The Fallout: D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown Resigns
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-06-07/fallout-dc-council-chair-kwame-brown-resigns
On Wednesday, D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown (D) resigned his office after becoming the second elected city leader to be charged with a felony this year. His resignation is already setting off intensive political maneuvering. We get a primer on the legal maneuvering, find out who is in charge of the Council, and consider how various corruption investigations are affecting life in the District.
Guests
Patrick Madden
Reporter, WAMU 88.5 News
Tom Sherwood
Resident Analyst; NBC 4 reporter; and Columnist for the Current Newspapers
Randall Eliason
former chief of the Public Corruption/Government Fraud section of the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia; adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
The mayor was accused of wrong doing for having done what all political candidates in history have done; offer appointments and jobs to their ardent campaigners.
Regardless of whether you support Brown or not, this seems like a witch hunt.
When did it become a crime to misrepresent your salary on a loan application? Please, educate me!!
Wasn't misrepresentation of salary, encouraged by lenders and realtors, one of the many reasons for the country's foreclosure nightmare?
Does it follow then that prosecution based on fraud be levied against such homeowners?
I have no personal stake in the DC council and have little faith in all politicians but I see a clutching at straws here or a plea bargain behind closed doors.
It's not just the loan application (although that's hardly proper behavior for a public official!). He is also under indictment for campaign fraud: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/kwame-brown-charged-with...
I have no personal stake in the Council either. But as a Washingtonian, I am embarrassed and ashamed. It's bad enough that Congress seeks to meddle in our affairs, but when our own representatives let us down, that's just tragic. The electoral system in our city is broken.
Neither the mayor nor the Council represent me or my interests.
Would a real two-party system help to keep corruption in check in DC?
Representation in Congress is not based on the integrity or competence of leaders.
It is a right afforded by the constitution.
I get the sense that Statehood is held over the heads of District residents like a treat we can have if we do our homework and clean our rooms.
Representation is our right as US citizens.
We are entitled to it -- even if our leaders lack integrity or competence.