Posted in Campaign Contributions, Corruption, Ethics, Notable Quotables, Senate, Vitter on November 12, 2015| 1 Comment »
“A government employee must not be influenced by extraneous factors when making decisions and “never accept for himself or his family, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of governmental duties.”
—Code of Ethics for Government Service.
“Senators may not hold government officials captive by tying their personal finances or benefits to their official acts.”
—Senate Ethics Manual.
Posted in Corruption, DEQ, Elections, Ethics, House, Senate, Lawsuits, Lobbyist, Louisiana Purchase, Media, Politicians, Public Records, Senate, Vitter on November 12, 2015| 8 Comments »
Interspersed in all the venomous political rhetoric in the gubernatorial campaign that is now moving toward its merciful final week are some real issues that affect our lives and which should warrant closer inspection by the voting public.
Unfortunately, given the public’s taste for voyeurism and salacious gossip, that probably won’t happen. Besides, time is short and the sordid half-truths, distortions and details of political black ops are just heating up. There just isn’t time for the things that matter.
But at least one group is taking U.S. Sen. David Vitter to task for a letter he wrote last April to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy.
In that otherwise routine five-page letter, dated April 16, 2015, Vitter addressed a number of issues concerning levees, flood control, storm surge protection, past due payments from the Corps to the State of Louisiana for freshwater diversion projects, a request to complete the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (SELA) in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, deauthorization of the West Pearl River Navigation Project, a request for increased negotiation efforts to approve the Lower Mississippi River Management proposal, and bank stabilization along the Ouachita River in north Louisiana.
Buried at the bottom of page three of the letter was item number 7: Helis Oil and Gas Permit MVN (Mississippi Valley New Orleans)-2013-02952-ETT.
Issue: “The aforementioned permit application is currently awaiting approval within MVN, but has stalled due to several pending lawsuits,” Vitter’s letter said. “The State of Louisiana, Department of Environmental Quality issued the water quality certification (WQC 140328-02) on March 19, 2015. Issuance of the 404 permit is the last remaining action needed to begin construction of the test well.”
Request: “Immediately approve and issue the 404 permit.”
In his April 16 letter, Vitter did what he does best: intimidate with not-so-subtle threats.
“As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moves forward with leadership transitions and promotions in the coming months, I’d like to take this opportunity to ensure that you—as the two primary Corps leaders—continue strengthening your commitment to improve communication and issue resolution with non-Federal stakeholders who depend on the Corps to provide necessary flood protection, reliable navigation, and restored ecosystems,” he wrote.
“…However, it’s critical that Corps leadership understand there remain several significant Louisiana issues that need to be addressed and resolved in an expeditious manner. In light of those issues, I can’t support the transition or promotion of new leadership until I know that a constructive approach will be taken to address and resolve these serious problems.”
As if on cue, the Corps on June 8 approved the permit application by Helis Oil & Gas Co. http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/06/wetlands_permit_approved_by_fr.html
Vanishing Earth, a new political blog that concentrates on environmental issues, obtained the Vitter letter to the Corps that contained Vitter’s heavy-handed approach to resolving issues, particularly the approval of the Helis permit.
That permit, since approved, will allow Helis to drill an exploratory well for the purpose of oil drilling and controversial hydraulic fracking in St. Tammany Parish. Parish residents have resisted fracking in St. Tammany and have even filed a lawsuit in district court to stop the practice there because of legitimate concerns about air and water pollution, damage to the aquifer that supplies drinking water, and the industrialization of the parish.
The irony is that St. Tammany is considered a strongly Republican parish and represents one of Vitters’ strongest areas of support.
But, as is always the case in politics, money speaks much louder than loyalty to constituents and Helis has seen to it that Vitter’s campaigns, both federal and more recently, state, are remembered fondly.
