Sorry, Mr. Moran, You're Not Fit For Public Office

The Washington Post ^ | 3/11/03 | Marc Fisher

[M. Thatcher]

Jim Moran is very sorry. The congressman from Northern Virginia is often sorry. He is sorry about the things he says, the money he takes, the people he insults.

On the eve of war, Moran tells an audience: "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should."

It doesn't matter whether you think this war would be right or wrong: What we have here is a United States congressman endorsing and spreading one of the oldest and most pernicious myths in the annals of ethnic hatred: It's those all-powerful Jews.

[friendly]

Moran has a long history of spousal abuse, alcoholism, and violence. He is a thug and ultra-liberal vicious rat.

My favorite example was when he beat up a nine year old black child who had touched his shiney luxury car. He claimed he was defending himself from an attack by this child!

He is corrupt to boot and a bribe taker.

[river rat]

Unfit for Public Service?

Hell, that could be said of MOST Democrats...
I'm serious..

A POX on all their asses.
Semper Fi

[friendly]

Moran is a typical utterly corrupt liberal (From the article): Later that year, Moran was shamed into giving back $25,000 he had borrowed from drug company lobbyist Terry Lierman. Moran signed the note on that loan five days before he signed up to co-sponsor a bill to help Lierman's client extend its monopoly on the allergy drug Claritin. Hey, Moran said, the loan was just a personal favor from an old friend.

Moran has repeatedly taken money from people with whom he does political business -- such as a $447,000 loan from a credit company that was pushing bankruptcy legislation that Moran signed on to support four days after he got the moola.

Moran's history as a brawler goes way back. There was his 1995 shoving match on the House floor with Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), a threat to punch Dan Burton (R-Ind.) in the nose and a nasty confrontation with his wife, who quickly sought a divorce.

Moran has repeatedly sullied his public office with ugly words, shady deals and a volatile temper.

Accept his protestations that he is neither a bigot nor corrupt. Accept his excuses that he lets his mouth get ahead of his brain and that he's terrible with his finances. That would make Jim Moran a man who is chronically unable to control himself.

Always, Moran is sorry; always, he has an excuse.

He is right: He is a sorry excuse for a congressman

[kcvl]

Virginia's bombastic Congressman Jim Moran: "I like to hit people"


August 17, 1999

Neighbors in the prosperous Del Rey residential area of Alexandria weren't surprised earlier this year when police cars showed up at the home of Democratic Congressman James Moran and his wife of 11 years.


It wasn't the first time the cops had shown up.


"There was always a lot of screaming going on there," said one neighbor. "They fought like cats and dogs."


Mary Moran called the Alexandria police that June night and said her husband was attacking her. The police came, talked to both, and left.

No charges were filed.


The next day, Mary Moran filed for divorce, saying - among other things - that the five-term Congressman had abused her.


Moran claimed the charges were "trumped up" and filed a counter suit for divorce the following month.


But the incident is just the latest violent act by the bombastic Virginia congressman who has a history of bar brawls, physical assaults, threats, intimidation and even fistfights on the floor of the House of Representatives.

And he has a history of getting away with it.


Jay Armington remembers his first and only encounter with Moran, then mayor of Alexandria, in a bar near the Potomac River in 1988.


"He and another guy went from arguing to shouting to fists in just a few minutes. One of my buddies pulled the other guy away and I grabbed the mayor," Armington recalls.


Moran, he said, wheeled around and slammed him against the bar.
"His cheeks were bulging and he was snorting like a bull," Armington said. "I realized I was looking into the eyes of a madman."


Arne Wilkens tended bar in Alexandria, where Moran served as mayor of the city from 1985-1990. He says the Mayor often got into fights.


"He was a bully and a thug," Wilkens said. "We'd call the cops, but they wouldn't do anything."


Jonathan Schnapp, a former Alexandria resident, tried to file a criminal complaint with the Alexandria police after the Mayor threatened him following an argument outside a city council meeting. The cops just laughed.


"They said they weren't going to risk their jobs by trying to arrest the Mayor," Schnapp said. Schnapp said he moved out of Alexandria because he felt both the Mayor and the police department were corrupt.


Alexandria police refuse to discuss Moran's tenure as Mayor publicly, but several officers admitted privately that his behavior would have led to the arrest of "ordinary citizens."


