Follow the Money Trail to See Why Dem Congress Shields Trial Lawyers
By John Boehner
Friday, May 9, 2008

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WASHINGTON - A scandal has been emerging in the trial lawyer industry. It points to a potentially cancerous growth in our economy that is killing jobs and hampering prosperity at a time when families are being pummeled by the rising cost of living. What are Democrats in Congress planning to do about it? So far, the answer has been: nothing.

On May 19, trial lawyer William Lerach is expected to report to federal prison to begin serving the sentence he received after pleading guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy in conjunction with a class-action scheme involving his law firm, formerly known as Milberg Weiss.



Edward Greenspan (R) and Ed Genson (C), lawyers for Conrad Black, leave the Derksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago after his sentencing hearing December 10, 2007. A U.S. judge on Monday sentenced former media mogul Black to six and one-half years in prison for obstructing justice and defrauding shareholders of one-time newspaper publishing giant Hollinger International Inc. REUTERS/Stephen J. Carrera (UNITED STATES)
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According to federal investigators, Milberg Weiss officials masterminded a $250 million illegal kickback scheme involving their clients, and then lied in court about their actions. “The scope and the breadth of this conspiracy was breathtaking,” said U.S. District Judge John Walter, who sentenced Mr. Lerach, adding that the crimes involved go “to the core of our judicial system.”

More disturbingly, Mr. Lerach himself told The Wall Street Journal his illegal conduct and that of his law partners was an “industry practice.” At his sentencing, one of his supporting letters quoted Mr. Lerach as saying, “Everybody was paying plaintiffs so they could bring their cases.”

If in fact Mr. Lerach’s crimes are an “industry practice,” then the Milberg Weiss scandal has revealed a clear and present threat to our nation’s prosperity. Congress has an obligation to take action — by holding hearings to determine the extent of the scandal and the threat, identifying appropriate remedies and sending them to the president.

Nearly three months have passed since Mr. Lerach was sentenced, but Democrats in Congress have yet to conduct a single hearing to determine the extent to which crimes such as his are occurring in the rest of the industry.

The trial lawyer industry is, of course, a major source of campaign cash for the Democratic majority, which has happily accommodated the industry’s agenda. At the behest of the trial lawyer lobby, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has stonewalled a bipartisan national security bill needed to allow U.S. intelligence personnel to listen in on conversations involving al Qaeda terrorist operatives.

The bill passed the Senate with a lopsided bipartisan vote and appeared destined for the president’s desk. But then the trial lawyer industry — which opposes the bipartisan bill because it prevents patriotic companies from being sued after cooperating with the government’s terrorist surveillance efforts — called in its chits. House Democratic leaders have subsequently refused to allow the bipartisan bill to see the light of day.

The relationship manifested itself again this week when housing legislation was considered by Congress. Tucked into the housing bill was a $35 million taxpayer-funded slush fund for trial lawyers seeking to cash in on the housing downturn. The bill, if enacted into law, would “require that [$35] million ... be used for grants to state and local legal organizations with experience in foreclosure law.” A bill portrayed as an effort to help struggling homeowners was used to line the pockets of the Democratic majority’s trial lawyer allies, courtesy of American taxpayers and homeowners truly in need of help.

Last week, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and I asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., to schedule a hearing on the Milberg Weiss trial lawyer scandal by May 19, the date on which Mr. Lerach is expected to report to federal prison. A copy of our letter to Chairman Conyers was also sent to Speaker Pelosi. To date, there has been no response.

A complete investigation of the trial lawyer scandal is needed to examine the scope of the threat to our economy. But a recent analysis by Congressional Quarterly observed that “[t]he majority Democrats in Congress, so many of whom are beholden to the financial largesse of trial lawyers, are unlikely to undertake that investigation.”

I hope that independent prediction proves wrong. Inaction in the face of a clear and present danger to our economy is negligence. But inaction for the purpose of protecting major campaign donors is corruption — the very scourge the current congressional leadership pledged to obliterate when it asked Americans to put it in charge.

I remain hopeful Chairman Conyers will put politics aside and schedule a hearing by May 19 that will allow the facts in the Milberg Weiss trial lawyer scandal to be examined in an appropriate and bipartisan way.



