The state's highest court Monday blocked a newly-elected Manhattan judge from taking office because of charges she violated campaign finance laws. The Court of Appeals, in a one paragraph decision, indefinitely suspended Surrogate Court Judge-elect Nora Anderson with pay, effective Jan. 1. She's suspended until these criminal charges are resolved," said Gary Spencer, a court spokesman.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has accused Anderson of financing her campaign for Surrogate Court with illegal contributions from Brooklyn trusts and estates lawyer Seth Rubenstein. Anderson, 56, has pleaded not guilty.
Gus Newman, Anderson's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment. Newman has argued that Anderson is qualified to be a surrogate's judge, where she would preside over estates of the dead.
The Court of Appeals' ruled unanimously with one abstention to suspend Anderson. Chief Justice Judith Kaye, who is retiring, did not participate in the decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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This is the first time I ever saw a consequence to violating campaign finance laws.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/30/2008 10:17 Comments ||
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Seriously, maybe we can get these guys on the obama case?
In defiance of U.S. senators who said they would not seat his pick, Gov. Rod Blagojevich today selected former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.
Blagojevich praised Burris for his "unquestioned integrity" and "extensive experience," calling him a senior statesman. "Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint this good and honest man," Blagojevich said.
Burris, who accepted the appointment, said he would next deal with the U.S. Senate's statement that it would not seat him. "Faced with these challenges and challenged with these crises, it is incomprehensible that the people of the great state of Illinois will enter the 111th Congress short handed," Burris said. "We need leadership in Washington."
Burris said he spoke with Blagojevich Sunday night. "I was asked if he would appoint me would I accept and the answer is yes," said Burris, who offered no comment on the governor's legal situation.
Blagojevich said he moved to appoint Burris after the General Assembly declined to approve legislation for a special election to find a new U.S. senator. "To not fill the vacancy would be to deprive the people of Illinois of their appropriate voice" in the U.S. Senate, Blagojevich said.
Burris said he accepted the appointment because the nation is at a crossroads. "Faced with these challenges and challenged with these crises, it is incomprehensible that the people of the great state of Illinois will enter the 111th Congress short handed. "We need leadership in Washington."
"I have faith in the record that I have forged over the last four decades. I accept this appointment," Burris said.
Blagojevich's news conference came less than an hour after U.S. Senate Democratic leadership issued a statement saying the Senate will not seat anyone the governor chooses to fill Illinois' vacant Senate post. The statement also is signed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who has repeatedly urged Blagojevich not to name a replacement for the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 15:44 ||
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I mean, jeebus, he really does look like NewsRadio or what?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
The action comes despite warnings by Democratic Senate leaders that they would not seat anyone appointed by the disgraced governor who faces criminal charges of trying to sell the post, sources familiar with the decision said.
Yeah, sure, let's see what Harry Reid does now ...
Shortly after Obama's Nov. 4 victory, Burris made known his interest in an appointment to the Senate but was never seriously considered, according to Blagojevich insiders. But in the days following Blagojevich's arrest, and despite questions over the taint of a Senate appointment, Burris stepped up his efforts to win the governor's support.
Though he is 71, Burris has said that Obama's replacement should be able to win re-election and he has noted that despite a string of primary losses in races ranging from Chicago mayor to governor and U.S. senator, he's never lost to a Republican.
Wait ...
Blagojevich, who has sole authority to name a replacement senator, scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference at his downtown Chicago office.
Blagojevich's criminal defense attorney Ed Genson had said Blagojevich would not name a Senate successor to Obama. The governor had indicated he agreed with other Illinois politicians that the best option might be a special election to fill Obama's seat. But state lawmakers have not taken up the necessary legislation.
Because they were afraid a Republican might win ...
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada previously warned Blagojevich, following the governor's Dec. 9 arrest, that Senate Democrats would not seat any appointment the two-term Democratic governor made. Reid's warning was contained in a letter signed by all 50 sitting Democratic senators, including the No. 2 Democrat in Senate leadership, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Burris became the first African-American to win statewide office in 1978, when he won the first of his three terms as comptroller. But Burris repeatedly stalled in his quest for bigger political office. He failed in three consecutive runs for governor--1994, 1998 and 2002, when he ran against Blagojevich--in the Democratic primaries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2008 13:56 ||
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He don't win much, but he wins once in awhile...
