Melanie Sloan serves as CREW's Executive Director. Before becoming a prosecutor, Ms. Sloan served as Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, working for then-Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI). Ms. Sloan also served as Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee chaired by then-Representative Charles Schumer (D-NY). In 1993, Ms. Sloan served as Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under then-Chairman Joseph Biden (D-DE).
http://www.citizensforethics.org/about/staff
The Washington Post has variously described CREW as a “liberal watchdog group”,[2] “nonprofit watchdog group”,[3] “advocacy group”,[4] and “nonpartisan watchdog group”.[5] Roll Call reported in January 2008 that CREW files most of its complaints against members of Congress, and “all but a handful... have targeted Republicans”.
If the WaPo calls someone or something liberal, you can bet your bottom dollar that’s the case. Same thing they did with Palin.
Oh, and she is also one of the attorneys representing Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame in the suit against former Bush Administration officials in the Plame leak case.
More information on strong leftward tilt of that “watchdog group.”
And to tell the truth....they better come up clean - legally clean.
Apparently, the conservatives don't have the power to call for such investigations of liberal candidates and/or office holders.
And even when they do....and they find at the least "stink" and sometimes more....the perp is given a free bill of health by the msm. Wasn't there just such a case involving the old squeeze box from NY??
This is exactly what they did to Palin early on, attack and investigate her for alleged ethics violations. She is being Palinized, it didn’t work against Palin and it won’t work against ODonnell, she will come out all the stronger because of it.
“Any feedback ?”
Yes. Always use the proper title of the article when posting and include the author in the space provided.
Do not make up your own title.
Thanks
until the GOP plays this same game this crap will happen over and over again....
Bowling outing?? Probably charged the shoe rental to the campaign also.
Nothing more than a diversionary tactic that will go nowhere. The thing is now, she’s got plenty of money to get her message out and fight these smears.
For a race she’s supposed to lose, there’s a lot of fear out there.
Elect her to the Senate and use the Dem Party/Rangel model to investigate.
Talk about it for a few years. Talk about filing complaints for a few years. Investigate for a few years. Negotiate settlement terms for a few years. Play the gender (race) card. Talk about all the things you've done for your constituents, while still running for office.
This is such crap coming from a party who is continually redefining corruption.
Wake me up when someone finds the contract with the devil that O'Donnell signed with her own blood.
This “Watchdog Group” is run by Melanie Sloan, who is quoted in the article. From Wikipedia:
“Sloan received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Chicago[2]
Prior to starting CREW in 2003, Sloan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia where, from 1998-2003, she successfully tried cases before dozens of judges and juries. Before becoming a prosecutor, Sloan served as Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, working on criminal justice issues for then-Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI). Sloan also served as Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by then-Representative Charles Schumer (D-NY). There, she drafted portions of the 1994 Crime Bill, including the Violence Against Women Act. In 1993, Sloan served as Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under then-Chairman Joseph Biden (D-DE).[3]
Sloan has published in the Yale Law and Policy Review, and numerous other publications.[4]
Sloan serves as legal counsel for former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson and his wife, retired CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson[20], whose then-classified covert identity was disclosed, leading to the CIA leak grand jury investigation and the trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby in United States v. Libby (see Plame affair). Sloan is one of the attorneys representing the Wilsons in their civil lawsuit against former and current officials of the George W. Bush administration (Plame v. Cheney).
Agreeing with the Bush administration, the Obama Justice Department has argued the Wilsons have no legitimate grounds to sue.[21] On the current justice department position, Sloan, stated: “We are deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the grievous harm top Bush White House officials inflicted on Joe and Valerie Wilson. The government’s position cannot be reconciled with President Obama’s oft-stated commitment to once again make government officials accountable for their actions.”[21]
When Sloan was a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews in December 2006, she spoke openly about many details in the Libby trial. Following her appearance on the show, she drew a strong warning from Judge Reggie Walton. Walton admonished Sloan and stated that “the Court would not tolerate this case being tried in the media.”[22]”
Just CNN repeating smears as headlines.
What - she went bowling?
In the article - they claim “in 2009, she wasn’t running for anything!” with quite a huff. Read to the bottom - “she has run for the senate 3 times in last 5 years” what are they looking for - the 24 hours she wasn’t running?
CNN position is this - “Government steals trillions from US taxpayer - not news. Republican upstart mischarges $20 of gas money - national news”.
Too bad neither the left nor CNN have any credibility.
Whatever her virtues and vices this ‘Gal’ really set off a blast. That is the most interesting feature arising out of her election. I think the response to this lady does reveal a self proclaimed “elite” that exists irrespective of political party.
I’m not sure how they can prove things like personal rent came from campaign funds unless she wrote it on a campaign account check. More likely than not, they are making assumptions. The bowling outing and expenses on gas could be considered campaign expenses depending on the details behind it. Even part of rent could be if she used her home as a campaign office, but it would have to be expensed on the back end; that could simply be a bookkeeping error on her part.
Viral smears, paid commenters and controlling the top 1 percent of the blogsphere is not enough...
Delaware GOP Senate primary victor Christine O’Donnell has been accused of
“living on campaign donations—using them for rent and personal expenses.” This might sound illegal but it’s not necessarily.
But the regulations explicitly allow candidates to pay themselves a salary (as long as it doesn’t exceed what they made “as earned income in the previous year”). ...
P.S. check out her new website that gives the answers and DOCUMENTATION to the questions.
“By 2003, John Podesta’s Center for American Progress was preparing a daily news summary promoting the organization’s left-leaning agenda. Every morning, officials from the center would apprise Sakol of their daily message. With the help of outside advisers and Daschle’s aides, she would then prepare the rapid-response message of the day for Senate Democrats. Sakol found it odd— “almost backwards”—that outsiders, many of whom were loyal Clintonites, were quietly framing the messages on issues for all the Democrats in the Senate. Hillary had no such reservations, for obvious reasons.
Concurrently, and on her own time, Sakol was involved in discussions about the formation of another nonprofit, left-leaning group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which focused on government corruption. It was Hillary’s “proactive” efforts in this area and her desire to “beat the GOP at their own game” that prompted CREW’s founder, Melanie Sloan, a former prosecutor, to invite Sakol to the initial brainstorming sessions in 2003 where CREW was born. CREW was organized as a tax-exempt nonpartisan group, and on occasion, it has taken on Democratic targets. But since the Congress and the executive branch were in Republican hands at the time of its founding, its investigations were bound to focus on Republicans.
Sakol alerted Hillary and her staff about the newly forming group and its need for “Democratic progressive money.” The hope was that CREW would prove to be a perfect counterbalance to Judicial Watch, the corruption watchdog that had tormented the Clintons with lawsuits and press conferences throughout the 1990s. Hillary’s pollster and strategist Mark Penn became a director and vice president of CREW. “CREW could do things the senators couldn’t do,” Sakol said. And once CREW’s charges “were out in the press,” Sakol noted, other people could cite the findings of the group, which was usually portrayed as nonpartisan in news accounts. CREW played a significant role in unearthing several congressional scandals, including helping a retiring Democratic congressman from Texas to file a complaint against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.”
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/her-way-on-hillary-crew-and-media-matters
Muckety is your friend. Podesta showed up........
She's 41, single and cute as a button.