John Boehner is the Republican Minority Leader for the House

wow.

This isn't a slam at Dems, it's a slam at the corrupt Dem power holders like Piglosi, Conyers etc that they are the opposite of what people hoped for when they voted Dems into Congress. The Dem leadership was exactly what they wanted to avoid, and this country is in trouble.
The honorable Dems and Reps don't even get a chance to vote because of the corruption that has surfaced. And the corrupt Dems head up the majority party.

The 11% approval rating of the Dem controlled Congress is that low - look who heads up the leadership and what they are doing.

Well cal I do agree that dems or republicans they are all corrupt and push agendas of whoever gives them the most money rather than what is in the best interest of the people.

quote:

Originally posted by sevknowsbetter:
Well cal I do agree that dems or republicans they are all corrupt and push agendas of whoever gives them the most money rather than what is in the best interest of the people.

I don't beleive that they are all bad but I any new blood that gets in there either plays ball or gets nothing done. It is amazing to see how the Dems have not changed one thing. They have done nothing since take control except put us in a recession. But they will blame all that on Bush. Again I think all of them should be flushed.

Funny how a no name, first term Congressmen has risen to power so quickly.

come on Nav this is not a dem problem, they dont have enough majority to override Bush or the republicans in the first place. People talk about the Dems who have "control" they have a slight majority not control. Bush has stopped any and all dem by threat of veto unless they support him which they will not do.

So yes Bush and the republicans are in fact not letting the democrats actually do what they promised because they want to make them look back to gain the seats back and the majority they lost because of their failed policies when they had the majority and a republican president to rubber stamp their deals.

quote:

Originally posted by sevknowsbetter:
So yes Bush and the republicans are in fact not letting the democrats actually do what they promised because they want to make them look back to gain the seats back and the majority they lost because of their failed policies when they had the majority and a republican president to rubber stamp their deals.

It is the fault of both. Don't sit there and tell me the Dems are trying to play ball with Bush, dude. That isn't happening. They're both to blame. Your talk about "not letting the Democrats do what they promised" is wrong, simplistic and bullshit.

The Dems have no leadership either. Nobody to negotiate (Pelosi and Reid) and nobody to set the agenda. They're just as piss poor as Bush and his administration.

So your tantrums about the Dems being held back does not hold water. Start reading more newspapers and stop drinking the kool aid from George Soros and Daily Koz.

Dems are being held back by Bush.....absolute rubbish.

Here is a link to worldwide and national newspapers:
12,000 Newspapers

DD you have no conception nor i what the Dems would or could have done. For the record I am not a democrat by any measure. The fact is Bush holds Veto like an anvil so it does not matter what they try to do because this is a power struggle to get back seats for the republicans that they lost.

The only thing simplistic is your idea that i read the daily koz or listen to Soros.

I dont have any implistic like or dislike for a any republicrat. I also know that in a 2 party system power struggles and tactics used to make the other party anemic are normal. since you are a history major you should remember the whig party and how they rose and fell from power and what tactics the other parties used. they are the same now as then. Public perception of accountability or the actual ability to make a law or changes happen in congressional acts in a multi party system are always beset with bureacratic maneuvering and inefficiency by the very nature of party power struggles.

I am sure as a History major you did not skip American political history or you poli science gec classes that are mandatory with a history major.

The Dems are blaming the Bush Administration for thier lack of negotiating skills. The Bush Admin gets the same blame. Don't tell me it is all the Bush Admin fault - the Dems are just as bad. They have no agenda and no leadership. Both sides suck, so give me a break with the "I am no Democrat" BS.

To get back seat? Because the Dems do not have the skill to get bills through? Maybe if they were not so left of center and actually came closer to the center there would be something passed. He is to the right and they are to the left, and you blame one side for that.

quote:

beset with bureacratic maneuvering and inefficiency by the very nature of party power struggles.

Precisely why people like me do not want the government running things, yet the Dems want more control for the federal govt.

This isn't a Dem Congress, really. Since that one dude went into a coma and missed almost a year, and considering that Lieberman is a Republican on matters of Iraq, it's been closer to a Republican Congress.

