Wednesday, May 24, 2006

FBI Fibs to Portland Mayor Potter Declaring: "There's no corruption in Portland."

Potter: "Unacceptable" for FBI to try to an establish informant inside City Hall. Ken Lay, Congressmen William Jefferson and Randy "Duke" Cunningham agree.

Portland Mayor, Prince Tom Potter, has accused the local office of the FBI of trying to set up a snitch at City Hall. In an open letter to the "Portland Community", Potter relates the story about the Federal Agent who approached a City Hall worker on the public street:

He asked if she would be willing to pass information to him relating to people who work for the City of Portland . He said that while he had duties in other areas, the agency was always interested in information relating to white collar crime and other things.
One important and legitimate role of the FBI is to investigate public corruption within government entities. For example, recently the FBI arrested a member of Congress for public corruption.
But federal officials have told me they know of no public corruption in our city. Federal officials say they are conducting no investigation of the City of Portland.

Potter then goes on to explain that recent [LEGAL] wiretaps of Al Qaeda connected individuals has tainted the FBI and added fuel to the 'big brother' fires burning on the fringe left.

So here's the apparent logic: Because the FBI has conducted perfectly legal wiretaps of al qaeda types there's no corruption at Portland's City Hall.

20 comments:

Lew said...

I just love transparency in government. Potter panics because an FBI agent had lunch with a City hall employee and Democrats and Republicans are up in arms because Congressman Jeffersons office was legally searched with a search warrant signed by a judge.

Local FBI agents say they are not investigating Potters office but he feels the need to have his office scanned for bugs.

Makes me wonder what he might be afraid they would find.

Khaldun said...

Yikes, what happened to the public education post?..some great discussion was under way...ahh well.

Lew, how do you conclude that the FBI agent was just meeting someone for lunch?

Victoria Taft said...

I'll bring it back if you want. Former civil rights activist now stumps for school choice. Yes, I can see its appeal.

Khaldun said...

Your call, It was a good discussion.

Kodiak said...

suomynona,

Quick send a tin hat to mayor (moonbeam) potter.

BEAR said...

I want to see the guards and police outside of city hall strip-searching anyone who expresses a desire for clean government. I heard that too many drugs makes one paranoid.....that true, tommy-boy?

Fizziwigg said...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from senior U.S. law enforcement officials.

The FBI is everywhere

Klatu said...

All Politicians are Honest--there's no corruption anywhere.
And if you believe what I just
wrote I'll sell you a Communist Nation 100 miles or so south of Florida.

Ps Victoria: Yea the DEMOCRAT INDOCTRINATION EDUCATION post was getting good. "SUSAN CASTILLO" was feeding 'BACKWARDS_ _ _ _ _ _ , and friends, all kinds of Propaganda to POST. Some of it was a good laugh.

BEAR said...

Let's see.....a "something other than normal" lawyer from Stoel, Rives helps D. Linn try to hijack the Oregon CONSTITUTION....no corruption there....and we must believe potter's folks are clean.....anyone remember an ex-employee of Vera's who is now a convicted terrorist? Whoa, can't happen here.....Bwaaahaha!

Lew said...

Fizzi, the report of Hastert being under investigation turns out to be false.

ABC News

Backwards, earlier this morning another radio station was reporting the meeting as a casual meeting, as if over lunch.

With so many actual reports and investigations going on and much corruption being discovered in both parties at all levels of government, I would think Emperor Potter would welcome his administration being looked at and found clean.

Personally, I don't care what party one may belong to, if they are dirty, I want them gone and prosecuted. I'd just like to see it done fair and across the board with neither side being able to cover up.

Khaldun said...

Backwards, earlier this morning another radio station was reporting the meeting as a casual meeting, as if over lunch.

Thanks.

Personally, I don't care what party one may belong to, if they are dirty, I want them gone and prosecuted. I'd just like to see it done fair and across the board with neither side being able to cover up.

I couldn't agree more. Lew your next brew's on me (or arnold palmer, whatever your style).

westsidedavid said...