On May 8, less than a month after Vitter wrote his letter to the Corps, Helis made a $5,000 contribution to Vitter’s gubernatorial campaign. Additionally, on that same date, Helis CEO David Kerstein made an identical maximum allowable contribution of $5,000. Then, on Nov. 6 of this year, less than two weeks after the first primary, Helis chipped in an additional $5,000. The company also contributed $15,000 in three separate contributions to lieutenant governor candidate Billy Nungesser.
https://coraweb.sos.la.gov/CommercialSearch/CommercialSearchDetails.aspx?CharterID=442768_VAE52
Moreover, Kerstein contributed an additional $7,500 to Vitter’s U.S. House and Senate campaigns from 2000 to 2008, according to Federal Election Commission records. Corporations are prohibited from contributing to federal campaign. http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/qind/
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | ATTORNEY | VITTER FOR CONGRESS | 05/01/00 | 1000.00 | ||||||||
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | SELF | VITTER FOR CONGRESS | 09/22/03 | 1000.00 | ||||||||
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | SELF | DAVID VITTER FOR US SENATE | 07/07/05 | 2000.00 | ||||||||
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | SELF | VITTER FOR US SENATE | 02/21/08 | 300.00 | ||||||||
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | SELF | DAVID VITTER FOR US SENATE | 02/21/08 | 2200.00 | ||||||||
| KERSTEIN, DAVID | New Orleans | SELF/ATTORNEY | VITTER FOR CONGRESS | 04/18/01 | 1000.00 | ||||||||
Helis apparently is not an equal opportunity donor; no contributions could be found by the company or its CEO to Democrats John Bel Edwards or Nungesser’s opponent Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden.
What David Vitter is essentially saying in his letter to Secretary Darcy and Lieutenant General Bostick is that if they do not perform certain acts, issue the permit, then he will punish them by taking away something of personal value to them which, in this case, are the “transitions and promotions,” wrote Vanishing Earth publisher Jonathan Henderson. “In other words, he blackmailed them.” http://vanishingearth.org/2015/11/05/senator-vitter-corruption-reaches-st-tammany-parish-fracking-fight/
Henderson is encouraging his readers to call on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics “to immediately investigate Senator David Bruce Vitter.”
Additionally, one source said some residents of St. Tammany were considering filing a complaint with the State Board of Ethics. LouisianaVoice inquired of the state board whether or not such a complaint had been filed. This was the response we received:
In response to your public records request of Nov. 12th, please be advised that all complaints and documents prepared or obtained in connection with an investigation are deemed confidential and privileged pursuant to R.S. 42:1141.4 K&L which also provides that it is a misdemeanor for any person, including the Board’s staff, to make any public statement or give out any information concerning any confidential matter.
LouisianaVoice has begun an investigation into fracking operations in Lincoln Parish as well. Residents there are concerned about the drain on the Sparta Aquifer which supplies drinking water to several north Louisiana parishes. We will bring you more details on those operations as we receive them.
Posted in Ethics, Governor's Office, Legislature, Legislators, Media, Public Records, Senate, Transparency on November 9, 2015| 2 Comments »
“It turns out we were boondoggled on that.”
—State Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge), commenting on the “deliberative process” exemptions pushed through the legislature in his 2008 “ethics reform” package, as quoted by the Center on Public Integrity’s 2015 state rankings.
“Jindal’s ‘gold standard’ is riddled with loopholes and cynical interpretations by the governor and other state officials.”
—The Center for Public Integrity, criticizing Bobby Jindal’s “gold standard” of ethics, in its 2015 state rankings report.
Posted in Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, Senate, Vitter on November 6, 2015| 23 Comments »
Can the campaigns of Bobby Jindal and David Vitter possibly be any more pathetic or repugnant?
Can the Louisiana Republican Party possibly look any more dysfunctional and puerile?
Between the events being reported on both campaigns, it would appear that each has reached the depths of degradation. But then experience has taught us to never underestimate the stupidity of a desperate individual—or in this case, two desperate individuals, both apparently headed in the same direction albeit via vastly different stratagems.