"The Mayor was clearly guilty of assault on more than one occasion," said one officer, who refused to be identified out of fear for his job. "But the word came down. The Mayor was off limits. Ordinary citizens go to jail. Not the Mayor."


http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:iOfzj91gfkkC:chblue.com/Aug1999/081799/criminalclass2-081799.htm+Jim+Moran,+corrupt&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[kcvl]

Congressional Accountability Project
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A
Washington, DC 20009
Phone (202) 296-2787 * Fax (202) 833-2406
cap@essential.org * www.essential.org/orgs/CAP/CAP.html




December 6, 2000

Lee J. Radek
Chief
Public Integrity Section
Criminal Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Tenth Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 50530

RE: Request for Investigation of Rep. James Moran and Terry Lierman
Dear Mr. Radek:
This letter constitutes a formal request to the Justice Department to investigate whether:

1. Representative James P. Moran (D-VA) violated federal statutes prohibiting the receipt of illegal gratuities, or solicitation of things of value from favor-seekers, by accepting and/or soliciting a $25,000 unsecured loan, with generous terms, from a registered lobbyist, Terry Lierman.
2. Terry Lierman violated the federal illegal gratuities statute by providing a $25,000 loan to Moran.
On October 31, 2000, The Washington Post reported that Rep. James Moran had received a $25,000 unsecured, low-cost, open-ended loan ("Lierman loan") from Terry Lierman, who, at that time was a registered lobbyist and President of Capitol Associates Inc., a lobbying firm.
The stakes were high. Schering-Plough Corp. had assembled a lobbying team to persuade Congress to help preserve its monopoly on the popular allergy drug Claritin. Furious watchdog groups argued that extending the pharmaceutical giant's patent would cost consumers billions of dollars by delaying access to cheaper generic drugs.
The drug company found an ally in Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.).
On June 30, 1999, Moran signed up to co-sponsor a bill to help Schering-Plough. On July 23, 1999, Moran sent a letter to other New Democrats, seeking their support. About the same time that summer, Moran received some much-needed financial help: an unsecured $ 25,000 loan from Terry Lierman, a lobbyist for Schering-Plough.(1)

According to the Post, the terms of the Lierman loan were generous to Moran, apparently far better than what was available in the commercial loan market through an arm's length transaction.


Yesterday, Lierman faxed to The Washington Post a copy of a one-paragraph promissory note dated June 25, 1999, that said Moran borrowed $ 25,000, with the option to borrow more at the same 8 percent annual interest rate. The promissory note was never publicly recorded, Lierman said.
Bankers, speaking without knowledge of the people involved, described the loan as unusual because it lacks a maturity date and has no provision for repayment of the principal other than to say that Lierman may call in the loan at any time.
"It would be very unlikely that you get those terms at a bank," said Keith Leggett, a senior economist at the American Bankers Association.


It also might have been difficult for Moran to go to a bank, something he said he didn't even consider. The promissory note is dated five days before Moran signed on to the Claritin bill and one day after Moran's wife filed for divorce.


http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:Qas1Bxww1kAC:www.congressproject.org/ethics/moranradek.html+lobbyist+Terry+Lierman,+moran&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[kcvl]

NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY CENTER

"Promoting Ethics in Government"
103 West Broad Street, Suite 620
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-237-1970 Fax 703-237-2090
www.nlpc.org, nlpc@nlpc.org

---

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: David Kendrick
July 26, 2002 703-237-1970 or dkendrick@nlpc.org

FEC to Review Complaint that Favorable
Moran Loan Violated Campiagn Finance Law


Falls Church, VA -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) will review a complaint by an ethics watchdog group that a $447,500 loan to Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) from a major credit card card company violated federal campaign finance law.

The National Legal and Policy Center filed its complaint with the FEC on July 9 following press accounts that Moran had received very favorable loan terms in 1998 from MBNA while he was increasing promoting a bankruptcy bill that was a top priority of the credit card company. In a July 16 letter, the FEC agreed to review the loan.

The complaint points out that Moran was a candidate for Congress at the time of the loan and that federal election law forbids loans to candidates from financial institutions over the contribution limit of $1,000 unless they meet a number of conditions ensuring that the candidate is not receiving special treatment.

Based on a July 7, 2002 Washington Post article, “Credit Firm Gave Moran Favorable Loan: As He Sought Deal, Lawmaker Backed Finance Industry Bill,” the complaint alleges that the loan was the largest mortgage package offered by MBNA to any borrower that year, the interest rate paid was significantly below the usual and customary rate for such loans, Moran’s property was worth less than the appraisal price used in the loan, Moran was allowed to borrow 97.2% of the property’s value despite MBNA’s usual policy of loaning up to 80% of a property’s value, and Moran’s extremely precarious financial condition made it doubtful the loan was made in a way that assured repayment.

NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm stated, “Federal campaign finance law requires that any bank loan to a candidate or committee must bear the bank’s “usual and customary interest rate” and must be made on a basis that “assures repayment.” The Moran loan clearly fails both tests. The fact that Moran was doing very important political favors for the company at the time of the loan certainly makes it look like a corrupt politician selling his influence to get out of financial trouble.”

The National Legal and Policy Center is a nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability through research, education and legal action. In 1993, NLPC successfully sued Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Health Care Task Force for violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

[kcvl]

Moran Says He'll Repay Lobbyist Immediately



Rep. James P. Moran Jr. said yesterday that he will immediately repay the balance of a $25,000 loan he accepted last year from a lobbyist and will return all contributions to his campaign from the pharmaceutical industry.

In a written statement responding to a Washington Post story this week, the Virginia Democrat said he will repay the balance of the loan at a rate of 12.8 percent with money borrowed from his siblings. Moran's campaign spokeswoman said Moran planned to pay $22,439.45 to lobbyist Terry Lierman by late last night.

Lierman, a Democrat, is running against Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.). He is taking an unpaid leave of absence from his work as a lobbyist for the drug industry and other interests.

The terms of the loan required Moran to pay an annual interest rate of 8 percent in semiannual installments. That was below the minimum 12.5 percent rate that experts said banks in the Washington area charged for an unsecured personal loan in June 1999, when Moran borrowed the money.

Moran reiterated yesterday that he thought the loan was appropriate, but said that "recent events have detracted from my ability to communicate with my constituents about the important issues facing Northern Virginia."

A group with conservative ties filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that the loan was an illegal campaign contribution. A lawyer for Moran's campaign said that was "plain wrong."

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that on June 25, 1999, Moran received a $25,000, unsecured, open-ended personal loan from Lierman, who was lobbying at the time for the pharmaceutical company Schering Plough Corp.

The loan came one day after Moran's wife filed for divorce in papers that revealed the dismal state of the couple's finances.

Five days after he got the loan, Moran signed on as a co sponsor of a bill to help Schering Plough extend its lucrative patent on the allergy drug Claritin. On July 23, 1999, Moran wrote a letter to fellow Democrats urging them to support Schering Plough's position. Twenty days later, Federal Election Commission records show, Schering-Plough's political action committee donated $2,000 to Moran's campaign.

Banking experts this week called the terms of the loan unusual.

Lierman and Moran have said that the loan was based on their 26 year friendship and had nothing to do with Moran's position on the Claritin bill.

On Tuesday, Moran released canceled checks showing that he began making regular $500 monthly payments to Lierman beginning last October. They did not show payments in April or May of this year.

"I am blessed with good friends like Terry Lierman and fiercely loyal brothers and sisters," Moran said in yesterday's written statement. "I am grateful to them all for their support."

Moran said that while he plans to return contributions from Schering Plough and other pharmaceutical companies, he continues to support the bill to help the drug maker because "it is the right thing to do." Opponents argue that the bill could cost consumers $7.3 billion over 10 years by delaying access to less expensive generic drugs.

House members are prohibited by law from soliciting a gift "from any person who has an interest before the House." They also are prohibited from accepting gifts "in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act."

A loan may be considered an improper gift unless it is made on "commercially reasonable terms, including requirements for repayment and a reasonable rate of interest," House rules say.

Moran said his staff had orally checked with the House ethics committee to ensure that the loan from his siblings was proper, "as I did in June of 1999 when I received a loan from Mr. Lierman."

Lierman said the loan should never have become an issue.

"Jim's paying it back, and that's his choice, and I'll accept payment," Lierman said. "It's important to note that when this all started, it came at a time of crisis in his life. It was a personal matter between dear friends and this should put it to rest."

Lierman's campaign criticized Morella yesterday for conducting a poll late last month that asked voters if they would back Lierman if they knew that he was "a multimillionaire lobbyist whose clients are major pharmaceutical companies."

Lierman's campaign manager, Derek Walker, said the "negative" poll showed that Morella was "on the ropes."

Morella's campaign manager, P.J. Hogan, said: "That's absurd, it's vice versa. Lierman is the one who has to defend his actions."

[friendly]

Back in 2000, after he grabbed an 8-year-old black boy in an Alexandria parking lot and hauled him off, kicking and screaming, Moran's version was that the manhandling had nothing to do with the boy's race but was only an impulsive reaction to a threat from the boy. The 8-year-old boy.

[kcvl]

A few "highlights" of Congressman Moran's record

• In 1998, Congressman Moran accepted a $447,500 home-refinancing package that consolidated his mounting debt (after having hypocritically railed against others on the House floor who have debt problems) at an unusually low interest rate. At the time, the Congressman was supporting a bill pushed by the loan company.