At best, it's 50-50, which means ain't nothin' gonna happen.

You guys need to quit working so hard to rewrite reality. Worst, most unpopular president in U.S. history with a record percentage of Americans believing we're moving in the wrong direction.

I'm not saying your party won't rally and recreate itself, but it's at absolute rock bottom at the moment based on the biggest failure of an administration ever.

It most certainly IS a Dem Congress. Nasty Piglosi is holding up important legislation from being VOTED ON. How the bleep do ya blame Bush's veto power for that?

What happened to at least VOTING on legislation?

Dem Corruption high up, and I'll bet a lot of Dems in Congress see it, too.

quote:

Originally posted by sevknowsbetter:
come on Nav this is not a dem problem, they dont have enough majority to override Bush or the republicans in the first place. People talk about the Dems who have "control" they have a slight majority not control. Bush has stopped any and all dem by threat of veto unless they support him which they will not do.

So yes Bush and the republicans are in fact not letting the democrats actually do what they promised because they want to make them look back to gain the seats back and the majority they lost because of their failed policies when they had the majority and a republican president to rubber stamp their deals.

Sev,

I have no use for any of them. I am not a Rep or Dem, I am all for common sense and taking care of your own business and let me do the same. I support whoever will let me do that and I will flush those that do not. Thus I would flush them all like one big turd.

quote:

Originally posted by shepwrite:
This isn't a Dem Congress, really. Since that one dude went into a coma and missed almost a year, and considering that Lieberman is a Republican on matters of Iraq, it's been closer to a Republican Congress.

At best, it's 50-50, which means ain't nothin' gonna happen.

You guys need to quit working so hard to rewrite reality. Worst, most unpopular president in U.S. history with a record percentage of Americans believing we're moving in the wrong direction.

I'm not saying your party won't rally and recreate itself, but it's at absolute rock bottom at the moment based on the biggest failure of an administration ever.

And popularity does not mean squat, the fact that you keep harping on that is a freakin joke. Why not just get a Prom king and queen and we get let them run the country, heck they are popular. Most Americans, people in general do not want to do what it takes to fix things. It is a change but don't inconvience me as you do it.

quote:

Originally posted by calfoxwc:
It most certainly IS a Dem Congress. Nasty Piglosi is holding up important legislation from being VOTED ON. How the bleep do ya blame Bush's veto power for that?

What happened to at least VOTING on legislation?

Dem Corruption high up, and I'll bet a lot of Dems in Congress see it, too.

They all play political games with our lives, lets face it. But then at least the Dems bring the masses flowers before they screw them. If they would just do what is right we would have a line item veto.

No, the Dems haven't even had a VOTING majority, Cal. That lasted about a week. It's been gridlock ever since.

Sorry, man... find another out. Or imagine one.

They all play political games with our lives, lets face it. But then at least the Dems bring the masses flowers before they screw them. If they would just do what is right we would have a line item veto.

that was funny and unfortunately sometimes true.

Piglosi is a Marxist Dem. She got there because the Dems took power. She's a Dem who is controlling the ability for things to go to Congress -like votes on important bills, and the appointment of judges.
Maybe she'll get malaria and retire rich.

THE PLAN

In the beginning was the PLAN.
And then came the Assumptions.
And the Assumptions were without form.
And the PLAN was without substance.
And the darkness was upon the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying,

"It is a crock of shit, and it stinketh."

And the workers went to their Supervisors and said,

"It is a pail of dung, and none may abide the odor thereof."

And the Supervisors went unto their Campaign Managers, saying,

"It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide it."

And the Compaign Managers went unto their Democrate Directors, saying,

"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide the strength."

And the Democrate Directors conferred among themselves, and went to the Speaker of the House saying,

"It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

And the Speaker of the House went unto Obama, saying unto him,

"This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company, with powerful effects."

And Obama looked upon the PLAN and saw that it was good.
And the PLAN became POLICY.

LOL !

Which means Obumba is full of Dem fertilizer - "Heinz 57" - dumb enough to say he's been to 57 states.