State Sen. LeAnna Washington was ordered held for trial yesterday on charges she abused the authority and resources of her Senate office to raise money for her re-election campaign. Attorney General Kathleen Kane has accused Washington of directing her legislative staff to perform personal political campaign work while on taxpayer time. Following Washingtonâs preliminary hearing in Abington yesterday, District Judge John Kessler determined the charges of theft of services and conflict of interest should be heard before a higher court. Both violations are felonies carrying maximum sentences of seven yearsâ prison time and hefty fines. âSenator Washington, in her capacity as an elected member of the Pennsylvania Senate, cannot direct her state-paid employees to do campaign work on state time,â said Susan DiGiacomo, the commonwealthâs lead prosecutor. DiGiacomo spent the better portion of yesterdayâs preliminary hearing questioning an intern who began working for the senator in 2005, and was later promoted to legislative assistant in 2011. Jamila Hall worked as a paid intern at Washingtonâs Philadelphia and Montgomery County district offices. As the Commonwealthâs only witness yesterday, she was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. Hall told the judge that her primary duty was to assist with preparing for Washingtonâs political campaign birthday party fundraiser each year. She resigned in 2012 after she âcouldnât take it anymore.â The witness backed up grand jury allegations that Washington had her and other staff members tasked with maintaining databases for fundraising events, printing thousands of invitations from Senate computers, stuffing and stamping envelopes using the Senate stamp machine, creating lists of campaign contributors and delivering expenditures to the âFriends of LeAnna Washingtonâ committee treasurer. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...ee-her-day-in-court-.html#0gKqtiyb4XlCWCje.99
Wish all of this would wait to come out in November. But would it even make a difference? I'm scared to guess.
And yet more .. Charlotte Dem mayor resigns after corruption arrest. http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/03...signs-after-corruption.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
One of the leading anti-Second Amendment rights crusaders in California, powerful State Senator Leland Yee, has ironically been arrested for (drum rollâ¦) allegations of gun running, along with a host of other corruption charges, including campaign fraud... http://www.tpnn.com/2014/03/27/demo...ontrol-crusader-arrested-for-gun-trafficking/ ==================================================================================== Harry Reid Once Again Runs Afoul of Campaign Finance Rules; Will Media Report? Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-sh...ance-problems-will-media-report#ixzz2xGQVRauS