Efforts by Jean Primordialooze Schmidt to qualify for a congressional pension may yet hit a snag. Schmidt, who represents Ohio's second district (where I live), and whose reelection this November has been assured by action of the Ohio Democratic Party "leadership," now faces very serious charges of ethics violations, filed in a petition to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Before moving to Schmidt's district, I lived in Charlie Rangel's district. If I seem a bit cynical about politics, please understand.
The current charges arise from Schmidt's two-year vendetta against political challenger David Krikorian. That vendetta has included filing "false statement" allegations with the Ohio Elections Commission, then withdrawing most of the allegations after getting media coverage, and most recently filing a defamation lawsuit against Krikorian, the latter intended to deflect attention away from the ethics charges now filed.
Note: Mr. Krikorian is a private citizen, not now running for public office. (For that story, see more below.) Krikorian is, however, the petitioner in the current matter, because the charges center on the allegation that Schmidt received free legal services to attack Krikorian, from parties associated with Turkish-American organizations, without reporting those services as a gift, as required by law.
Schmidt has served as co-chair of the Turkish-American Congressional Caucus, has benefitted from fundraisers held by Turkish-American PACS, has visited Turkey, and has opposed a congressional resolution acknowledging the Turkish genocide of Armenians, all despite the fact of no visible Turkish community in her district.
Mr. Krikorian, whose grandparents were survivors of the genocide, pointed out these facts in his 2008 Independent bid for the congressional seat. That ignited the incendiary Turkish attack on Krikorian, using Ms. Schmidt as agent. An attack now pinned as illegal under U.S. law. (For more background, click on the Genocide Denial Trial tag and read my former diaries on that subject.)
The ethics petition is backed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington -- http://www.citizensforethics.org/... a major DC ethics watchdog organization.
Following is most of the press release announcing the filing, issued one hour ago:
Ethics Watchdog CREW Calls Rep. Jean Schmidt's Behavior Unethical and Illegal
Formal Ethics Complaint Filed Against Representative Jean Schmidt for Accepting Illegal Gifts
Cincinnati, OH - July 26, 2010 - Former U.S. Congressional candidate David Krikorian announced today that he filed a formal Complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (OH-2) arising from her acceptance of payment, on her behalf, of hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal fees and expenses associated with a series of four legal actions against Krikorian.
"It is outrageous that Rep. Schmidt seems to think the clear-cut rules governing gifts and financial disclosures do not apply to her," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. "By accepting a gift worth hundreds of thousands of dollars - and not reporting that gift on her financial disclosure forms - she has violated House rules and federal law."
It is a violation of House rules to accept gifts in excess of $350 and a violation of federal statute - a felony - to lie about that. Schmidt has done both by accepting the gift of payment for legal services and failing to report that gift on her Calendar Year 2009 Financial Disclosure Statement filed with the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Complaint was filed last week because Schmidt's financial disclosure statement only became public on June 15. The Office of Congressional Ethics has received the Complaint and per procedure, a staff review of the information presented in the Complaint will be conducted.
After learning of the Complaint filed by Krikorian via a news reporter's inquiry, Schmidt announced last Wednesday night that she was forming a legal defense fund to pay for her latest legal action against Krikorian. Schmidt announced last Wednesday night that she was forming a legal defense fund to pay for her latest legal action against Krikorian. This fund will not cure the serious legal problems - both under House Rules and federal statute - that Schmidt has for accepting the illegal gifts and lying about them on her Calendar Year 2009 Financial Disclosure Statement.
"Schmidt can't put the genie back in the legal bottle," said Krikorian. "Her misdeeds in accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in payment of her legal fees and lying about it on her calendar year 2009 financial disclosure statements have already occurred. Her claim to start to establish a legal defense fund in July 2010 can't cover up the crimes committed to date in this affair."
Please click here for a copy of the Complaint and supporting attachments that provide evidence of Krikorian's detailed claims, as well as reference to relevant House Rules and Statutes: http://www.ilikedave.org/...
Now you might be wondering about the relationship of this brouhaha to the upcoming congressional election. The answer is: There is no relationship. Mr. Krikorian HAD been rolling toward nomination as the Democratic challenger to Jean Schmidt. HAD he won the primary, he would have been guaranteed of victory in November, which would have offset the impending loss of the OH-01 seat to the GOP.
But neither the Republicans nor the Democrats in southwest Ohio could let that happen -- Krikorian isn't part of the Democratic Party clique. Therefore, Jean Schmidt fabricated a lie about Krikorian about two weeks before the May 4 primary election. Three Democratic Party state and county chairmen then endorsed that lie, openly colluding with Schmidt, throwing the party weight behind an unknown primary opponent who has never in his life been registered as a Democrat. That opponent then won the primary by 3 points, with a total of 10,001 votes, overwhelmingly concentrated in machine-controlled Hamilton County.
So where is that guy, the Democratic Party nominee, now? EXCELLENT QUESTION!!!! He hasn't been heard from. He's been quieter than a ball-gagged mouse at a cat convention. Attacks on the incumbent Schmidt? None. Bold policy initiatives? None. Aggressive fundraising? Since primary day, he's reported only 16 (including married couples) new donors of more than $100. He has a total of less than $40,000 cash on hand. In his SINGLE public statement since the primary that made the papers, he ATTACKED the incumbent Congress, and tried to link Schmidt to that Congress.
During the primary campaign I called him a schmill -- a Schmidt shill. I believe I have been proven correct.
OH-02 was the Democrats' BEST CHANCE for a congressional pick-up in the nation. But the party needed to embrace an Independent insurgent in order to gain that seat, and the party said no. If Democrats do lose control of the House, it will be because of the blockheaded betrayal that happened in OH-02.
Jean Schmidt's reelection is assured, guaranteed by the Democratic Party. Schmidt could spend the next three months in a spiderhole in Iraq, and still win. She could vacation on a Turkish island, all expenses paid by the Turkish government, and still win. She could be caught with a live girl and a dead boy simultaneously and still win. She could disclose a secret love-child fathered by John Boehner, and STILL WIN. Thanks to our Democratic "leaders," the voters of OH-02 will have no stomachable choices if they vote in November. So many of us will not bother.
But that doesn't mean we're giving Jean Paleozoic Schmidt a free ride. The ethics process is a long one, involving preliminary and potential major investigations that will take many months or years. Potential penalties range from slaps on the wrist, to loss of the seat, to jail time.
But hey. We have nothing else to do behind the Ironton Curtain of Southwest Ohio. It's not like we have political parties to choose from. So we're going to Rangel her.