Salon.com > Corruption

Choice nuggets from the New York Times’ huge China story

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:39:00 +0000

China has blocked NYTimes.com following the paper's expose on the nation's ruling elite, which has enriched itself during the Middle Kingdom's prolonged economic boom. Among other revelations, the piece found that family members of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao are making a fortune in lucrative Chinese business deals.

The prime minister's mother made $120 million in just one investment five years ago. His wife, the "Diamond Queen" of China, has amassed great wealth through her diamond and gem businesses. The prime minister denies involvement and appears unhappy with his family's greed, but, as the Times found out, his political position perhaps sowed the seeds for their business ventures.

Here are the four most ground-shaking parts of the article.

Reporter David Barboza shows how Wen's position aided his family members in a country where the line between private and public is increasingly blurred:

As prime minister in an economy that remains heavily state-driven, Mr. Wen, who is best known for his simple ways and common touch, more importantly has broad authority over the major industries where his relatives have made their fortunes. Chinese companies cannot list their shares on a stock exchange without approval from agencies overseen by Mr. Wen, for example. He also has the power to influence investments in strategic sectors like energy and telecommunications."

NYPD block off whole JPMorgan building to arrest three teens

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:24:00 +0000

The entire 60 floors of JPMorgan Chase's downtown New York office building were temporarily blocked off Wednesday so that three high-schoolers could be arrested, according to a news release from anti-corruption activists.

The students were staging a sit-in protest at the bank headquarters, "demanding full disclosure of the bank’s anonymous political expenditures," reported an announcement from 99Rise, the anti-corruption group of which the three young people are members. "The students, who delivered a petition to the bank over three weeks ago articulating their demand, refused to leave the bank’s premises until the requested information was handed over to the public. The bank instead chose to shut down the entire 60 floor building have them arrested," the release read. A live Twitter feed from the group reporting on the small sit-in noted that police set up barricades around the building, closing entrances to the public.

99 Rise describes itself as "a new anti-corruption movement to get Big Money out of American politics." The three students have reportedly been taken to a police station in the Bronx.

Campaign finance reform wins in Montana

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:10:00 +0000

At least for this election cycle, the last shots have been fired in one of the biggest under-the-radar campaign finance battles of the post-Citizens United era -- the fight over Montana’s robust campaign finance regime -- when the Supreme Court decided yesterday to leave the state’s contribution caps in place. Amid a few high-profile victories for interests bent on dismantling campaign finance laws, this is one of a handful of smaller but important wins for reformers.

For decades, Montana has had unusually strong campaign finance regulations, including a low cap on contributions from individuals and political committees ($600 for governor and lieutenant governor, $300 for other statewide offices). But last year, a group of Republican lawyers and businessmen challenged the state’s laws as a violation of free speech, a similar argument to the one used in the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which blew away limits on corporate political giving. They challenged various pieces of Montana’s law, including a ban on corporate contributions, the contribution limits, and political speech disclaimer requirements.This summer, the Supreme Court sided with the conservatives and overturned the ban on corporate donations, saying it didn’t comply with Citizens United.

Tom DeLay to make case to appeals court

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:13:00 +0000

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former U.S. House Majority Leader and GOP heavyweight Tom DeLay is getting ready to make his case to an appeals court that his 2010 conviction for taking part in a scheme to influence Texas elections should be overturned.

Attorneys for DeLay, who once held the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives and the Travis County District Attorney's Office, were set to make oral arguments Wednesday before the 3rd Court of Appeals.

DeLay, 65, was found guilty in November 2010 of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering for helping illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but that was put on hold while his case was appealed.

The former Houston-area congressman has maintained his prosecution was politically motivated by Ronnie Earle, the now-retired Democratic Travis County district attorney in Austin.

Prosecutor Holly Taylor has said politics did not play a role in DeLay's case and his trial was a legitimate prosecution.

Detroit’s former mayor faces corruption trial

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:10:00 +0000

DETROIT (AP) — After a last-ditch effort to move the case out of Detroit failed, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is returning to court for the start of a corruption trial that will last months and could land him in prison for more than 10 years.

Kilpatrick, who was forced out of office in a different scandal in 2008, is accused of collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, kickbacks and other favors. His father, Bernard, is a co-defendant in yet another sordid turn for what once was one of Detroit's most powerful political families.

The 100-page indictment describes Kwame Kilpatrick muscling contractors, rewarding pals and repeatedly reaping illegal benefits — cash, travel, golf, even yoga — while running an ailing city that struggled more than most during the economic downturn.

Opening statements are set for Friday after U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds rejected a request by defense lawyers to move the trial to another city.

"What is extraordinary here is just the volume of evidence, the breadth of the indictment," said David Steingold, a defense attorney not involved in the case. "I can't speak to it, but it looks as though they're just trying to overwhelm Mr. Kilpatrick. They're trying to throw so much mud at him."