Indicted Democrat partied with Pelosi, flew with Obama, and campaigned for Clinton
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President Barack Obama greets Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. The disgraced congresswoman is charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a charity into her own pocket. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Indicted Democrat partied with Pelosi, flew with Obama, and campaigned for Clinton
By PHILIP WEGMANN•
2/9/17 4:18 PM
She partied with Nancy Pelosi, traveled on Air Force one next to President Obama, and cast her superdelegate vote for Hillary Clinton. But today Corrine Brown is in federal court for stealing scholarship money from school children.
The disgraced congresswoman must defend against charges that she funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars from a non-profit charity, One Door for Education, into her own pocket. If convicted on all 24 counts, she faces 357 years in prison and $4.8 million in fines.
With her former chief of staff expected to testify against her, the question's no longer whether or not she's guilty. It's why Democrat brass would continually cozy up to a congresswoman who was so clearly corrupt?
From the beginning, Brown's been shrouded in controversy. Shortly after she won election in 1992, the Federal Election Commission accused Brown of violating numerous campaign finance laws. Most notably, she accepted donations from foreign citizens and failed to report the use of a corporate plane. And that's just the tip of the ethical iceberg.
A convenient rap sheet, put together last July by the Florida Times-Union, documents every allegation of wrongdoing brought against Brown during her 27-year career. Hollywood couldn't have better scripted some of the highlights.
In 1998, Brown cashed a $10,000 check from Rev. Henry Lyons, the disgraced president of the National Baptist Convention who spent five years in federal prison for fraud. The congresswoman said tthat she used the unreported money to bus her supporters to an event.
In 2000, Brown battled back a House Ethics investigation into her efforts to free imprisoned West African millionaire Foutanga Dit Babani Sissoko from federal prison. She appealed to Attorney General Janet Reno for help, asking her to spring Sissoko from prison. Though unsuccessful, Brown received a new Lexus worth $50,000 for her trouble. And in 2008, Brown took heat from the mayor of Jacksonville after she had sandbags delivered by the city to protect her home from Tropical Storm Fay. The congresswoman eventually pledged to pay the city $886.
But none of this dissuaded Democrats from palling around the Florida woman. It's mind boggling that Brown not only fundraised with the president but also enjoyed prominent perches on the Transportation and Veteran Affairs Committees.
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