Federal prosecutors–namely former US Attorney Ronald Machen and his assistant, Vincent Cohen–corrupted DC’s 2014 mayoral race.
There are many conclusions to draw from news that acting US Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today that he was finally killing the investigation of former mayor Vincent Gray for alleged corruption of his 2010 campaign. You could say the feds and FBI agents did a great job ferreting out dirty cash that found its way into the campaign. You could pat Machen on his back for extracting guilty pleas from six of Gray’s campaign aides. And you could give prosecutors props for fulfilling their threat to weed out public corruption in D.C. During Machen’s tenure, his prosecutors did take down two sitting councilmembers, Kwame Brown and Harry Thomas Jr., and former councilmember Michael Brown.
Great work.
But Machen’s decision to implicate Gray in the corruption investigation, three weeks before the Democratic primary, has to go down as federal law enforcement polluting the democratic process. Gray was ahead in the polls with then-council member Muriel Bowser. Immediately after prosecutors dropped Gray’s name in court, alleging that he was party to the dirty cash that was fed into his campaign, his numbers plunged. Bowser won.
What’s more galling, Machen and his prosecutors based their flimsy implication on the testimony of Jeffrey Thompson, the architect, creator and financier of the $650,000 mountain of dirty cash that went unreported into Gray’s campaign. Thompson made a fortune from multimillion dollar contracts handling DC’s Medicaid system. The city said he was cheating on the contracts and successfully forced him to return $11 million. But Thompson used some his millions to spread cash under the table to a number of local campaigns and to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign in Texas.
Ironically, the corrupt funds he devoted to Gray wound up contributing to his defeat.
The winners in this corruption of justice and democracy are:
Thompson, who gets off with a six-month sentence, in part by trying to rat out Gray.
Gray, who gets to consider running for city council.
The losers: residents of the District of Columbia, who were not given a fair chance at electing the candidate of their choice for mayor.
One pungent takeaway from todays news is that the federal investigation into corruption of DC’s 2010 mayoral campaign wound up corrupting the 2014 campaign.
The Feds Polluted DC’s Democratic Process With Gray Investigation
Federal prosecutors–namely former US Attorney Ronald Machen and his assistant, Vincent Cohen–corrupted DC’s 2014 mayoral race.
There are many conclusions to draw from news that acting US Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today that he was finally killing the investigation of former mayor Vincent Gray for alleged corruption of his 2010 campaign. You could say the feds and FBI agents did a great job ferreting out dirty cash that found its way into the campaign. You could pat Machen on his back for extracting guilty pleas from six of Gray’s campaign aides. And you could give prosecutors props for fulfilling their threat to weed out public corruption in D.C. During Machen’s tenure, his prosecutors did take down two sitting councilmembers, Kwame Brown and Harry Thomas Jr., and former councilmember Michael Brown.
Great work.
But Machen’s decision to implicate Gray in the corruption investigation, three weeks before the Democratic primary, has to go down as federal law enforcement polluting the democratic process. Gray was ahead in the polls with then-council member Muriel Bowser. Immediately after prosecutors dropped Gray’s name in court, alleging that he was party to the dirty cash that was fed into his campaign, his numbers plunged. Bowser won.
What’s more galling, Machen and his prosecutors based their flimsy implication on the testimony of Jeffrey Thompson, the architect, creator and financier of the $650,000 mountain of dirty cash that went unreported into Gray’s campaign. Thompson made a fortune from multimillion dollar contracts handling DC’s Medicaid system. The city said he was cheating on the contracts and successfully forced him to return $11 million. But Thompson used some his millions to spread cash under the table to a number of local campaigns and to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign in Texas.
Ironically, the corrupt funds he devoted to Gray wound up contributing to his defeat.
The winners in this corruption of justice and democracy are:
The losers: residents of the District of Columbia, who were not given a fair chance at electing the candidate of their choice for mayor.
One pungent takeaway from todays news is that the federal investigation into corruption of DC’s 2010 mayoral campaign wound up corrupting the 2014 campaign.
Shame on the feds.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Bans on Underage Vaping, Swastika Graffiti, Synthetic Dyes: New Virginia Laws Go Into Effect in July
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Speaker Johnson’s Megabill Prayers Likely to Be Answered Before Holiday Weekend, Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Faced Abuse in El Salvador Prison, and We Found Some Yummy Nepalese Food
Pardoned J6er Will Join Ed Martin’s Justice Department Office, Trump Outlines Hypothetical Alligator Escape Plan, and We Have Fireworks Show Recommendations
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut
The Commanders Wine and Dine DC Council Members; GOP Senator Suggests Tax Language Was “Airdropped” Into Spending Bill; and Trump Wants DOGE to Investigate Musk
100 Reasons to Love DC Right Now
How DC’s Attorney General Got So Good at Double Dutch
DC Council Ponders New Way to Expel Trayon White, the GOP’s Budget Bill Advances, and We Found You Some Tacos With Ethiopian Flair