NJ history of corruption stands alone
After a bit of time away from the site, I figured it would only be appropriate to comment on my home state of New Jersey and what went down only a stone’s throw away from my law school in Newark.
Last Thursday, the FBI nabbed 44 people in a massive corruption-money laundering-organ trafficking scandal. Yes, that’s what I said.
And when I went to William and Mary, they told me about the concept of “good ole’ boys” as if I was going to be surprised by it. I had no reason to suspect otherwise; In My Cousin Vinny, Billy Gambini reminds us of “Old South” values: “We think they’re trying to set us up as patsies, Ma. You know how corrupt it is down here. They all know each other.”
But as if by providence, my return to New Jersey could not have come at a better time to remind me that southern state public officials could learn a thing or two about being corrupt from our state leaders. Continue Reading »
In praise of whistleblowers, on left and right
This article first appeared in The Record (Hackensack, NJ) on June 17, 2005.
THE CHEERS OF ELATION were deafening when the legendary Deep Throat finally came out and revealed himself to America after living in the shadows for decades.
The media rejoiced at hearing that the great tale had finally come to an end and that they could commemorate their most powerful, highest-impact story. Mark Felt, the No. 2 man at the FBI, gave the media a reason to celebrate investigative journalism and its role in the resignation of a president.
But whistleblowers have been very prominent in a wide range of issues in the last few years. Following the 2002 corporate scandals that tarnished the Bush administration by association, Time magazine named the three whistleblowers - Sherron Watkins of Enron, Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom and Colleen Rowley of the FBI - as Persons of the Year for their courage. Currently, the media are celebrating the anonymous source that alleged that the Bush administration and Tony Blair’s government exaggerated the threat of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
However, I am having trouble remembering how most of the media lauded whistleblowers of the 1990s, those who undid the Clinton administration. Forgive me if my copy got lost in the mail, but I never received a Time Person of the Year issue featuring Linda Tripp, who blew the lid off the obstruction of justice by President Clinton and his staff in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. Continue Reading »