(Hint to Republicans still possessing a modicum of mental stability: you may wish to disembark from the Disoriented Express at the next stop. It’s not too late to check out of the Hotel Silly.)
First, we have Jindal, still clinging to the watery thin hope that somehow he may yet be thrust to the forefront of that gaggle of geese, aka Republican presidential hopefuls.
As we have mentioned from time to time, we somehow lucked up and got on his email list so that we get regular updates on his “surging” poll numbers and his “awesome” speeches and kiddie table debate performances. Here’s one we received on Nov. 3:
From: Gail, BobbyJindal.com [mailto:info@bobbyjindalhq.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2015 5:11 PM
To:
Subject: New Poll: Jindal Leads Bush in Iowa
According to the latest poll out of Iowa, Bobby Jindal has moved up to 5th place, and currently has the third highest favorable rating. Bobby doesn’t have a $100 million Super Pac backing him like Jeb, but it doesn’t matter because he has grassroots supporters like you. With your help, Bobby has stood up to the DC establishment and fought for conservative principles. There are 90 days left until the Iowa Caucus. Chip in $250, $100 or even $25 right now so we have the resources to keep building our grassroots campaign and continue to rise in the polls. With your help, Bobby will win Iowa and ride the momentum to the White House.
Thank you,
Gail Gitcho Senior Advisor,
Jindal for President
P.S. please share this big news with your family and friends!
We’re not certain but we suspect by “senior advisor,” she means she is a senior in high school.
But now it seems that Bobby has been marked down by K-Mart. Here is the email we received today:
From: Brad Engle, BobbyJindal.com [mailto:info@bobbyjindalhq.com]
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2015 9:22 AM
To:
Subject: Today’s challenge
Hi, I just got out of our senior staff meeting, and I need your help on something. Our digital team just got challenged to get 1,000 new Jindal for President donors today. Can I count on you to help us get there? All we need is for you to chip in $1.
I need to send Governor Jindal a list of how many people chipped in before I leave the office tonight. Thanks,
Brad Engle Digital Director,
Jindal for President
Are you freakin’ kidding me? Has Bobby actually gone from soliciting amounts of $10, $25, $50, $100, and $250 to support his languishing campaign to begging for a buck?
One dollar to run for President? Oh, the humanity! (With apologies to Herb Morrison, the radio reporter who provided live coverage of the Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937—and of course, to Les Nessman the WKRP newsman who covered the live Thanksgiving turkey drop from the WKRP helicopter only to find that the turkeys could not fly.)
But if it’s abhorrence you want in lieu of cheap humor, then consider this little jewel: Jindal is scheduled to join Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Gov. at a National Religious Liberties Conference in Des Moines today and tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 7) hosted by pastor and radio host Kevin Swanson.
So what’s so repulsive about that, you ask? Just this. The good reverend, the wonderful Christian that he must certainly be, openly supports executing homosexuals. It’s not enough, apparently to merely advocate rehabilitating gays the way many fundamentalists do, he wants the U.S. to adopt Uganda’s death penalty for them. http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/03/gop-candidates-speak-conference-hosted-pastor-supports-killing-gays.html
If Jindal had any sense in that pea-sized brain of his, he would run, not walk, as far from that event as possible. Instead, he apparently embraces it.
What have we become as a society? A nation? A civilization? Does this pseudo-preacher, along with Jindal, Cruz, and Huckabee really believe this is what Christ taught when he walked this earth? For Jindal, the very idea of his participation literally drips with inconsistent irony. As the leading proponent of Islamophobia (remember his claim of the “no-go zones” in Europe?), he now aligns himself with Islamics who advocate the death penalty for homosexuals.
