Sam Graves

­A remarkable revelation in the findings of a special report released recently on an investigation into the Bush U.S. Attorney scandal and the departure of Todd Graves from the Western District of Missouri.  From page 331 of the report (emphasis added)...­

C. Reasons for the Removals of Individual U.S. Attorneys

In Chapters Four through Twelve, we analyzed the reasons proffered by Department officials for the removal of each U.S. Attorney. Those chapters demonstrate how flawed the removal process was, and the evidence in those chapters also contradicts the Department’s initial claims that U.S. Attorneys were removed for performance reasons.

In January 2006, Missouri U.S. Attorney Todd Graves was the first U.S. Attorney told to resign. As described in detail in Chapter Four, while our ­investigation into Graves’s removal was hindered by the refusal of Goodling and key officials in the White House to be interviewed, the evidence showed that the ­primary reason for Graves’s removal was complaints from the staff of Missouri Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond. Bond’s staff urged the White House Counsel’s Office to remove Graves because he had declined to intervene in a conflict between Senator Bond’s staff and the staff of Graves’s brother (a Republican Congressman from Missouri). Thus, it appears that Graves was told to resign because of a political dispute among Missouri politicians, not because of an objective assessment of his performance as U.S. Attorney.

Todd Graves has repeatedly asserted that his dismissal from the U.S. Attorney's office was the result of his "refusal" to prosecute certain politically motivated vote fraud cases --an assertion that has always been unsupported by little to no evidence.  Unfortunately, Graves' self-justifying rationale has often been passed along uncritically by members of the press. 

This from David Lieb in an AP piece about Sarah Steelman's rejection of state financial incentives for the Show-Me Ethanol boondoggle:

Among the hundreds of investors in Show Me Ethanol are Andy Blunt, the brother of Republican Gov. Matt Blunt; Lesley Graves, the wife of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo.; and state Rep. John Quinn, R-Chillicothe, and his wife, Mary.

A Graves spokesman had said in January that she planned to sell her investment. But Durham said Thursday that the congressman's wife remains an investor.

Why does Sam Graves and his team want us to ­believe that his family was divesting of Show-Me Ethanol ownership when they clearly had no intention of doing so?  The press certainly can't like being treated in such a dishonest fashion.  Forget about the Graves' family stake in the venture; what does this deception say about Sam Graves' character?­

Sam Graves is apparently so proud of his record in Washington that he's using a mail piece in an effort to shave two years off his tenure there.

Graves has dropped a mail piece that notes, under his own photo:

"Completing his sixth year as your representative in Congress, Sam Graves continues to fight for Missouri's Sixth District."

But Graves, of course, was elected to office in 2000, meaning he's completing his eighth year in Congress.  Story Continued »

Go read Terry Ganey's piece on legal claims made against former U.S. Attorney and MOGOP stalwart Todd Graves.  Go read it right now, then come on back.  From the story:

State Farm alleges that former state Supreme Court Judge Edward "Chip" Robertson, former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves and two of Robertson’s associates were present at meetings in 2006 in which the two whistleblowers accessed State Farm’s confidential databases. The accusations are contained in motions filed last week in federal court in Mississippi.

Ganey's piece, while well reported and accurate, treads lightly on what may be the most damning allegations lodged by State Farm against Todd Graves. 

Congratulations to Kay Barnes on the League of Conservation Voters' endorsement. They put out a release today that highlights some pretty clear differences with Sam Graves. In it, they write:

Yesterday, Graves voted against a bill (H.R. 5351) to roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks to big oil companies, and to reinvest that money into tax credits for wind, biomass and other clean, renewable energy sources.  That investment will not only help reduce the carbon emissions that create global warming, it will create thousands of American jobs.  The three year extension on wind energy tax credits alone will create a stable market for wind power that will allow companies across the country to expand their operations in places like rural Missouri.  Story Continued »

Sam Graves gives thanks to Bush and Cheney for making him the ONLY Congressman in the country to have them both come in to help raise money.­

Let's show Kay Barnes that we have her back.

This is the question that Kay Barnes is asking on her website right now.

Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes Sam to clean up his financial reports?