Republican Corruption

With all of the talk about corruption in the Republican Congress, Mark in Mexico separates myth from reality:

Since the 1970s, more than a dozen congressmen have been convicted in criminal court. Their cases and sentences include:-

- Rep. Andrew J. Hinshaw, R-Cal., spent a year in jail after being convicted in 1976 of accepting bribes when he was county tax assessor. He lost the primary election and resigned at the end of his term.
- Rep. Charles Diggs Jr., D-Mich., was convicted in 1978 of operating a payroll kickback scheme in his congressional office. He served seven months of a three-year prison term. He was re-elected, then resigned in 1980.

- Rep. Michael Myers, D-Pa., served 20 1/2 months of a three-year prison sentence for accepting bribes from FBI agents impersonating Arab businessmen. He was convicted in 1980 and expelled from Congress.

- Frank Thompson, D-NJ, sentenced to 3 years in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal (ABSCAM)

- John Jenrette, D-SC, sentenced to 2 years in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal (ABSCAM)

- John Murphy, D-NY, sentenced to 3 years in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal (ABSCAM)

- Raymond Lederer, D-PA, sentenced to 1 year in the Arab businessmen bribery scandal (ABSCAM)

- Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-NY, was convicted in 1988 of extorting nearly $2 million from defense contractor Wedtech Corp. He resigned from Congress and served two years and two months of an eight-year sentence. He was defeated in his 1992 re-election bid.

- Rep. Mel Reynolds, D-Ill., was sentenced in 1995 to five years in prison for having sex with an underage campaign worker. He resigned from Congress, then was sentenced in 1997 to 6 1/2 years for bank fraud and other violations. The second sentence, which was to run at the same time as the first, was commuted in 2001 by President Clinton.

- Rep. Walter Tucker III, D-Calif., was sentenced in 1996 to two years and three months in prison for accepting and demanding bribes while mayor of a Los Angeles suburb. He resigned from Congress a week after his 1995 conviction.

- Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., pleaded guilty in 1996 to two felony mail fraud charges, lost re-election and served 15 months in prison. Clinton pardoned him in 2000.

- Rep. James A. Trafficant, D-Ohio, was convicted of 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy and racketeering, expelled from Congress and sentenced in 2002 to eight years in prison.

- Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Cal., sentenced to 8 years and four months for taking more than $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for a long list of political favorsHmmm. Maybe the Republican crimes were of a more serious nature?

Total Years Sentenced (all years sentenced including years commuted and pardons granted by President Clinton, D-Ark.) Republicans: 11 yrs, 4 months Democrats: 54 years, 2 months