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LEFT WING LOONS Title: Letters bearing Eddie Bernice Johnson's [ Democrat ] signature ask that scholarship money be sent directly to her grandsons Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson apparently asked the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to send scholarship checks directly to her two grandsons and two great-nephews, rather than to their colleges. Johnson has insisted repeatedly that she left scholarship decisions to aides. But two letters she sent the foundation from 2006 undermine claims that she wasn't involved in obtaining $31,000 for her relatives and two other ineligible recipients. Neither her aides nor the foundation responded to repeated requests to discuss the letters, which were obtained separately by The Dallas Morning News and by Johnson's GOP challenger, Stephen Broden, who released them Tuesday. But the letters suggest a far more direct role for the Dallas Democrat than she acknowledged in the last week after revelations by The News that she awarded at least 23 scholarships to her relatives and the children of a top staffer – in violation of the foundation's nepotism and residency rules. "There have been statements made by Congresswoman Johnson that she was oblivious to the process and that she was sort of detached from it and was not involved in the detail," Broden said. "We see here that she was orchestrating how the checks should be made out." The letters are on Johnson's U.S. House letterhead. They bear a fax stamp from her Dallas office and a signature that appears to match hers from previous correspondence unrelated to the scholarships. Foundation rules The 2008 directions that the foundation distributed for the program state that scholarships cannot be paid directly to individual students. "All scholarship checks will be made payable to the institution of attendance. Scholarship checks will not be made payable to the student," the instructions read. It wasn't immediately clear whether such rules were in place for previous years, the years in question for Johnson's letters. Johnson has acknowledged violating other rules of the program, though she insisted she did so unknowingly. It's also unclear whether her relatives ultimately got the money and whether Johnson made such a request for other recipients. But the wording of her letter suggests that Johnson had possession of scholarship checks from the foundation. "Please accept the enclosed scholarship checks for Preston Moore and Gregory Moore. If possible I would like for their checks to be made out to them instead of the University," Johnson wrote in one letter to the foundation, providing the Plano home address for her great-nephews, Preston and Gregory Moore. Both have since graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Johnson wrote a similar letter on behalf of her grandsons, David and Dawrence "Kirk" Johnson of Austin. David Johnson graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos. His brother was enrolled as recently as earlier this year at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Johnson's relatives have declined to return repeated calls and e-mails from reporters to discuss the matter. Both letters are undated, other than time stamps indicating they were faxed on Oct. 25, 2006, from Johnson's congressional office in Dallas. Defending selections When The News first discussed the scholarships with Johnson two weeks ago – before she acknowledged the rules violations – she and her spokeswoman defended the selection of relatives partly by arguing that the funds were used only for tuition. "That goes directly to the schools," Dena Craig, her communications director, said. When The News pointed out that if a student has a smaller tuition bill, he has more money available for food or rent, Johnson responded that "it might take $1,000 off a student loan. There's a lot of ways it can be used." In that interview, Johnson said she knew her relatives had received scholarships from her office but minimized her own role. "I recognized the names when I saw them, and I knew that they had a need just like any other kid that would apply for one," she said. On CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 on Thursday, Johnson said she kept a hands-off approach on scholarships, asserting that it was her chief of staff's responsibility to review applications and make sure the rules were followed. "I work pretty hard. We have a lot to do. And it really has not gotten all of my attention, I regret to say. It's a minor part of what we do on a daily basis," she said, adding that "I have not dwelled on trying to figure out a way to give my grandchildren $1,000 a year. ... I have a lot of things to do." Broden said one of his campaign supporters gave him the letters in which Johnson asks for the direct payments. The News has tried to independently authenticate the letters, along with check stubs from the foundation to some of the recipients' universities. He argued that if Johnson had to ask for new checks, the foundation's usual practice must have been to remit funds to colleges. "She asked for an exception. ... That's unusual. Every scholarship that I received when I was in school was made out to the school on my behalf," said Broden, a pastor who studied at the University of Michigan. "Maybe it doesn't make a difference if it goes in their pockets," Broden said. But, he said, if the student's parents had already covered the costs of tuition, housing, books, food and clothing, then Johnson's effort amounted to helping them obtain "discretionary money" – from a scholarship program intended to help needy and deserving students get an education. Broden has demanded a House ethics investigation. Officials at the House ethics committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics, which also looks into allegations of wrongdoing by U.S. House members, have declined to say whether Johnson's actions will be investigated.
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#1. To: WhiteSands (#0)
Wow, these Democrats have really screwed up big-time.
Clinton and Cuomo are the true bandits who lit the fuse to this economic crisis we're now in. All in the name of getting more minorities in houses: http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=12554
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