Tuesday, February 28, 2017

PizzaGate Just Got Even WEIRDER

The New Main Stream Media: Dennis Hastert a Democrat part of Fake News Pizzag...

The New Main Stream Media: Dennis Hastert a Democrat part of Fake News Pizzag...: Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months, and Apologizes for Sex Abuse By MONICA DAVEY , JULIE BOSMAN and MITCH SMITH APRIL 27, 2...

Dennis Hastert a Democrat part of Fake News Pizzagate.

Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months, and Apologizes for Sex Abuse

By MONICA DAVEY, JULIE BOSMAN and MITCH SMITHAPRIL 27, 2016

CHICAGO — J. Dennis Hastert, once among the nation’s most powerful politicians, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in prison for illegally structuring bank transactions in an effort to cover up his sexual abuse of young members of a wrestling team he coached decades ago.

In a hearing that was by turns harrowing and revelatory, Mr. Hastert publicly admitted for the first time to abusing his athletes, was confronted in emotional addresses by one of the former wrestlers and the sister of another, and faced a long, scathing rebuke from the judge.

Mr. Hastert, 74, who made an unlikely rise from beloved small-town wrestling coach in Illinois to speaker of the House in Washington, sat slouched in a wheelchair in a federal courtroom here as a judge announced that he was rejecting pleas for probation from Mr. Hastert’s lawyers, as well as prosecutors’ endorsement of a shorter prison stay.

While the sentencing hearing was, technically, about a violation of banking rules and regulations, the proceedings focused squarely on the underlying reason for Mr. Hastert’s puzzling bank withdrawals — his abuse of young wrestlers who had viewed him as a role model.

“The defendant is a serial child molester,” said Judge Thomas M. Durkin of Federal District Court, as Mr. Hastert sat impassively, often staring downward, hands crossed on his lap. He added, “Some actions can obliterate a lifetime of good works. Nothing is more stunning than having ‘serial child molester’ and ‘speaker of the House’ in the same sentence.”

Mr. Hastert was not charged with sexual abuse because statutes of limitation for acts in the 1960s and ’70s have run out; the judge noted pointedly that punishment for such a conviction would have been far worse.

Illegally structuring bank transactions to keep such abuse secret — the felony count to which Mr. Hastert pleaded guilty — carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Mr. Hastert, whose date to report to prison has yet to be set, was ordered to pay $250,000 in fines, never to contact his victims and to receive sex-offender treatment.

“If there’s a public shaming of the defendant because of the conduct he’s engaged in, so be it,” Judge Durkin said.

Mr. Hastert has had a series of illnesses since last year, including a stroke, a blood stream infection and a spinal infection — factors his lawyers and family members argued should be taken into account in the sentencing. They urged the judge to consider the entire arc of his life and career, including his years of public service.

As Mr. Hastert prepared to address the judge, he used a walker to rise to his feet, but his voice was firm and clear.

“The thing I want to do today is say I’m sorry to those I hurt and misled,” said Mr. Hastert, whose grown sons were in the courtroom. “I want to apologize to the boys I mistreated when I was their coach. What I did was wrong and I regret it.”

Mr. Hastert’s remarks followed a tearful, halting statement from one of his victims, Scott Cross, a former wrestler, who had never before spoken publicly about his abuse and who said that he had not even been sure whether he could bring himself to make his statement now.

“As a high school wrestler I looked up to Coach Hastert — he was a key figure in my life,” said Mr. Cross, now 53 and a businessman who works in financial services in the Chicago area.

From a podium just feet from Mr. Hastert’s wheelchair, Mr. Cross recalled abuse that occurred on a locker room training table when he was 17. “I felt intense pain, shame and guilt,” he said.

He said that he had gone years without speaking of what had happened, even to his parents and closest friends.

“I’ve always felt that what Coach Hastert had done to me was my darkest secret,” Mr. Cross said.

The revelation that Mr. Cross was among Mr. Hastert’s victims caused a ripple through Illinois’s Republican Party, where Mr. Hastert had gotten his political start and had been a political mentor to Mr. Cross’s brother, Tom Cross, a former state House Republican leader. Judge Durkin noted that Mr. Hastert had recently unsuccessfully sought a letter of support from Tom Cross.

Judge Durkin is the brother of another prominent lawmaker here, Jim Durkin, the Republican leader in the state House, and the judge had offered last year to recuse himself in the case.

The sister of another victim, Stephen Reinboldt, spoke directly to Mr. Hastert, describing lonely, isolated years Mr. Reinboldt spent after repeated abuse by Mr. Hastert in high school until his death of AIDS in 1995.

“You took his life, Mr. Hastert,” Jolene Burdge, the sister, said. “Not because he died of AIDS, but because you took his innocence and turned it against him.”

At one point, the judge stared down at Mr. Hastert from the bench, and questioned him about the victims, one by one.

“You said you mistreated athletes. Did you sexually abuse Mr. Cross?” he asked.

“I don’t remember doing that, but I accept his statement,” Mr. Hastert replied.

“Did you sexually abuse Victim B?” Judge Durkin asked, referring to one of at least two other former wrestlers whose names have not been made public.

Mr. Hastert paused. “Yes,” he said.

“How about Mr. Reinboldt – did you sexually abuse him?” Judge Durkin asked.

Mr. Hastert said that was “a different situation,” but eventually acknowledged the abuse.

Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago who has handled corruption cases including that of former Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, said that it was unusual for a judge to veer so far from the sentencing guidelines, which recommended no prison time or up to six months.

“It’s extraordinary that the case was on its face a cut-and-dry financial structuring case with the conduct acknowledged, but the sentencing was about everything, essentially, but the structuring,” Mr. Collins said.

Mr. Hastert’s fall from genial retired House speaker and hometown celebrity was sudden and steep. For decades, both in Washington and in Yorkville, on the edge of Chicago’s western suburbs, where Mr. Hastert had coached the local high school wrestling team to state championship, he had a reputation for appearing down-to-earth and steady.

Mr. Hastert, who had served in the Illinois legislature and was then elected to Congress, found himself catapulted to speaker in 1999, in part because he seemed to be a safe, agreeable option. After leaving Congress, he went on to become a lobbyist.

He was charged last May with lying to the F.B.I. and making cash withdrawals in a way devised to hide the fact that he was paying $3.5 million to a former wrestler for misconduct.

The wrestler, whose name has not been revealed and who is identified in documents only as Individual A, told of abuse in a motel room during a wrestling camp trip when he was 14.

After the payments began, around 2010, the federal authorities took notice of large, unexplained withdrawals Mr. Hastert was making from his bank. When told that large withdrawals had to be reported, Mr. Hastert began drawing smaller sums, prosecutors say, to avoid notice.

The wrestler sued Mr. Hastert this week, saying he still owed him $1.8 million of their agreed-to settlement.

Before the hearing, a long list of supporters — from Mr. Hastert’s wife, Jean, to Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader — had sent letters to Judge Durkin. “He doesn’t deserve what he is going through,” Mr. DeLay wrote.

But for nearly 45 minutes on Wednesday, Judge Durkin held forth in a passionate, often contemptuous tone, with little interruption.

He said that Mr. Hastert had “manipulated” the F.B.I. and the United States attorney’s office, diverted their investigation and knowingly tried to “set up” Individual A, actions that were “intentional, thought out and desperate.”

The judge spoke broadly about child sexual abuse and the lifelong damage it inflicts. “Can you imagine the whispers, the finger-pointing, the sideways glances if you’re a 14-year-old boy and you accuse the town hero of molesting you?” he said.

He dismissed the defense’s arguments that Mr. Hastert was too old, frail or ill to be properly taken care of in a federal prison.

And he ended with a blunt synopsis. “This is a horrible case — a horrible set of circumstances, horrible for the defendant, horrible for the victims, horrible for our country,” he said. “I hope I never have to see a case like this again. Court adjourned.”

Sunday, February 26, 2017

BREAKING: Trump Just Made Sure Hillary Clinton WILL Go To Jail

Hillary Clinton's Superdelegate Corrien Brown Sentenced To 357 Years In ...

Jason Chaffetz: Secret Service Agents Fired After Crashing Into Bomb Scene

OMG! This SICK Obama Footage Just Leaked & Exposes Who He REALLY is

OBAMA IN 2006: “WE ARE A GENEROUS AND WELCOMING PEOPLE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES BUT THOSE WHO ENTER THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY AND THOSE WHO EMPLOY THEM DISRESPECT THE RULE OF LAW AND THEY ARE SHOWING DISREGARD FOR THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWING THE LAW. WE SIMPLY CANNOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO POUR INTO THE UNITED STATES UNDETECTED, UNDOCUMENTED, UNCHECKED, AND CIRCUMVENTING THE LINE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE WAITING PATIENTLY, DILIGENTLY, AND LAWFULLY TO BECOME IMMIGRANTS”

The New Main Stream Media: Hillary Clinton's 2 super delegates arrested or in...

