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FINGERS CROSSED: Is Congressman Blunt Hoping the Supreme Court Throws Out "Honest Services" Law Used to Convict His Crony Jack Abramoff?
For Immediate Release: December 9, 2009 Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125 FINGERS CROSSED: Is Congressman Blunt Hoping the Supreme Court Throws Out "Honest Services" Law Used to Convict His Crony Jack Abramoff? Blunt and Washington Insider friends keep anxious eyes on Court case that may provide an escape route for their actions Does Congressman Blunt believe Missourians are entitled to Honest Services? Jefferson City, MO – As the Supreme court considers an anticorruption law that makes it a crime for officials to deprive the public of their honest services – representation free of corruption and favor giving – Missourians want to know: does Congressman Blunt think Missourians are entitled to honest services or is he counting on the court providing him an escape route for his ethics violations? The law was used to prosecute convicted felon, Jack Abramoff and the Congressmen he bribed [LA Times, 12/9/09]. Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington’s (CREW) report “Beyond Delay” investigated Blunt’s unethical activities including his connections to Jack Abramoff and a myriad of ‘pay-to-play’ schemes with corporations like Phillip Morris and Federal Express and concluded that: “By using his position as a member of Congress to push for legislation that would financially benefit entities from which Rep. Blunt had received generous campaign contributions, he may be depriving his constituents, the House of Representatives, and the United States of his honest services in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341.” [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 9/29/05] “Congressman Blunt and his fellow Washington insiders like Rep. Tom Delay and convicted felon Jack Abramoff are following this case to see if it will give them a get out of jail free card for their unethical dealings,” said Brian Zuzenak, Executive Director of the Missouri Democratic Party. “Time after time reports have shown that Congressman Blunt was involved in the influence peddling and favor giving that landed convicted felon Jack Abramoff in jail and now Missourians want to know: does Congressman Blunt believe Missourians entitled to honest services?” Congressman Blunt, along with disgraced former Speaker of the House Tom Delay, were at the center of the Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, according to reporting by USA Today, the Kansas City Star, and the Associated Press. [Kansas City Star, 12/16/05; USA Today, 1/11/06; AP, 10/6/05]. The Supreme Court’s ruling may mean that Congressman Blunt and his Washington insider friends will have an escape route to evade the consequences of their unethical, and potentially illegal, money merry go round of influence peddling and favor giving [Roll Call, 12/8/09].
