Edwards fundraiser under indictment...Trippi ought to look within before criticising

[SaveElmer]

Lawyer in Plea Deal Was Edwards Bundler

Though his former law firm came under indictment more than a year ago and he himself appeared likely to face criminal charges, prominent trial lawyer William S. Lerach slipped past the vetting of John Edwards' presidential campaign and was permitted to raise large amounts of money for the Democrat's 2008 bid.

Lerach, his family and members of his new law Lerach Coughlin law firm accounted for nearly $78,000 in donations to Edwards' campaign in the first half of this year, making the trial lawyer one of the North Carolina Democrat's leading "bundlers" of contributions.

In the midst of that fundraising, Lerach negotiated behind the scenes for a plea deal that was consummated on Tuesday and will send him to federal prison for at least 12 months on a conspiracy charge involving his past legal work as partner in the Milberg Weiss law firm.

Through it all, Edwards stood by his fellow trial lawyer and even took an action this spring that was helpful to his longtime financial supporter in a government matter.

In May, Edwards used the bully pulpit of his presidential campaign to publicly pressure the Securities and Exchange Commission not to oppose Lerach's new law firm in a Supreme Court case over whether Lerach's lawsuits could proceed against banks on behalf of investors who lost millions in the collapse of energy giant Enron.

...

All of this transpired while Edwards campaigned against what he calls a "corroded and corrupt" Washington system in which politicians raise money from special interests who then seek their help on government matters. To make his point, Edwards campaign is refusing any donations from lobbyists registered in Washington.

The latest salvo on that theme came Tuesday -- the day of Lerach's plea deal -- when top Edwards' aide Joe Trippi publicly criticized rival Hillary Clinton's campaign for hosting a fundraiser targeting companies and lobbyists seeking the government's multibillion dollar business.

"Too many in office have fallen under the spell of campaign money at any cost -- and do not see that when they defend the system, they are protecting those that have rigged the game that puts corporate profits ahead of the interests of working Americans," Trippi wrote.

Trippi's attack made no mention of Lerach, the Edwards' bundler, or the fact that Lerach had just reached a plea deal in a scheme prosecutors alleged involved kickback payments to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits he and his former law firm brought.


...

Edwards campaign said it donated Lerach's personal donations to charity yesterday after his guilty plea, but isn't returning the money he raised from others.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/09/19/lawyer_in_plea_deal_was_edward.html

[Catchawave]

1. Brought to you by John Solomon....

geesh. I'm still voting for him and sending him even mo'money :hi:

[wyldwolf]

2. so what is inaccurate about the piece?

[truebrit71]

3. Dunno...btw what else will your candidate attempt to force down our throats..

..if, God forbid, she gets elected?

[Catchawave]

7. It's John Solomon, and posting his b.s. articles is a vote for

a Republican ! Do a little research on him and Nedra Pickler, they write crappy articles about all the Dems.

[SaveElmer]

4. Exactly what is incorrect...

If their are inaccuracies we would surely like to know!

[ChiciB1]

8. Well... Hillary's Up Next!!! And BTW...

If "there" are, as opposed to If "their" are.... I myself make mistakes and really hit myself over the head when I see them. Nothing personal, but I do prefer I get called on them so I don't repeat them again.

[jsamuel]

5. John Solomon specializes in creating an aura of scandal where none exists.

He has done it repeatedly to the point to where the washpost's own ombudsman said his piece against Edwards was a "Gotcha" piece without the "Gotcha".

I am also reminded of another story from the Washington Post co-written by a somewhat well known John Solomon of Harry Reid Boxing Ticket and Harry Reid Tipping a Door Man fame. That story about John Edwards insinuated that his house sale was some sort of underworld conspiracy to........ sell a house. The accusatory tone in that article (another PAGE 1) was even brought into question by one of the Washington Posts own ombudsmen. They described it as a "GOT YA" article without the "GOT YA".

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/22/92114/1964

He does that in this article by incriminating Edwards for something a bundler did. It is just another case of his insinuating that Edwards did something wrong with no evidence for anything wrong. Look at my other posts to see what I am talking about here.

HE WENT AFTER REID AND OTHER DEMS FOR THE ABRAMOFF SCANDAL!!!! The point of his pieces aren't to be right, they are to try to trick people into thinking a scandal exists, especially if it is a Democrat like Reid or Edwards.

[Catchawave]

9. Thank you for clarifying.....

Solomon and Pickler are tabloidy, and paid for controversy because "it sells".

Like MoDo, only dumber :hi:

[zalinda]

6. It's a smear piece, but

with this inside it "Through it all, Edwards stood by his fellow trial lawyer and even took an action this spring that was helpful to his longtime financial supporter in a government matter.

In May, Edwards used the bully pulpit of his presidential campaign to publicly pressure the Securities and Exchange Commission not to oppose Lerach's new law firm in a Supreme Court case over whether Lerach's lawsuits could proceed against banks on behalf of investors who lost millions in the collapse of energy giant Enron." Again, looking out for the little guy.

zalinda

[Jane Austin]

10. To me, the prosecution is fishy.

Do you understand what they are accused of? It may be unethical, but I don't think it's illegal to give a fee to a non-lawyer in a case.

The fact that the firm is made up of big Dem contributors makes me wonder about the prosecution.

[Hieronymus]

11. What's this about Hillary taking money and promising access at a later date?

[LSK]

12. Is THIS the same guy?

http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/coinop_congress/96mojo_400/lerach.html

"Attendees at a private White House dinner on December 15 may have seen Bill Clinton and William Lerach speaking and shaking hands. What they probably didn't notice was Lerach twisting the president's arm.

Four days later, the president vetoed the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The bill, which makes it more difficult for shareholders to sue their own companies for securities fraud, enjoyed wide bipartisan support, but Clinton startled his party with a last-minute veto. (In late December, Congress overrode the veto handily.)

Clinton's veto seems to have been a "good faith" gesture to Lerach, head of the San Diego office of law firm Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach. Milberg Weiss, the acknowledged leader in shareholder class-action litigation, secures annual settlements estimated at $225 million from this type of suit, according to the newsletter Securities Class Action Alert. "

Maybe the Clinton people should not be talking about this.

[Cameron27]

13. What am I missing?

"Four days later, the president vetoed the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The bill, which makes it more difficult for shareholders to sue their own companies for securities fraud, enjoyed wide bipartisan support, but Clinton startled his party with a last-minute veto. (In late December, Congress overrode the veto handily.)"


Why is this considered a bad veto? :shrug: