Thomas Veil
Nov 7, 2006, 12:53 AM
FBI steps up probes of politicians, might run sting
By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers
Published November 6, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The new chief of the FBI's criminal division, which is swamped with public corruption cases, says the bureau is ramping up its ability to catch crooked politicians and might run an undercover sting on Congress.
FBI Assistant Director James Burrus called the bureau's public corruption program "a sleeping giant that we've awoken" and predicted the nation will see continued emphasis in that area "for many, many, many years to come."
So much evidence of wrongdoing is surfacing in the nation's capital that Burrus recently committed to adding a fourth 15- to 20-member public corruption squad to the FBI's Washington field office.
In the past year, former Republican Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and Bob Ney of Ohio have pleaded guilty to corruption charges. FBI agents are investigating about a dozen other members of Congress, including as many as three senators. The Justice Department also is expected to begin seeking indictments soon after an FBI investigation of the Alaska Legislature.
If conditions warrant, Burrus said, he wouldn't balk at urging an undercover sting like the famed Abscam operation in the late 1970s in which a U.S. senator and six House members agreed on camera to take bribes from FBI agents posing as Arab sheiks.
"We look for those opportunities a lot," Burrus said, using words rarely heard at the bureau over the last quarter century. "I would do it on Capitol Hill. I would do it in any state legislature. If we could do an undercover operation, and it would get me better evidence, I'd do it in a second."
Philip Heymann, who oversaw the Abscam investigation as chief of the Justice Department's Criminal Division during the Carter administration, expressed surprise at the FBI's willingness to attempt another congressional sting after the outcry from Capitol Hill over Abscam.
"It shows courage at the FBI," said Heymann, now a criminal law professor at Harvard University. He said he concluded, after watching a recent public television documentary and listening to experts, that a single FBI sting "might result in very large numbers of prosecutions."
But even without an undercover operation, Heymann and other observers say they have been pleased with the GOP-controlled Justice Department's willingness to pursue old-fashioned investigations, even if they hurt congressional Republicans in Tuesday's elections.
Nationally over the last year, 600 agents worked 2,200 public corruption cases, resulting in 650 arrests, 1,000 indictments and 800 convictions, Burrus said.
"Operation Rainmaker," the FBI's broad investigation of a Washington lobbying ring, already has led to a handful of convictions, including Ney's guilty plea last month. The inquiry was one reason for the resignation last year of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who also faces state campaign finance charges.
The FBI also appears to be stepping up its use of electronic surveillance and has conducted stings of state politicians. Agents secretly taped Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) before finding $90,000 in his freezer during a raid last May. Cell phones were wiretapped for four months in an investigation of Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), government sources say. Neither man has been charged with a crime.
In "Operation Tennessee Waltz," 10 Tennessee state officials, including five current and former legislators, have been prosecuted in a scheme in which hidden cameras whirred as FBI undercover agents offered payoffs in return for help for a dummy company. Burrus said some targeted Tennessee legislators were moving so quickly that "we were actually having to discuss how we were going to slow it down" so that bills aiding the phony firm didn't become law.Trib (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611060217nov06,1,7622835.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed)
Isn't that sad -- by which I mean, absolutely pathetic -- that we need for something like this to be done?
I applaud Burrus' efforts (and wonder how long he'll keep his job). OTOH, if he's thinking about running a sting, why notify the intended marks ahead of time?
Gonna get interesting if this actually happens. Probably gonna catch more Republicans than Democrats, too, simply because corruption seems to be more "acceptable" on their side of the aisle...but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they nail some Dems too.
By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers
Published November 6, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The new chief of the FBI's criminal division, which is swamped with public corruption cases, says the bureau is ramping up its ability to catch crooked politicians and might run an undercover sting on Congress.
FBI Assistant Director James Burrus called the bureau's public corruption program "a sleeping giant that we've awoken" and predicted the nation will see continued emphasis in that area "for many, many, many years to come."
So much evidence of wrongdoing is surfacing in the nation's capital that Burrus recently committed to adding a fourth 15- to 20-member public corruption squad to the FBI's Washington field office.
In the past year, former Republican Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and Bob Ney of Ohio have pleaded guilty to corruption charges. FBI agents are investigating about a dozen other members of Congress, including as many as three senators. The Justice Department also is expected to begin seeking indictments soon after an FBI investigation of the Alaska Legislature.
If conditions warrant, Burrus said, he wouldn't balk at urging an undercover sting like the famed Abscam operation in the late 1970s in which a U.S. senator and six House members agreed on camera to take bribes from FBI agents posing as Arab sheiks.
"We look for those opportunities a lot," Burrus said, using words rarely heard at the bureau over the last quarter century. "I would do it on Capitol Hill. I would do it in any state legislature. If we could do an undercover operation, and it would get me better evidence, I'd do it in a second."
Philip Heymann, who oversaw the Abscam investigation as chief of the Justice Department's Criminal Division during the Carter administration, expressed surprise at the FBI's willingness to attempt another congressional sting after the outcry from Capitol Hill over Abscam.
"It shows courage at the FBI," said Heymann, now a criminal law professor at Harvard University. He said he concluded, after watching a recent public television documentary and listening to experts, that a single FBI sting "might result in very large numbers of prosecutions."
But even without an undercover operation, Heymann and other observers say they have been pleased with the GOP-controlled Justice Department's willingness to pursue old-fashioned investigations, even if they hurt congressional Republicans in Tuesday's elections.
Nationally over the last year, 600 agents worked 2,200 public corruption cases, resulting in 650 arrests, 1,000 indictments and 800 convictions, Burrus said.
"Operation Rainmaker," the FBI's broad investigation of a Washington lobbying ring, already has led to a handful of convictions, including Ney's guilty plea last month. The inquiry was one reason for the resignation last year of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who also faces state campaign finance charges.
The FBI also appears to be stepping up its use of electronic surveillance and has conducted stings of state politicians. Agents secretly taped Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) before finding $90,000 in his freezer during a raid last May. Cell phones were wiretapped for four months in an investigation of Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), government sources say. Neither man has been charged with a crime.
In "Operation Tennessee Waltz," 10 Tennessee state officials, including five current and former legislators, have been prosecuted in a scheme in which hidden cameras whirred as FBI undercover agents offered payoffs in return for help for a dummy company. Burrus said some targeted Tennessee legislators were moving so quickly that "we were actually having to discuss how we were going to slow it down" so that bills aiding the phony firm didn't become law.Trib (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611060217nov06,1,7622835.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed)
Isn't that sad -- by which I mean, absolutely pathetic -- that we need for something like this to be done?
I applaud Burrus' efforts (and wonder how long he'll keep his job). OTOH, if he's thinking about running a sting, why notify the intended marks ahead of time?
Gonna get interesting if this actually happens. Probably gonna catch more Republicans than Democrats, too, simply because corruption seems to be more "acceptable" on their side of the aisle...but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they nail some Dems too.