Part of the reason for Potter's statement may turn on a very narrow definition of corruption. Diane Lynn was a fool in office, but if corruption is defined narrowly as taking bribes or such classically venal matters as that, then she may not have been corrupt -- just incorrigibly inept. Further, the FBI is under certain jurisdictional restraints. It is a federal agency, charged with the enforcement of federal laws, but it does not have a commission to wander about freely looking for trouble.

Finally, klatu, I for one have never believed that all politicians are honest, and I think it requires astounding naivete to believe such a statement. But it requires comparable cynicism to go to the other extreme, saying that all politicians are corrupt and that they never act in anything that could be construed as the public interest. The truth is somewhere between these extremes. I also do not believe truth or honesty are the exclusive property of either of the major political parties (or any of the minor ones).

Victoria Taft said...

Diane Linn:
Holding a secret meeting in which one member was not invited to map strategy on gay marriage. Basic Rights Oregon WAS invited to the meeting. Working with the county counsel and an outside attorney to cobble together some supposedly reasonable sounding opinion to circumvent the courts and read 'gay marriage' into the state constitution.
Diane Linn may be many things but she was conversant on the issue of open meetings law. She ignored it as did the other members who participated in and conspired to create the meeting and the outcome based agenda.
Diane Linn pressuring the county budget officer to make the numbers look more palatable. Ken Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow were convicted for making some of those same moves. Cooking the books for the shareholders isn't as bad as cooking them for the taxpayers. The budget guy by the way is 'retiring.' Early. With a $140K golden parachute.

Victoria Taft said...

PS Sorry about taking out the public education thread. Truth be told, it was just an announcement of the guy coming to town and I didn't see there were dozens of comments. GAds. Sorry guys.

Kodiak said...

Relax everyone mayor moonbeam has everything under control. There is no corruption here, now go and lay down next to your bowls.

Khaldun said...

PS Sorry about taking out the public education thread. Truth be told, it was just an announcement of the guy coming to town and I didn't see there were dozens of comments. GAds. Sorry guys.

It reminded me of the days when you had open threads. You should bring those back. ;)

westsidedavid said...

Ms Taft:
Your comparison of Diane Linn's actions to those of Skilling and Lay are hyperbolic to the point of being offensive. Linn abused her office, but can you point to even one individual who suffered crushing financial ruin as a direct result. In the case of the Enron officers, thousands of people saw their retirement accounts wiped out, stripping them of savings that they had spent years accumulating. Lay and Skilling accumulated fortunes while leaving owrking people in the cold. Can you identify anyone who suffered comparable harm from anything that Linn did?

Further, while Lay and Skilling stand convicted of numerous federal felony counts, the most egregious act that Diane Linn committed was leading the effort to make same sex marriage legal (briefly) in Multnomah County. In doing this, she abused her office, and the voters have responded to her actions. But on a realistic level, who was injured by licensing same sex marriages? I followed the matter, and while I found Linn's procedures ran a gamut from arrogant to reckless to stupid, what real harm was done? I have yet to hear a cogent argument for why allowing a same sex couple to marry one another destroys or denigrates the sanctity of any heterosexual relationship. Indeed, your resort to a rather silly effort to compare Diane Linn to the principals of the Enron scandal suggests that much of the protest against her was sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Victoria Taft said...

that nobody legally pursued Linn and the rest of the commission is their call. I call what she did corruption.
An overwrought example of local corruption? I don't think so, Westside.

Khaldun said...

wsd, you must accept that in Victoria's (and most conservative's) world, there is only black and white. It's the mentality that if you are not with them, you are against them. It's the base for almost every argument they make, and what (unfortunately) prefers them making accusations that you are the enemy, troops hater, wussy, communist, traitor, foolish, stupid, etc., over critical thinking.

Corruption is corruption is corruption. Accept this or you are against them.

Now stop being an American hater and start praying so Pat Robertson can leg press even more!

Pat Robertson Leg Presses 2,000 lbs

Scottiebill said...

To Taliban Tommy: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.