandal (1991–1995) was a conspiracy to embezzle House Post Office money through stamps and postal vouchers to congressmen.[56]
• Dan Rostenkowski (-IL) was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, in 1995.[57]
• Joe Kolter (-Pennsylvania) pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and sentenced to 6 months in prison.(1996)[58][59]
• Catalina Vasquez Villalpando, () Treasurer of the United States, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion. (1992)[60]
• Nicholas Mavroules (-Massachusetts) was convicted of extortion, accepting illegal gifts and failing to report them on congressional disclosure and income tax forms. Mavroules pleaded guilty to fifteen counts in April 1993 and was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term. (1993) [61][62]
• Albert Bustamante (-Texas) was convicted of accepting bribes and sentenced to three and one-half years in prison. (1993) [63]
• David Durenberger Senator (-Minnesota) denounced by Senate for unethical financial transactions and then disbarred (1990). He pleaded guilty to misuse of public funds and given one year probation (1995) [64]
• Jay Kim (-CA) accepted $250,000 in illegal 1992 campaign contributions and was sentenced to two months house arrest.
  Operation Ill Wind was a three-year investigation launched in 1986 by the FBI into corruption by U.S. government and military officials, and private defense contractors.
• Melvyn Paisley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy,[69] was found to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. He pleaded guilty to bribery and served four years in prison.[70][71][72]
• James E. Gaines, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, took over when Paisley resigned his office.[73] Gaines was convicted of accepting an illegal gratuity and theft and conversion of government property. He was sentenced to six months in prison.[74]
• Victor D. Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, was the 50th conviction obtained under the Ill Wind probe when he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and conspiring to defraud the government. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison.[75][76]
• Housing and Urban Development Scandal was a controversy concerning bribery by selected contractors for low income housing projects.[77]
• James G. Watt () United States Secretary of the Interior 1981–1983, was charged with 25 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice. Sentenced to five years probation, fined $5,000 and 500 hours of community service[78]
  Iran-Contra Affair (1985–1986); A secret sale of arms to Iran, to secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras, in violation of the Boland Amendment.[79]
• Elliott Abrams () Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, convicted of withholding evidence. Given 2 years probation. Later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush.[80]
• Michael Deaver () White House Deputy Chief of Staff to Ronald Reagan 1981–85, pleaded guilty to perjury related to lobbying activities and was sentenced to 3 years probation and fined $100,000 [81]
  Legislative branch[edit]
• Abscam FBI sting involving fake 'Arabs' trying to bribe 31 congressmen. (1980) [82] The following Congressmen were convicted:
• Harrison A. Williams (-NJ) Convicted on 9 counts of bribery and conspiracy. Sentenced to 3 years in prison.[83]
• John Jenrette (-SC) sentenced to two years in prison for bribery and conspiracy.[84]
• Richard Kelly (-FL) Accepted $25K and then claimed he was conducting his own investigation into corruption. Served 13 months.[85]
• Raymond Lederer (-PA) "I can give you me" he said after accepting $50K. Sentenced to 3 years.[86]
• Michael Myers (-PA) Accepted $50K saying, "...money talks and bullshit walks." Sentenced to 3 years and was expelled from the House.[87]
• Frank Thompson (-NJ) Sentenced to 3 years.[88]
• John M. Murphy (-NY) Served 20 months of a 3-year sentence.[89]
  Wedtech scandal Wedtech Corporation was convicted of bribery in connection with Defense Department contracts.[90]
• Mario Biaggi (-NY) Convicted of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gratuities he was sentenced to 2½ years in prison and fined $500K. (1987)[91]
• Robert Garcia (-NY) sentenced to 2½ years.[92]
• Pat Swindall (-GA) convicted of 6 counts of perjury. (1989) [93][94]
• George V. Hansen (Republicn-ID) censured for failing to file out disclosure forms. Spent 15 months in prison.[95]
• Frederick W. Richmond (-NY),Convicted of tax evasion and possession of marijuana. Served 9 months (1982) [96]
• Dan Flood (-PA) censured for bribery. After a trial ended in a deadlocked jury, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year's probation.[97][98]
• Joshua Eilberg (-PA) pleaded guilty to conflict-of-interest charges. In addition, he convinced president Carter to fire the U.S. Attorney investigating his case.[99]
• Jon Hinson (-MS) was arrested for having homosexual oral sex in the House of Representatives’ bathroom with a government staffer. Hinson, who was married, later received a 30-day jail sentence, and a year's probation, on condition that he get counseling and treatment. At the time, homosexual acts were criminalized, even between consenting adults. He then resigned his seat and began working as a gay rights advocate.(1981) [100][101]

Looks About Even, No!?

If you scan the list above you'll see, both factions of the "Legit Gang" are about equal in their abuses of power, and their individual failings as human beings. This is not about Right vs Left, that is nothing but a show they put on for the dumbed-down masses - putting people against each-other, so they don't turn on their real oppressors - the Demopublican Corporatists, who are feeding on us like the parasites they are.

Closing With A Lil Comic Relief ..

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