FBI RADICALLY INCREASES MANPOWER
TO COMBAT CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION

From the New York Daily News courtesy of AlterNet:

There is so much political corruption on Capitol Hill that the FBI has had to triple the number of squads investigating lobbyists, lawmakers and influence peddlers, the Daily News has learned.

For decades, only one squad in Washington handled corruption cases because the crimes were seen as local offenses handled by FBI field offices in lawmakers' home districts.

But in recent years, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and other abuses of power and privilege have prompted the FBI to assign 37 agents full-time to three new squads in an office near Capitol Hill.

Click here for the rest.

I do agree with the Congressional leaders who warned last spring of a usurpation of the balance of powers by the administrative branch via misuse of criminal investigation, especially under the current administration. However, I've long understood, myself, that Congress, by and large, is literally bought and sold by special interests, and by "special" I generally mean "corporate." In fact, it's been so bad for so long that I've essentially decided that we no longer live in a democracy. These Bozos in Congress need to be investigated. Ending the cycle of influence-peddling has got to start somewhere, and I'm not holding my breath waiting for my own representative to begin the crusade. It might as well begin with the FBI.

But what I'd like to know is why Bush is allowing this to happen. I'm assuming he could quash the whole thing if he wanted, in the same way that he's gotten the results he's wanted from other agencies under his control. What's his game? Or is the whole corruption issue so out of control that he feels he has no choice?

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