"With Internet journalists, political activists and public-interest groups investigating allegations made against the Obama Administration, is it any wonder the President unleashed high-tech Brown Shirts to harass, threaten, ridicule and marginalize Obama watchdogs on the Internet?"
While members of America's Fourth Estate appear to be taking an extensive hiatus from conducting investigative news gathering regarding the current Administration, Internet journalists, bloggers, talk radio hosts and public-interest groups have been uncovering numerous cases of government corruption, fraud and unethical behavior in Washington, D.C.
For example, a legal watchdog group that investigates and prosecutes government fraud and corruption is probing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's alleged connections to lobbyists, according to a report released on Friday.
The details surrounding the State Department’s expected approval of a controversial oil pipeline are being kept secret in an apparent effort to conceal impropriety created by the tight knit relationship between Hillary Clinton and the lobbyist pushing the multi billion-dollar project, according to Judicial Watch.
The Secretary of State must approve the permit for the Canada-to-Texas pipeline, known as Keystone XL, which will span nearly 2,000 miles and transport around 1 million barrels of heavy crude oil daily across six states. Predicting opposition from environmental groups, the Canadian company behind the mega project hired one of Clinton’s national campaign directors (Paul Elliott) as its chief lobbyist.
The tactic has been quite effective because Clinton indicated that she would approve Keystone XL long before the completion of a federally required environmental impact statement. Incredibly, her support hasn’t wavered in the aftermath of a preliminary Environmental Protection Agency report that gives the pipeline project the lowest possible ranking.
A coalition of environmental groups has joined forces to obtain details on the influence that the Clinton-Elliott relationship has had in the matter. Using federal public records laws the groups requested all correspondence between the politically-connected lobbyist and State Department officials considering the pipeline permit, including Clinton.
In an apparent stall tactic, the agency denied the request claiming that it was “invalid” because it didn’t specify a time frame. The groups appealed and the State Department agreed to open a new request, noting that “unusual circumstances” may arise that could require “additional time to process” the new request. If the Obama Administration, which has promised unprecedented transparency, ever makes the information public, it probably won’t do so until the pipeline is half built, according to Judicial Watch officials.
Last week the public-interest and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against Clinton and the State Department to obtain the records that could prove impropriety. In their complaint the nonprofits assert that the information they are seeking directly relates to whether the relationship between Elliott and Secretary Clinton might inappropriately influence the State Department’s decision to grant or deny the pipeline permit.
The groups claim the transcontinental pipeline poses “massive environmental risk" and significant public health dangers that are being concealed from the public. One of the attorneys for the environmental coalition rightfully points out that refusing to provide records on the approval process “raises important questions of transparency and fairness.” Keep in mind that these are liberals who undoubtedly support this administration, observes Judicial Watch's president Tom Fitton.
Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he's a columnist for Examiner.com. In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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