Blunt & Martin Earn National Recognition As Members Of CREW's New "Crooked Candidates List"
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has launched a brand new project "to compile the most corrupt and unethical candidates vying for federal office in 2010." CREW’s Crooked Candidates "highlights 11 candidates with scandal-littered pasts and histories of questionable ethics." The list includes Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates for federal office.
At the top of the new list? One Roy Blunt. Blunt, of course, was named one of the "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" by CREW in 2005 and 2006.
Also on the list? Crazy Ed Martin, for his unethical behavior as former Governor Matt Blunt's Chief of Staff.
From CREW's summary of Blunt's misdeeds:
As a member of Congress, Rep. Blunt came under fire for a variety of issues including employing the same corrupt tactics that forced his mentor, former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, to resign. Rep. Blunt’s ethical issues were documented in CREW’s 2006 report on the most corrupt members of Congress.
In 2003, Rep. Blunt divorced his wife of 31 years to marry Philip Morris (now Altria) lobbyist Abigail Perlman. Before it was known publicly that Rep. Blunt and Ms. Perlman were dating – and only hours after Rep. Blunt assumed the role of Majority Whip – he tried to secretly insert a provision into Homeland Security legislation that would have benefitted Philip Morris, at the expense of competitors. Notably, Philip Morris/Altria and its subsidiaries contributed at least $217,000 to campaign committees connected to Rep. Blunt from 1996 to 2006.
Also in 2003, Rep. Blunt helped his son, Andrew Blunt, by inserting a provision into the $79 billion emergency appropriation for the war in Iraq to benefit U.S. shippers like United Parcel Service, Inc. and FedEx Corp. Andrew Blunt lobbied on behalf of UPS in Missouri, and UPS and FedEx contributed at least $58,000 to Rep. Blunt from 2001 to 2006.
Family connections have also helped another of Rep. Blunt’s sons, former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt. Gov. Blunt received campaign contributions from nearly three dozen influential Missouri lobbyists and lawyers when he ran for governor of Missouri in 2004, half of whom had provided financial support to his father. Earlier in 2000, when Matt Blunt was running for Secretary of State, Rep. Blunt was involved in an apparent scheme, along with Rep. DeLay, to funnel money through a local party committee into Matt Blunt’s campaign committee.
Rep. Blunt and his staff had close connections to convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In June 2003, Mr. Abramoff persuaded then-Majority Leader DeLay to organize a letter, co-signed by then-Speaker Dennis Hastert, then-Whip Blunt, and then-Deputy Whip Eric Cantor, which endorsed a view of gambling law benefitting Mr. Abramoff’s client, the Louisiana Coushatta, by blocking gambling competition by another tribe. Mr. Abramoff had donated $8,500 to Rep. Blunt’s leadership PAC, Rely on Your Beliefs.
And an excerpt from Martin's bio:
Martin was previously the Chief of Staff for former Republican Missouri Governor Matt Blunt. After serving the governor for a mere 15 months, Mr. Martin was forced to resign.
On August 20, 2007, Mr. Martin sent emails from his government account to Republican Party activists urging them to rally against Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat and rival of Governor Blunt. A reporter caught wind of Mr. Martin’s actions and requested access to the emails under Missouri open government laws. The governor’s office falsely claimed the emails had been deleted. When Scott Eckersly, the lawyer responsible for processing the reporter’s request, notified Mr. Martin that deleting emails was a violation of state law and the governor’s office’s own policy, Mr. Martin fired him.
Due to the controversy surrounding Mr. Eckersly’s termination, Mr. Martin was pressured to resign, though Governor Blunt denied forcing him out. Mr. Eckersly subsequently brought a wrongful termination and defamation suit against Mr. Martin and other officials in the governor’s office. The State of Missouri ultimately agreed to a $500,000 settlement with Mr. Eckersly and spent an additional $1.3 million on legal fees – all because of Mr. Martin’s inappropriate conduct. An investigation by state officials later found that the governor’s office failed to properly disclose Mr. Martin’s emails.