• In 1999, Congressman accepted an open-ended $25,000 loan at below-market interest rates from lobbyist Terry Lierman. Five days later he became a cosponsor of a bill to help Lierman's company.

• Congressman Moran received contributions from a notorious supporter of terrorism, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, who, at a protest in front of the White House, declared his support for terrorist groups Hamas and Hizbollah. Even after then-candidates George Bush and Hillary Clinton returned his campaign contributions, Moran publicly defended the terrorist supporter. Under pressure, he later agreed to give back the contributions.

• The Congressman also took and initially defended contributions from other supporters of terrorism, several of whom are implicated in the recent raids by the U.S. Customs Service on the Saar Foundation, Safa Trust, and International Institute of Islamic Thought, for funding global terrorism. On October 31, 2002, after this website was launched, he agreed to return these contributions as well.

Moran is also known for other problems, in addition to his ethics:

• In 1995, Congressman Moran threatened to slug another Congressman on the House. Also in 1995, Moran physically assaulted a Congressional colleague as the two were walking out of the House chambers. In 1990, when he first ran for Congress, he threatened to punch his opponent. In a more recent incident, a witness reported seeing the huge Congressman carrying a second-grade child in a choke hold into the center. According to the child's attorney, Moran was using obscenities with the child when he brought him into the center. In another incident, Moran's wife called police to their home after being pushed by her husband.

• Congressman Moran has a long history of being indifferent and, at times, downright hostile, toward America's democratic ally, Israel. In a speech to the American Muslim Council, a group that has supported terrorism against Israel, Congressman Moran made the outrageous statement that "Mr. Sharon is coming to Washington this week... He's probably seeking a warrant from President Bush to kill at will with weapons we have paid for." On several occasions, Congressman Moran has taken to the House floor to deride Israel and even blame the Israeli government for Palestinian acts of terrorism. On other occasions, he blamed his reckless statements on "pandering" and "lack of knowledge" of the Middle East.

[friendly]

It appears you actally detest Moran even more than I do! For years this violent thug, ultra-lberal serial felon has gotten away with everything but murder. The police and the Reno "Justice Department" always refused to investigate his endless corruption.

Moran is of course a close friend of the Clintons.

[kcvl]

Grandstanding.

Congressman Jim Moran (D, VA) went on the Today Show early last week and recounted the harrowing tale of an 8 year old who attempted to carjack his vehicle in front of a recreation center in Northern Virginia.

Moran said that the kiddie, armed with a loaded finger, demanded he get out of the car. Moran grabbed the kid, dragged him into the rec center, and called the cops on the kid.

The Today Show would not have heard about the event unless Moran or someone from his office had called and wanted to use it for another gun control screed. The parents have filed a complaint against Moran for attacking their kid, who they claim only said "Nice car" to Moran, and did not brandish a loaded finger. I am struck by several things in this one:

First, the complete hysteria from Moran, the Today Show, and gun grabbers. Second, when a democrat is involved, whom do you believe ? Given that Moran felt he had to go on national TV to get his side of the story out first, I am really leaning toward believing the kid and his parents over the democrat.

Finally, when a former Marine, a boxer, and a large man who has a history of physical confrontations claims to be threatened by an 8 year old, a whole lot of very red flags jump up instantly.

Limbaugh

[kcvl]

I can't decide who I dislike more, Moran or the Clintons. Some choice these RATS keep electing.

[leadpenny]

You just watch, Moran is gonna get the Lott treatment.

[M. Thatcher]

Looks that way. I am frankly surprised. Hasn't happened before.

[friendly]

Congressman Jim Moran (D, VA) went on the Today Show early last week and recounted the harrowing tale of an 8 year old who attempted to carjack his vehicle in front of a recreation center in Northern Virginia.

Astonishing, but clear evidence of the BIG LIE technique. And don't you love the Today Show as an arena for denouncing the "dangerous" little black child beaten up by this lying psychopath thug? And to attack the Second Amendment as well?

Make no mistake: we are in a civil war with an evil and very dangerous enemy.

[dighton]

"I can drink Teddy Kennedy under the table."

[friendly]

Be sure to click on the photo of Moran for a link. LOL

[Stultis]

You just watch, Moran is gonna get the Lott treatment.

You mean the 'Rats are going to hold a 'Rat morally accountable? I'll believe it when I see it.

Did the Jew-baiting story ever get on the network news? 'Rats don't much care what's in the papers, since the unwashed don't read 'em. Unless this story is put, and kept, before the public via high profile broadcast media, the 'Rats will do nothing.

[leadpenny]

I was trying to be cute with my comment and tag line. There is no way Moran is going to be ripped up like Lott was.