The New Main Stream Media: Hillary Clinton's 2 super delegates arrested or in...: Former Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah born Arthur Davenport ; November 21, 1956 sentenced to decade in prison By De...

Hillary Clinton's 2 super delegates arrested or indicted on corruption charges, More to come

Former Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah born Arthur Davenport; November 21, 1956 sentenced to decade in prison

By Deena Zaru, CNN

Updated 8:50 AM ET, Tue December 13, 2016

Washington (CNN)Former Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced to ten years in federal prison Monday after a judge found him guilty on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
Fattah was found guilty of misspending government funds and charity money to fund his campaign and cover his personal expenses, while he and his wife Renee Chenault-Fattah, a former TV anchor, earned more than $500,000 a year.
The former congressman is expected to appeal the conviction, which he had said was politically motivated. While his sentence is shorter than the 17 to 21 years recommended by prosecutors, it is one of the longest prison sentences that any member of Congress has ever received.
The charges stem from a $1 million illegal loan that Fattah took from a wealthy friend to fund his ailing 2007 campaign for Philadelphia mayor and repaid a portion of it with government funds and money given to an education charity that was run by his staffers.
Fattah called his conviction "the most disappointing event" of his life, according to The Philly Voice and urged the judge to have leniency on others involved.
"I have regrets for the decisions that I've made," Fattah said Monday. "My words of regret are as real as my words of gratefulness."
Fattah resigned from Congress back in June after he was convicted on 23 federal corruption charges.
The Democrat has served in Congress since 1995, where he represented Pennsylvania's 2nd district.

Former Clinton Superdelegate Chaka Fattah Begins 10-Year Prison Sentence

Fattah, four associates were found guilty on 29 corruption charges

Y: Joe Schoffstall
January 25, 2017 2:51 pm

Former Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), who was a superdelegate for failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has reported to prison to begin his 10-year sentence stemming from numerous corruption charges.

Fattah reported Wednesday to the Federal Correctional Institution-McKean in western Pennsylvania near the New York border, CBS Philly reported.

In June 2016, Fattah and four associates were convicted on 29 corruption charges after misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars from federal, campaign, and charitable sources.

The Department of Justice said Fattah had taken an illegal $1 million loan from his failed Philadelphia mayoral bid in 2007 and concealed it as a loan to a consulting company that he owned.

Fattah used a scheme to repay the loan through grants and charitable funds from his nonprofit, the Educational Advancement Alliance, and passed it through two other companies. Sham contracts were created to disguise the contributions and repayments. False entries were made into campaign finance disclosures, accounting records, and tax returns to pull off the operation.

Indicted Hillary Clinton superdelegate used charity as ‘slush fund’

JULY 8, 2016

BY VICTOR SKINNER

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, a Democratic superdelegate and member of Hillary Clinton’s “Florida Leadership Council,” was indicted on corruption charges this week and arraigned in federal court this afternoon.

Two unnamed sources familiar with the case told the Orlando Sentinel that the Jacksonville politician is tied to an unregistered charity called One Door for Education Inc. that’s under investigation by the Department of Justice. The indictment was initially sealed, but was opened Friday morning, WJXT reports.

The investigation stems from a House Committee on Ethics investigation into Brown’s involvement with the charity shortly after One Door’s director pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to work with prosecutors in March.

From The Sentinel:

Prosecutors say One Door’s director, Carla Wiley, presented her organization as an education charity starting in 2011 but never obtained tax-exempt status or filed state or federal tax returns, even as it solicited about $800,000 in donations.

Between 2012 and 2016, as Wiley withdrew or transferred to her own accounts more than $140,000, the group issued just one scholarship for about $1,000, authorities said.

While documents in Wiley’s case didn’t mention Brown by name, prosecutors alleged that $150,000 in charity funds had been used for events hosted by or in the honor of an unnamed public official, dubbed “Person A.”

Several details in Wiley’s plea suggested Person A is Brown.

