DHS And House Oversight Committee Open Investigations Into Payne’s Cash-For-Access Scandal
DHS And House Oversight Committee Open Investigations Into Payne’s Cash-For-Access Scandal
Stephen Payne, a longtime Bush associate who was revealed to be selling access to top Bush administration officials in return for contributions to the Bush library, is now under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Payne currently serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. A spokesman for DHS called the revelations a “horribly unfortunate story” and said the Department is currently “looking into the facts.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has initiated his own investigation. “If true, this raises serious concerns about the ways in which foreign interests might be secretly influencing large donations to the library,” Waxman wrote in a letter to Payne.
Additionally, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is urging the Justice Department to begin an “investigation into whether…Payne violated any criminal laws.” Yesterday, CREW explained the legal basis for a criminal investigation of Payne and his relationship with the White House:
Federal law prohibits public officials from directly or indirectly demanding, seeking, receiving, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept anything of value in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act. If Mr. Payne was authorized by any member of the Bush administration to trade meetings with top level officials in return for financial contributions to the Bush library, those officials may have violated the bribery statute. Similarly, by offering to serve as a conduit to deliver contributions to the Bush library in exchange for meetings with administration officials, Mr. Payne may have violated federal law.
While Payne has admitted that his actions could be “perceived to be bribery,” he insists they are legal. Both Payne and the Bush administration deny that he had “top-level access” to the White House. Noting the six-figure sums Payne solicited, CREW executive director, Melanie Sloan said, “He wouldn’t get paid that way if he couldn’t deliver.”
The public record demonstrates clearly that Payne did, in fact, have “top-level access,” as he has been photographed on several occasions working and relaxing with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and foreign leaders, and has served Bush in a number of capacities on campaigns and in the executive branch. As ThinkProgress noted yesterday, any “perceptions” of impropriety on the part of Payne and Bush administration officials could be up by giving the public access to the White House visitor logs.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Government investigations = political whitewash/coverup
We all know there will be no justice for what has been done.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:28 amSo this was the Administration that was going to restore values and trust to the government, right? Corruption everywhere, along with incompetence!
July 15th, 2008 at 10:28 amHouse Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has initiated his own investigation.
Look for more sternly worded letters. Maybe even with apostrophes!!!
July 15th, 2008 at 10:28 amNo doubt Bush and his sycophantic handlers will start pushing the Jack Abramoff meme that Bush hardly knew the guy, that he only met him once or twice. I mean — it is normal to put someone whom you’ve just met and barely know to work clearing brush on your ranch right?
Just saying . . .
July 15th, 2008 at 10:30 amMakes Bill Clinton look better day by day, doesn’t it?
July 15th, 2008 at 10:32 am“If true, this raises serious concerns about the ways in which foreign interests might be secretly influencing large donations to the library,” Waxman wrote in a letter to Payne.
How very weird of Waxman to express such a concern.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:33 amBush’s planned Library is surely understood to be a vanity tribute project of propaganda and revisionism.
Waxman should support CREW’s complaint rather than promoting his own in this case.
Does anybody see these investigations going beyond the WhiteHouse refusing to respond to any and all requests/subpoenas?
July 15th, 2008 at 10:38 amBriseadh na Faire says:
Does anybody see these investigations going beyond the WhiteHouse refusing to respond to any and all requests/subpoenas?
I don’t. Though I still don’t see why the Dems on the committee won’t issue contempt or arrest these people. After that there’s nothing worthwhile they can do whilst Bush still holds pardon power and the DOJ is still run by Bush’s lackeys.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:44 amAfter we get a new Dem Prez and more seats in both Houses and the DOJ gets cleaned up THEN maybe we will see some criminal indictments rather than polite political chastisements–but that’s going to take a year I reckon–IF it happens at all.
riiight… and how far do you think holy joe LIEberman will take this “investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)”?
uh huh…
July 15th, 2008 at 10:46 amWe have to take a serious look at the role of money in our politics. It is one thing to permit a lunch or small token without it being a crime. It is not likely that such an act would create an influence over actions. It is entirely different when access to officials is sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Face it, the system would not work unless you knew that there would be a benefit to you by making such a donation. The high probability of corruption and absolute perception of wrong doing created by such a system mandates that it be made illegal. Besides, this is a democracy. What message do we send to the people of this country when we accept it as a legal act to sell appointments to see public officials. This is absolutely third world politics.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:46 amThere are one type of Big Corporation Owned Politicians.
