For Those Wondering What a Real Political Scandal Looks Like . . .

 

Have I got one for you:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn’t personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.

In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews.

The Nevada Democrat’s deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in other prior organized crime investigations. He’s never been charged with wrongdoing — except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court.

[. . .]

The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown’s company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later.

Reid hung up the phone when questioned about the deal during an AP interview last week.

This certainly seems like more of a case of political wrongdoing than did Reid’s utterly unsubstantiated charges that Mitt Romney did not pay any income tax. ou remember those charges; they were the ones that Reid said he did not have to prove, and that Romney had to disprove, because in Harry Reid’s world, people are guilty until proven innocent and have to prove negatives—assuming that those people are Republicans.

In any event, given that the media gave far too much credibility to Reid’s completely substance-free accusations against Romney, it would be nice to see the media pay some attention to this story. There is, after all, a great deal more evidence that Harry Reid was involved in unethical—and possibly illegal—shenanigans, and he owes the public an explanation for this behavior. To help him out, I am willing to extend to him the presumption of innocence–the very same presumption that undergirds the American justice system, and the one that Reid refused to extend to Mitt Romney. After all, just because Harry Reid is a McCarthyite does not mean that the rest of us should be.

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  1. user_188825 Member
    user_188825
    @WadeMoore

    It would seem this is a ready made scandal for an up and coming investigative reporter type.  The mark is perfect; sanctimonious and has a nasty temper.  Every revelation is going to produce fireworks…

    • #1
  2. Pilli Inactive
    Pilli
    @Pilli

    Ever wonder how a Congresscritter can be relatively poor when elected and be a multi-millionaire when he retires?

    • #2
  3. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    Why is Reid still untouchable after all these decades?  The guy is so dirty he stinks across the land.

    • #3
  4. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    Yet, somehow, he’ll likely be reelected in 2016.

    • #4
  5. Kay Ludlow Inactive
    Kay Ludlow
    @KayLudlow

    Not to mention the $17k of campaign finance funds that Senator Reid gave to his granddaughter (although once caught red handed he returned the money). Hard to believe this man leads the Senate!

    • #5
  6. tabula rasa Inactive
    tabula rasa
    @tabularasa

    Reid’s sleaze has a coating of sleaze on it.

    • #6
  7. user_937199 Inactive
    user_937199
    @Chainsaw

    Hello Happy Monday!
    Well, well “Dirty Harry”; just when it can not get any better, a new face surfaces?
    Mr Magaziner a Clinton operative from Climate Change. The sink hole just keeps getting wider and deeper. Now I am convinced the Militia should have surrounded Harry Reid’s House and gone directly to the source of all the lies and stop his Political machine. This guy is really bad news. I believe history will remember “Dirty Harry” as one of the most corrupt politicians in history, if not a runner up. That is a tall order, for a small guy!
    Thx Chainsaw
    PS Check out the dead cattle the BLM buried? Very strange?

    • #7
  8. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    This is, I think, an old story or is it another story of the same type?  I remember reading something like this several years back.

    • #8
  9. Pilli Inactive
    Pilli
    @Pilli

    Reminds me of Dan Rowstenkowski.

    • #9
  10. A Beleaguered Conservative Member
    A Beleaguered Conservative
    @

    If Reid did something to a bridge, perhaps the media would be all over it.

    • #10
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