For example, prosecutors said Person A hosted a July 2013 golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass to benefit One Door. Records show Brown hosted a tournament for the group’s benefit that month at the same Jacksonville-area golf course.

The Tampa Bay Times in February listed Brown among Florida’s Democratic superdelegates and Clinton’s “Florida Leadership Council.”

News 4 details the charges:

Brown … (was) charged in a 24-count indictment with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction of the due administration of the internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns.

Brown blew kisses to her supporters as she strutted into a district court and professed her innocence Friday. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Klindt insisted that all 24 counts against Brown were read out loud, during which Brown appeared to shed tears. The lawmaker faces up to 357 years in prison and a $4.8 million fine if convicted. Her chief of staff, 50-year-old Elias Simmons, faces similar charges with a potential sentence of 355 years in prison and a $4.75 million fine.

Klindt set a trial date for Sept. 6, WJXT reports.

Brown is currently running for reelection in a newly configured district that runs from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and faces two challengers in the state’s Aug. 30 Democratic primary: LaShonda Holloway and Al Lawson.

The winner will take on Republican Glo Smith in November, according to the Sentinel.

A June poll found Brown with a three percentage point lead over Lawson in the primary, the Florida Times-Union reports.

In March, Brown held a press conference to announce she’s “clean” of illegal activity, but did not respond to requests for comment about the indictment Thursday. Brown’s grand jury indictment is sealed, and her attorney refused to discuss the case with First Coast News, but documents in the guilty plea of One Door director Carla Wiley shows “Person A” benefitted personally from their arrangement with the alleged charity.

“The documents described ‘Person A’ as a public official who was often used in promotional materials for the group. Brown’s photo appeared on the website for the group before it was taken down,” according to the news site.

The Times-Union reports that One Door was run out of a single-family home “in an affluent suburb 40 miles northwest of Washington” and solicited donations from political action committees, lobbyists, and foundations with ties to Brown.

“Brown also sought donations for One Door as part of a 2013 golf tournament where sponsorship levels reached as high as $20,000, though it’s unclear how successful Brown’s fundraising push was. Invitations — which included One Door letterhead, the U.S. House of Representatives seal and Brown’s signature — were sent to her supporters and city officials,” according to the news site.

WJXT provided other details from the unsealed indictment on Friday.

“Prosecutors claim Brown, Simmons and One Door’s president, Carla Wiley, used money donated to the charity to buy plane tickets, repair their personal cars and to pay for luxury vacations in the Bahamas, Los Angeles and Miami Beach. The indictment said more than $200,000 from the charity was used to pay for Brown to host a golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, to pay for lavish receptions, a luxury box at a Beyonce concert and a box during when the Jacksonville Jaguars played the Washington Redskins,” according to the news site.

“The tax fraud charges against Brown date back to 2008.”

“Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the Congresswoman’s official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. “Corruption erodes the public’s trust in our entire system of representative government. One of the department’s most important responsibilities is to root out corruption at all levels of government and to bring wrongdoers to justice.”

Florida Congresswoman Indicted in Alleged Fraud Scheme

Rep. Corrine Brown allegedly solicited donations for an education charity, but used the organization as a slush fund.

By Lauren Camera | Education Reporter July 8, 2016, at 2:22 p.m.

Rep. Corrine Brown, a Florida Democrat, and her chief of staff have been indicted for their alleged roles in a scheme involving a fraudulent education charity.

Officials say the pair used Brown's official position to solicit more than $800,000 in donations to the education charity One Door for Education Foundation Inc., then used the organization as a slush fund.

"Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public's trust," said Michelle Klimt, special agent in charge of the FBI's Jacksonville Division. "It is incredibly disappointing that an elected official, who took an oath year after year to serve others, would exploit the needs of children and abuse the charitable hearts of constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas and deliver them with virtually nothing."

The 24-count indictment covers multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, concealing facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property and filing false tax returns, according to the Justice Department.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown and her chief of staff, Elias "Ronnie" Simmons, solicited donations for One Door that purportedly would be used for things like college scholarships and school computer drives.

But Brown, Simmons and Carla Wiley, the president of One Door, allegedly used tens of thousands of dollars from the donations for themselves, with One Door funds allegedly being used to pay for conference receptions and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game, among other things.

Only two One Door-associated scholarships totaling $1,200 allegedly were awarded to students to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.