RICHARD POMBO-- JUST AS CORRUPT AS DELAY, JUST NOT ARRESTED YET

When I started writing this blog last spring I immediately focused in on the 2 most egregiously corrupt politicians in California, my state, and started writing about them. The lowest hanging fruit of all was Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who specialized in selling intelligence and defense committee assess to wealthy contractors and who would then overpay him-- to the tune of millions of dollars-- for things he sold them (like houses and boats). He also ran a side business of selling presidential pardons for $400,000 to wealthy Republican criminals. (Since he isn't the president and the only person who can grant a pardon hasn't been questioned about this, the pardon part of the Dukester's financial empire awaits unmasking. Meanwhile he has declared that he is leaving Congress, though DeLay's handpicked, uber-corrupt Ethics Committee chairman, a sleazy sack of crap from Yakima, Washington named "Doc" Hastings ("doc" as in "the fixer"), refuses to open an ethics investigation against him. Once Cunningham is actually facing the long prison sentence he so richly deserves, we may hear more about his role in the DeLay crime syndicate and how exactly Bush fit in.

Meanwhile, Cunningham has a close competitor for the "most corrupt pol in California" title: Richard Pombo, another one I've written extensively about. You can comb the DWT archives or check out the nifty Vote Pombo Out web site. Although it hasn't hit the mainstream media yet, Pombo is on the verge of getting outed big time for a series of trips he and his wife and staffers have taken, illegally, paid for by a fake environmental group funded by Monsanto. Expect this to hit the media this week and cause a genuine shit-storm leading to the unraveling of Pombo's filth-encrusted career. (Did I mention he is also one of the most extreme right wing loons ever to represent a district in California, not to mention a moderate district near San Francisco. Calling Rahm... I mean if you want to find someone to derail netroots progressives like Christine Cegelis in Illinois, maybe you could also find a little time to work on fascist Republicrooks in moderate districts that are trending Democrat and that NEED a good candidate?

WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE:

Thanks for Matt from SAY NO TO POMBO for turning us on to the full breaking details of this story at The Center for Public Integrity. Anyone interested in all the ins and outs of this aspect of Pombo's pre-trial case, needs to read this piece.