They come in two flavors: Republican and Democrat.
They pretend to be waring factions to appease the easily distracted public, but are actually two sides of the same coin.
Nothing will happen. It never does.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:49 amGood point. Maybe we should waterboard the guy until he confesses what he’s been up to.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:50 amCountdown to trolls saying “Clinton did it too”.
I’m not sure that Clinton took contributions to his library in exchange for favors while he was in the Whitehouse, and that’s what makes this different. I’m quite sure that he solicited contributions to his library after he was out of office, promising something in return for the donation. But since he was no longer in office, there really wasn’t much he could promise other than access if Hillary won.
But, Bush is still in office and the tape proves that he is selling access to himself, and probably quid pro quo, while he is still in office. That’s a crime.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:52 amI’m still not able to process ‘Bush’ and ‘Library’ in the same sentence…
July 15th, 2008 at 10:54 amHouse Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has initiated his own investigation. “If true, this raises serious concerns about the ways in which foreign interests might be secretly influencing large donations to the library,” Waxman wrote in a letter to Payne.
The last time I heard this it was the Republicans complaining about Clinton. I guess they don’t care who they get their sleazy ideas from as long as they work.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 15th, 2008 at 10:57 amBriseadh na Faire Says:
Does anybody see these investigations going beyond the WhiteHouse refusing to respond to any and all requests/subpoenas?
Not as long as the House refuses to use their inherent contempt powers and send the sergeant of arms to frogmarch people to the jail cell in the basement.
They have the power to jail anyone until the congressional term is over, and the President cannot pardon or free them.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:04 amLooks like the pardon list just added another name. Perhaps Chimpy should just issue pardons to all of his “Pioneers” on the way out the door.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:10 amMethinks the ‘Oversight’ committee should take a real close look at Payne’s bank accounts, fund transfers, safe deposit boxes, tax records, etc.
I suspect there’s a whole bunch of ‘interesting’ records.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:16 amI agree with Unbelievable on this.
If you watched Jesse Ventura on Larry King last night, he said the same thing as Unbelievable did above.
Democrats & Republicans put on a good show in public, ‘warring’ over issues big & small.
In private, they’re all aware they’re just ‘players’ in a system that rewards backdoor deals, influence peddling & potential employment like lobbying.
D.C. has 41,000 lobbyists. That’s about 77 lobbyists for every Congress Critter, their aides & WH personnel.
We have a problem, Houston. It’s nearing critical mass, as the Republicans have nurtured, encouraged & supported their own to enter lobbying.
Look as Trent Lott. ‘Nuff said.
But, when the President himself is selling ‘access’ to himself for large sums of money, we’ve crossed a line that must be addressed.
I have no more faith in Waxman resolving this than you. But Bushco hate sunlight entering their corporate world. At the very least, this is a start.
Bush needs to be impeached, if for no other reason than it would prevent him from issuing blanket pardons to all the rest of ‘the boys’.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:27 amThat a representative of both Bush Elder and Bush Jr pimps his bosses and arranges bribes for them – no surprise here. The Bushes also run a PR firm for the Saudis. Cheney represents the Enron / Halliburton arm. Between the three you can pretty much see a huge amount of the money influenced by the WH policies.
The surprise is that these 3 hookers are pimped for a mere half million. I really thought they would need more money than that to sell their morals. (admittedly, what morals ?)
July 15th, 2008 at 11:31 amWayne Says: Not as long as the House refuses to use their inherent contempt powers and send the sergeant of arms to frogmarch people to the jail cell in the basement.
