THUMBS DOWN, THUMBS UP
The following is a copy of an editorial in today's Juneau (Alaska)Empire:
"Thumbs down to Jim Clark, a former top aide to former Gov. Frank Murkowski.
Clark recently pleaded guilty to a federal felony conspiracy charge in an ever-widening corruption investigation.
The longtime Juneau attorney and former chief of staff for Murkowski admitted to channeling money from the oil industry to Murkowski's 2006 re-election campaign. The payments totaled more than $68,000 and were structured to avoid disclosure to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, federal prosecutors said.
Thank goodness the feds stepped in. The state could not do much because the case was more than a year old and therefore was beyond the statute of limitations - a legal trick made possible in part by legislation that Clark helped advance.
Clark told reporters in Anchorage that Murkowski did not know about the deals to hide the contributions. Does anyone believe that's true?
Thumbs up to Anchorage Rep. Bob Lynn, who filed a bill that would restore the statute of limitations on violations of campaign laws - laws that admitted criminal Jim Clark helped reduce in 2003.
We expect House Bill 281 will get plenty of support now from the bandwagon, as it should, after Clark's recent guilty plea to a conspiracy charge.
By extending the statute of limitations to five years, the bill would provide some extra punch to the state and yet another reason for politicians and their allies to follow the law. It's pathetic that we'd need one more reason, but so be it.
As Lynn said, "The whole purpose of HB 281 is to rebuild the foundation of trust.'"
"Thumbs down to Jim Clark, a former top aide to former Gov. Frank Murkowski.
Clark recently pleaded guilty to a federal felony conspiracy charge in an ever-widening corruption investigation.
The longtime Juneau attorney and former chief of staff for Murkowski admitted to channeling money from the oil industry to Murkowski's 2006 re-election campaign. The payments totaled more than $68,000 and were structured to avoid disclosure to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, federal prosecutors said.
Thank goodness the feds stepped in. The state could not do much because the case was more than a year old and therefore was beyond the statute of limitations - a legal trick made possible in part by legislation that Clark helped advance.
Clark told reporters in Anchorage that Murkowski did not know about the deals to hide the contributions. Does anyone believe that's true?
Thumbs up to Anchorage Rep. Bob Lynn, who filed a bill that would restore the statute of limitations on violations of campaign laws - laws that admitted criminal Jim Clark helped reduce in 2003.
We expect House Bill 281 will get plenty of support now from the bandwagon, as it should, after Clark's recent guilty plea to a conspiracy charge.
By extending the statute of limitations to five years, the bill would provide some extra punch to the state and yet another reason for politicians and their allies to follow the law. It's pathetic that we'd need one more reason, but so be it.
As Lynn said, "The whole purpose of HB 281 is to rebuild the foundation of trust.'"
posted by Blogs by Rep Bob Lynn | 11:06 PM
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