Julia Davis

On Dec. 23, 2014 at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, United States Congressman Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. He is refusing to resign his seat after pleading guilty to the felony tax charge. After his court appearance, Grimm said: “I’m going to get back to work and work as hard as I can.” Grimm is a former undercover FBI agent, who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New York’s 11th Congressional District since 2011. Grimm made the headlines in January 2014, when he threatened to "break" a reporter in half and throw him off a balcony for asking questions about a fundraising investigation for Grimm’s 2010 campaign. In September 2014, Congressman’s former girlfriend, Diana Durand, pleaded guilty to funneling illegal campaign contributions to Grimm in a straw-donor scheme. Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/article/congressman-michael-grim...

Some semblance of justice seemingly caught up with Scott J. Bloch, the disgraced former head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). On March 30, 2011 he was finally sentenced for some of his criminal activities. After years of legal wrangling, Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson sentenced Bloch to one month in jail plus one year of unsupervised probation and 200 hours community service. But wait, the Bloch saga is still not over. Bloch may be able to stay out of prison, while his sentence is being appealed. His attorney, William Sullivan said that he will file a motion to keep Bloch out of prison until the U.S. Court of Appeals considers his appeal. Robinson said she will consider this motion, along with a request that Bloch avoid the prison sentence altogether, by serving it out in home confinement instead. Throughout these proceedings, Bloch’s attorneys and federal prosecutors have done their best to keep him out of prison. Yes, Bloch was aided by the Department of Jus...

For decades, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) exhibited about as much prowess as a backwards-facing rider going for a spin on a three-legged horse. Until recent appointment of the new Special Counsel, the rider had been headless to boot. Scott J. Bloch, the disgraced former head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), is finally set to be sentenced for some of his criminal activities on January 25, 2011. On April 27, 2010 Bloch pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of Congress. Based on his actions, Bloch could have been charged with obstruction of justice, evidence tampering, destruction of official files, impeding an official federal investigation, civil right violations, Hatch act violations and violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). Instead, he was charged only with criminal contempt (a misdemeanor). Under his leadership, the historically inept OSC reached new lows. In addition to his bigotry, Bloch became infamous for being the absolute antithesis o...

 We’ve all been told that the whole body scanners are being implemented for our own good. We’ve been assured that our misapprehensions were unfounded. Body scanners penetrate clothing to provide a highly detailed image so accurate that it has been likened it to a virtual strip search. Technologies vary, with millimeter wave systems capturing fuzzier images, and backscatter X-ray machines able to show precise anatomical detail. During Department of Homeland Security hearings, Janet Napolitano assured the Congress (and this writer who was present at the hearing) that all images collected by the full body scanners are not stored, cannot be stored and are discarded as soon as they're viewed. Just last summer the Transportation Security Administration claimed that " scanned images cannot be stored or recorded ." Privacy advocates (including yours truly) cried foul. Turns out, they were right. Yet again we’ve been lied to by the government. Of course, as usual, the official ta...

The government proposed an unprecedented fine of $16.4 million dollars against Toyota, accusing the automaker of hiding a " dangerous defect " from regulators. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the penalties the government is planning to levy against Toyota for faulty gas pedals that have led to a recall for millions of the company’s vehicles, including such popular models as Camry and Corolla. LaHood stated that documents obtained from Toyota show that the company was aware of the problem with the sticking gas pedals for several months before it issued a recall. This problem impacted 2.3 million vehicles. " We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations," LaHood said in an official statement. " Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families ." Secretary LaHood Announces DOT is Seeking Maximum Civil Penalty from ...