I heard the jail cell was take out in a recent renovation.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:42 amZimzone Says: If you watched Jesse Ventura on Larry King last night, he said the same thing as Unbelievable did above.
If he feels this way too, then I have to wonder why he is skipping out on running for the Senate seat in his state. He probably would have won, since he already knows how Minnesota feels about him. Would have been nice to have had an Atheist voice in there as well.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:45 amunbelievable Says:
Would have been nice to have had an Atheist voice in there as well.
Agreed, & good morning.
I really liked Jesse’s comments on religion. Especially when he stated ‘Bush talks to God’. Not his Father, mind you, but God.
So, if Jesse does decide to run, it will be because God told him to.
He beat Norm Coleman in ‘98 for MN Gov. Few people remember Coleman was a Democrat, but switched Parties because the race looked winnable on the ‘other side’. I would love to see Coleman beat by Ventura again. Coleman has never had a job in the private sector…just like Mccain.
Both waffle and stutter about higher ideals, but the plain fact is they’ve been sucking the government teat their entire lives.
Good luck, Jesse. You’re a character, but not a public leech.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:51 amAn “associate”?
July 15th, 2008 at 11:56 amA groupie is more like it. What an ass-kisser!
Repulic whores? Who’d of thought.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:59 amI am still fascinated by the notion that he thinks regular people “clear brush” as a visceral exercise. The supposedly busiest man on earth spends his leisure time “clearing brush”.
I have yet to meet anyone who would ever choose to spend his or her time clearing brush.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:01 pmI realize this is OT but I am with lefty on this brush thing. I mean how much freakin’ brush can there be. For darn near 8 years I have been waiting for regularly scheduled programming to be interrupted by the breaking news that all the brush has at last been cleared
July 15th, 2008 at 12:04 pmZimzone Says: So, if Jesse does decide to run, it will be because God told him to.
That’s hilarious. Unfortunately, it’s also pretty decisive then. :) Too bad. Washington needs to be shaken up – and he would have done it.
Well, Canada is certainly looking more and more inviting these days…
July 15th, 2008 at 12:04 pmDo not pass go, Do not collect $200.00, Go directly to jail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SXt1HMXuQY
July 15th, 2008 at 12:23 pmOh sh|t, more investigations, trouble’s a-brewin’ for sure.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:37 pmOversight and accountability are juusst around the corner . .
Looked pretty incriminating to the untrained eye. However, the Congress will see it in a way to rationalize that no law was violated.
I’m numb from all the corruption of this WH with no consequence.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pmGreat post. Glad to see Ryan back at TP!
July 15th, 2008 at 10:38 pmFast payday loans really play a significant role in our countries economy. The government has been making fast payday loans, not to consumers who need a boost between paydays, but instead to enormous credit firms that have run their coffers dry. A couple of months ago, mortgage and consumer credit giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were given enormous stimulus packages in order for them to stay afloat in the wake of the recession. The mortgage firms were subject to a hearing by the House Oversight Committee in Washington DC on Tuesday, December 9th, where former executives were grilled by Congress over their corporate strategies that led to the near collapse of their companies. What had been done was that the leadership of those companies had invested in mortgage backing for their cash flow. What this means is that they basically bought other people’s debts, thinking that would mean instant cash flow, especially when they raised the interest rates on the mortgages that they purchased. When the borrowers started defaulting because they had been lent money by irresponsible lenders, the companies that had bought their debt started teetering towards the brink. House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman termed their actions over the last few years irresponsible, especially after senior risk managers had questioned the call to make and invest in such loans. The irresponsibility on the part of these large companies is shocking, but it drives home a universal truth – that responsibility and security in your finances is paramount to maintaining financial health. Budget properly, save money, and don’t put money in anything that looks too good to be true, because it probably is, and if you need a stop gap because a sudden emergency expense has popped your budgeting bubble, you can get payday loans at reasonable rates to keep your head above water until your next payday. Click to read more on Fast Payday Loans.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:55 am