And then there is this today from Robert Mann: http://www.salon.com/2015/11/06/david_vitter_hooker_shocker_new_charges_that_louisiana_pol_missed_vote_honoring_soldiers_while_scheduling_prostitute_rendezvous/
But when it comes to sheer audacity, it’s going to be difficult to top Vitter and his supporters. Republican leaders were quick to condemn Republican Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who finished fourth in the Oct. 24 primary election, for his endorsement of Democratic State Rep. John Bel Edwards on Thursday (Sept. 5). Some of the criticism was a bit humorous, some of it more than a little sick.
Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere called Dardenne “the Nick Saban of Louisiana politics.” http://theadvocate.com/news/13896377-63/louisiana-gop-chair-calls-republican
That, of course was an attempt to label Dardenne a traitor to his party by comparing him with the University of Alabama coach who, like him or not, restored LSU football to national prominence after years of sub-par seasons with revolving door coaches. In 2003, he won the school’s first national championship in football since 1958 before moving on—not to Alabama, but to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. When that didn’t work out, he took the Alabama job and has won three national championships there.
So when Villere called Dardenne the Nick Saban of politics, he was, in effect, calling him a winner though that obviously was not his intent.
But in politics, it seems that party loyalty, or branding, takes precedence over selecting the best candidate for the job. The Republicans are showing that trait now. The Democrats did it in 1979 when four Democratic losers to Republican Dave Treen and Democrat Louis Lambert in the primary endorsed Treen. The demand for party loyalty over ability can definitely be found on both sides of the aisle.
But for pure nastiness and below the belt sour grapes, none can match the letter to Dardenne by Peter Egan, chairman of the St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive.
In fact, Egan, after what he compared Dardenne to in a Nov. 5 (Thursday) letter to Dardenne, perhaps should just slink off into quiet oblivion and hope that no one remembers his name.
In that letter, believe it or not, Egan compared Dardenne to a jilted man firing a gun into his ex-wife’s car. How he makes such a comparison is beyond comprehension—not far removed from the incredibly crass tweet of The Hayride blogger Scott McKay who compared Edwards to Anwar al-Awlaki, the American who joined ISIS and who was later killed.
As for Vitter himself, has anyone seen the first Vitter ad that tells us what he intends to do to pull this state out of the morass that Jindal has placed us in? Has he offered any solutions? Didn’t think so. All he has done is hit us with a never ending barrage of negative ads feverishly attempting to tie Edwards to President Obama.
As we said at the beginning, never underestimate the stupidity of a desperate individual.
Posted in Campaign Contributions, Corruption, Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, Senate, Vitter on October 25, 2015| 10 Comments »
No sooner had we posted the story below than we learn of yet another potential scandal that could inflict more damage to Dave Vitter’s already weakened bid for governor even more than the stories about his patronizing prostitutes.
Thanks to a tip from a reader, we were alerted to Forward Progressives, a web blog we’d never seen before which discusses the newest problem for the state’s senior senator and his bid to succeed Bobby Jindal. http://www.forwardprogressives.com/theres-brand-new-david-vitter-scandal-doesnt-involve-hookers/
And we’re not too modest to point out that we first posted a story about the potential problem with his Super PAC Fund for Louisiana way back on Dec. 17, 2013 https://louisianavoice.com/2013/12/17/lines-blurred-between-sen-vitters-campaign-committee-and-new-fund-for-louisiana-super-pac-jindal-to-succeed-vitter/
But the picture became crystal clear on Election Day Eve (Friday, Oct. 23, 2015) as a result of a minor fender bender at Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Carrollton Avenue in Metairie that could land Vitter in hot water over violations of federal election laws.
Vitter was a passenger in a 2006 Mercedes Benz driven by Courtney Guastella, 36, of New Orleans, according to New Orleans police.
Ms. Guastella, identified as Vitter’s campaign finance director, it turns out is actually Courtney Gaustella Callihan, wife of Bill Callihan, a Capital One Bank director, and the two reside at 6048 Marshall Foch Street in the Lakeview area of New Orleans.
