Obama loaded up DoJ with donors and cash cows, says legal group

In a scandal almost totally ignored by the news media, President Barack Obama quietly stacked the Department of Justice with campaign contributors, handing out key posts like candy to supporters who raised big bucks for his 2008 presidential campaign and who are expected to collect even more cash for his reelection.

"The Obama campaign team and his cheerleaders in the media had estimated he would become the first president to have a campaign war chest over $1 Billion. Now Americans are finding out how he expects to achieve that feat," said political strategist Mike Baker.

According to the Washington, D.C. watchdog group, Judicial Watch, the Commander-in-Chief rewarded dozens of big donors and fundraisers with lucrative federal contracts, stimulus cash and premium government jobs and ambassadorships.

The chilling details were revealed this week in an expose by the Center for Public Integrity. A team sorted through mountains of government records and campaign finance databases related to Obama’s “mega donors,” their businesses, employers and relatives.

Their search of documents reveals that more than two years after taking office nearly 200 of Obama’s top donors have landed plum government jobs and advisory posts, multi million-dollar federal contracts for their businesses or attended elite White House meetings and social events.

This certainly contradicts the president’s main campaign promise of eradicating the powerful forces of special interests in his administration, according to Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

While this practice is rampant in politics and certainly quite common among U.S. presidents of both parties, Obama deserves extra scrutiny because he virtually guaranteed Americans that he would end it as part of his “change” revolution. Just enter the key words “special interests” on the White House web site and check out the president’s ongoing rhetoric about reducing such damaging influences in Washington “on behalf of the American people.”

Among the more alarming examples listed in the investigative piece involves the DOJ, the agency that enforces the law, ensures public safety against foreign or domestic threats and defends the nation’s interests. Obama appointed seven campaign bundlers to the DOJ, including Attorney General Eric Holder who raised $50,000 in 2008.

A George Washington University law professor (Spencer Overton) who bundled at least half a million dollars was appointed principal deputy attorney general in the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy. Five other donors also landed jobs at the agency, including a Harvard buddy of Obama’s who got the No. 3 DOJ policy job and a Georgia bond lawyer who became a deputy associate attorney general.

At the Department of Energy, four fundraisers who gathered around $1.6 million have held staff jobs or advisory posts, according to the probe. A telecom executive (Donald Gips) who raised more than half a million dollars for Obama in 2008 became his White House hiring director before moving on to an ambassadorship in South Africa. His company also received millions of dollars in government stimulus contracts, according to the investigative news report.

The story includes a number of other examples and a break down of information by donor. It also points out that many of the “Class of 2008” donors and bundlers are, of course, expected to gather more contributions for Obama’s re-election, which could cost around $1 billion.

Special thanks to Jill Farrell, director of communications at Judicial Watch, for her valuable help in uncovering corruption and abuse in government.

Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he’s a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he’s a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.

He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.

To subscribe to Kouri’s newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line.

Leave Your Comments Cancel reply