Though he is 71, Burris has said that Obama's replacement should be able to win re-election and he has noted that despite a string of primary losses in races ranging from Chicago mayor to governor and U.S. senator, he's never lost to a Republican.
And don't use up too much spine, Harry. You ain't got a lot to waste...
Incoming Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has made contact with disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- to inform him that he will be stepping down from his House seat this week. Emanuel will be resigning from the House on Friday, January 2. Emanuel also sent out robo-calls to his constituents informing them of his pending resignation.
Emanuel's previous contacts with Blagojevich's office have been closely scrutinized, in light of the governor's indictment for attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat.
Emanuel was first elected to the House in 2002 after serving as a senior political adviser in the Clinton White House. He chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 where he helped engineer the Democrats' takeover of the House after over a decade in the minority.
Blagojevich must schedule a special election within 115 days, according to Illinois state law. A special election primary will occur even earlier. In this heavily-Democratic Chicago district, a primary victory is tantamount to winning the election. His resignation will spark a competitive race to replace him. Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz are two of the leading contenders in a Democratic primary.
This article starring:
Rahm Emanuel
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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So can Blago sell his seat now? Help the defense fund, y'know?
#2
That guy looks to me like he's wound up pretty damn tight, not just in this picture but in every picture of him that I've seen since O named him Chief of Staff. He just looks like he's got a helluva lot to worry about and isn't too sure what to do about it.
Caroline Kennedy's campaign to claim Hillary Clinton's Senate seat has taken another downturn after an interview in which she said "you know" 142 times. At least I hope she didn't pop her gum. That's sooo annoying...
When she first made it known that she wanted to be appointed to take over Mrs Clinton's seat, Miss Kennedy, 51, the daughter of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, seemed a near certainty for the job. But in the course of a few weeks she has alienated Governor David Paterson of New York, who has the sole power to make the appointment, and the American press, including the elite New York Times, which is a powerful influence on Democratic officials. You dare alienate the Great and Powerful Oz Patterson!
During an interview with the paper she stumbled badly, fuelling comparisons to Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, whose bid for the vice-presidency was blighted by a series of disastrous interview with Katie Couric of CBS News. Perhaps most damaging of all was her repeated use of the phrase "you know", which she uttered 142 times and was left in the transcript when it appeared in print.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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D *** NG IT, in Caroline's defense even "I kicked/killed Daddy's Coconuts just to watch them die" PAULA "DELILAH/BATHSHEBA" ABDUL sang "You know" in her vid "OPPOSITES ATTRACT"!
#2
JANUARY, 2009....Camelot returns to the White House!!
Princess Caroline: Like, wow, I am, you know, so happy to see you in, like, my dad's old office, you know?
The One: Yeah, uh, it's, uh, pretty nice. How's that, uh, Senate seat working out for you?
Princess Caroline: Well, you know, I don't actually even know where it is! I had an emergency honorary chairmanship meeting to attend, and that took up a lot of time. But I am doing like so much better than Hillary, you know? But could you, you know, help me with something?
The One: Uh, sure. What is it?
Princess Caroline: You know (rolls her eyes, shrugs her shoulders)....where's that "present" button I heard so much about? I really can't be bothered to, you know, vote on things.
#11
My wife used to admire how, unlike most Kennedys, she always used to stay out of the limelight. Now that she knows she's a friggin ditz, she understands why.
#12
If I'm not mistaken, Obama also uses the phrase habitually. Not that the New York Slimes could quit masturbating over his photo long enough to notice.
#13
How can someone blow an interview by a Fawning Press?
C'mon, CF, RB is a SFW site. you want that kind of stuff, you need to go elsewhere. Penthouse Forums, I believe can answer that for you.....
#14
People, none of this matters. Once she gets to the Senate all she has to do is vote like Harry Reid tells her to vote. As dumb as she may be, do you really believe many of those old farts in the Senate are any smarter? Guys like her uncle Ted? John Frickin' Kerry? Barbara Boxer? Robert Byrd? Ted Stevens? Joe Biden? Hell, she'll fit right in.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In defiance of U.S. senators who said they would not seat his pick, Gov. Rod Blagojevich today selected former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Incoming Obama chief of staff 
Caroline Kennedy's campaign to claim Hillary Clinton's Senate seat has taken another downturn after an interview in which she said "you know" 142 times. 
