Breaking news: John Ford resigns

[ridgerunner]

Senator, arrested Thursday in FBI sting operation, decides to step down

By TRENT SIEBERT
Staff Writer

Tennessee Lt. Gov. John Wilder announced this afternoon to the state Senate that Sen. John Ford, who was arrested Thursday as part of a two-year FBI sting operation, has resigned.

Wilder read a letter quoting Ford as saying, “I hereby resign from the state Senate. I plan to spend the rest of my time with my family clearing my name.”

Ford, a Memphis Democrat who has been beleaguered for months by an ethics scandal, is charged with three other current and a former state lawmaker with taking payoffs to influence legislation.

>snip

Ford is the only one facing accusations of threatening to kill witnesses.

more:http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS0201/50528001

[indepat]

1. Ford must be going into the private sector where he can make some real

money.

[Gyre]

2. effin Newsweek!

That damned librul media. :grr:

BTW: Who the f_ck is John Ford, and why does anybody in DU care whether he lives or dies?

Gyre

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Think Harold Ford.

His father, I think.

[ridgerunner]

5. uncle, and crooked as all get out n/t

[sunnystarr]

7. No .. he's Harold Ford's uncle (nt)

[Tippy]

22. John Ford...& Harold Ford SR. are brothers

John Ford is Uncle to Harold Ford Jr....

[alphafemale]

6. Well spoken Southern Senator who happened to be African American

He was a shining star for awhile.

[Zynx]

8. No, that's the wrong Ford

This is his uncle - and has always been a crook.

[alphafemale]

16. OK...I guess I just registered Ford and Tennessee

I still do have hopes for Ford then...:D

[liberalnurse]

14. Whooo; your out of the loop this week.....

:blush:

[alphafemale]

3. meanwhile...taking payoffs to influence legislation & threatening judges..

is still applauded by the right.

I had hopes for Ford.

But wrong is wrong.

[aquart]

9. We applaud the prosecution of ALL corrupt officials.

No matter how low or how high.

And it was honorable (though he may have scant claim to it otherwise) of Ford to resign.

[mzmolly]

10. Let's hope Delay follows, though I don't know that the FBI investigates

White Republicans all that often?

[aquart]

11. Or ever?

[mzmolly]

12. Or ... ever.

;)

[NNN0LHI]

13. Gosh, and I thought he did so good on Stagecoach too

Oh, that John Ford.

Don

[symbolman]

15. Of Course

Tom Delay is still standing tall, surrounded by his rich jackals..

[stevedeshazer]

17. Standing tall, firm, and erect is more like it.

But, I digress.... :)

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lavenderdiva]

19. Tennessee State Senator Facing Bribery Charges...resigns

Tennessee State Senator Facing Bribery Charges After FBI Sting Submits Letter of Resignation

link:
http://neworleans.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8ACBQ7G0

snip:
State Sen. John Ford, a member of one of Tennessee's most powerful political families, has resigned after being placed under house arrest as he faces charges from a two-year FBI sting, the lieutenant governor said Saturday.

snip:
A member of the Senate for more than 30 years, Ford was arrested Thursday following the sting operation nicknamed "Tennessee Waltz." He is charged along with four other current and former state lawmakers with taking payoffs, and he is also accused of threatening to kill a witness.

snip:
During his tenure in the state Senate, John Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, given a political job to a girlfriend, used campaign money for his daughter's wedding and been successfully sued for sexual harassment.

Republican Senate leader Ron Ramsey said the Ethics Committee he chairs was getting ready to file a six-court charge against Ford for violating Senate rules stemming from a separate investigation into allegations he was paid by a consulting company with financial ties to the state's Medicaid program.

"I believe we would have had the votes to remove Senator Ford from office," Ramsey said.

Sen. Tim Burchett, a Republican, said he was a little surprised by the resignation, "but I think he realized a cat only has nine lives and he's on about life 10."

[Cha]

20. Sounds like a budding

tom delay..except no one would be caught dead with delay en flagrante delicto.

[babylonsister]

21. Or actions DeLay should take! nt

[Tippy]

23. In case you havn't hear John Ford said he was

Going to use a public defender...but when he appeared in court yesterday in Memphis he had not one but two high priced attorneys representing him......

[CatWoman]

24. Tenn. State Senator Resigns After Arrest (Harold Ford's Uncle)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - State Sen. John Ford, a member of one of Tennessee's most powerful political families, has resigned after being placed under house arrest facing charges from a two-year
FBI sting, the lieutenant governor said Saturday.

Ford announced his resignation in a letter Lt. Gov. John Wilder read to the Senate.

"I plan to spend the rest of my time with my family clearing my name," he wrote.

A member of the Senate for more than 30 years, Ford was arrested Thursday following the sting operation nicknamed "Tennessee Waltz." He is charged along with four other current and former state lawmakers with taking payoffs, and he is also accused of threatening to kill a witness.

Prosecutors played a videotape Friday of Ford watching an undercover agent count out $10,000 and an audiotape of him allegedly threatening a potential witness. His lawyer suggested the purported threat was meant as a joke.

http://tinyurl.com/9lg28