That is the same address of the Fund for Louisiana’s Future (FLF) Super PAC set up to in 2013 to help Vitter with a run for governor in 2015.
FLF was responsible for a barrage of TV ads directed against fellow Republican candidates Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle which now are expected to focus on State Rep. John Bel Edwards of Amite.
Angelle received 19 percent of the vote in Saturday’s Jungle Primary while Dardenne received 15 percent. Both were eliminated from the Nov. 21 General Election in which Vitter, who got 23 percent, will face Democrat Edwards, who led with 40 percent.
LouisianaVoice has been concerned about the close relationship between Vitter and FLF since our first story nearly two years ago, thanks to an early heads-up by the Daily Kingfish blog. http://dailykingfish.com/tag/superpac/
Washington attorney Charles Spies challenged the Louisiana Board of Ethics in December of 2013, saying that Louisiana should fall in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision that removed the limits on money that may be contributed to Super PACs.
The Daily Kingfish said at the time that while Spies was the mover and shaker behind the effort to remove the state’s contribution cap, the Louisiana FLF address was 6048 Marshall Foch Street in the Lakeview area of New Orleans.
Federal law prohibits any interaction between or coordinating with a candidate and any Super PAC established on his or her behalf.
Daily Kingfish and LouisianaVoice noted nearly two years ago that Courtney Guastella Callihan was listed on invitations as the contact person for a Bayou Weekend Cajun cooking, airboat swamp tour and alligator hunt set for Sept. 5-7, 2014, with Vitter as “special guest.” (Clarification: In our initial story in December of 2013, her name was spelled Gaustella instead of Guastella.)
And while it is legal for a candidate to appear at a Super PAC event, he is prohibited from soliciting campaign contributions. So, when Courtney Callihan’s name appeared on invitations as the contact person for the event, the picture got a little murky. It was enough that she served in the dual role of campaign finance director and as spokesperson for the Super PAC but Vitter dumped at least $890,000 of his own funds into FLF (far more, it turns out, than our initial reports), which seemed to blur the distinction of separation between candidate and Super PAC. http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib_all.php?cycle=2014&type=A&cmte=C00541037&page=1
Citizens United legalized independent groups raising unlimited funds (Super PACs) but it did not legalize politicians establishing dummy organizations to evade campaign finance laws.
It turns out that one Courtney Guastella has contributed $148,381 to FLF and another $55,476 directly to Vitter’s Senate campaign before than. (Note: The first of her 25 payments to FLF began in March of 2013, some nine months before Spies initiated his efforts to remove the cap on contributions.)
| Guastella, Courtney |
That blurs the line just a little more.
But on Friday, that picture was cleared up considerably and it was not a pretty image for Vitter, who should never have been in the vehicle with the woman.
And he wasn’t for long.
On the same day that a private investigator was arrested for illegally videoing a supporter of Edwards, Vitter was a passenger in the vehicle being driven by Callihan when she clipped a second vehicle. Vitter, who has attempted to position himself as an anti-corruption candidate, was quickly whisked away from the scene by a staffer in another vehicle and Callihan was ticketed for improper lane usage. Police said it was legal for Vitter to leave since he was not a driver. Legal, but was it ethical? Did it give the appearance that he may have had something to hide?
All things considered, it figures that Vitter would want to vacate the premises quickly.
But one thing I’ve learned in my seven decades on this earth is that no matter how fast you run, life has a way of catching up with you.
We can’t wait to see if he will show for two scheduled debates with Edwards or if Edwards will be debating an empty chair.
We’re certain there are a lot of questions about the past few days that Edwards as well as debate panelists would love to ask.
Given the flurry of events that have taken place since Friday and their possible implications, Vitter probably won’t even be asked about the hookers.
We’re betting that “Senate business” will prevent Vitter from attending the debates.
$2.50 each or three for $6.00
Louisiana Voice 