Schumer's Staff Commits Identy Theft

[GotZoom]

You just have to love those law-abiding Democrats.

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WASHINGTON -- Two opposition researchers working for Sen. Charles Schumer at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee obtained copies of a confidential credit report on Maryland's Republican lieutenant governor, prompting calls for their prosecution.

In July, committee research director Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner, a junior staffer, used Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's Social Security number to get his credit report, according to a Democratic official familiar with the case.

The committee, which works to elect Democrats to the Senate, has been compiling research on Steele, Maryland's highest-ranking African-American official, a GOP contender for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Democrat Paul Sarbanes in 2006.

Barge, a Democratic operative who led the research unit for a liberal media watchdog group run by journalist David Brock before joining the committee in February, reported her actions to the committee's executive director, J.B. Poersch Jr., within hours. Poersch relayed the information to the U.S. attorney's office and suspended the pair with pay until Aug. 31, the official said.

Barge and Weiner resigned earlier this month after an internal investigation. Calls to the FBI, which is probing the case, weren't returned last night.

"The lieutenant governor is the victim of identity theft and would like these people prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Steele's chief of staff Paul Ellington said. "They posed as him to get his credit report. We're not going to say they were going to buy a car with the information they got, but a crime was committed."

Fraudulently obtaining a person's credit report is punishable by a maximum of 2 years in prison, according to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Phil Singer, a spokesman for the campaign committee, said Schumer, who took over the committee in November 2004 and was chairman when the two staffers were hired, had no knowledge of the actions. "Chuck's only involvement was to report this matter to the authorities immediately after first learning about it," Singer said.

"The DSCC immediately ensured that Mr. Steele's credit report was not used or disseminated to anyone," added Singer, who called the matter an "isolated incident."

Singer offered an apology to Steele and said the committee has put in safeguards to ensure that incident isn't repeated.

But Ellington said the credit report incident was part of a larger Democratic effort to uncover derogatory information on Steele.

"In July, these two staffers basically requested every document the lieutenant governor ever signed and every document pertaining to travel while he was in office," Ellington added.

At the time the two staffers viewed the credit report, Steele's office demanded the committee pay $15,000 for copying and clerical costs associated with the request, Ellington said.

Attempts to contact Barge and Weiner were not successful.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/natio...,1690297.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

 

[theim]

I wonder when we'll be seeing Chuckie indicted. I'm not holding my breath. It's like Barney Frank's boyfriend running a gay prostitution ring out of his home. It's like Ted Kennedy killing a woman. These are the most disgusting people on the planet.

 

[Annie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032401726.html

Democrat Pleads Guilty in Steele Case
Researcher Falsely Got Credit Report; Charge Could Be Dropped in Year

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 25, 2006; B02

A Democratic researcher pleaded guilty yesterday to misrepresenting herself on a Web site as Michael S. Steele, Maryland's lieutenant governor and a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, and fraudulently obtaining his credit report last summer.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, the misdemeanor charge against Lauren B. Weiner, a former staff member of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, could be dropped in a year if she completes 150 hours of community service and commits no other offenses.

"I believe this is the end of the episode, and she can now get on with her life," said Whitney C. Ellerman, an attorney for Weiner.

An attorney for Steele said the lieutenant governor is considering a civil suit against Weiner, 25, and the Democratic committee to learn more about what he called "a dirty trick."

E. Mark Braden, who attended the hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, said a "statement of the offense" released yesterday contains several troubling details about the episode, including Weiner's use of a committee credit card to access Steele's report over the Internet.

The discovery process of a civil suit would allow Steele to learn more about what happened, Braden said. "I don't think the story is necessarily over," he said. "This answers some questions but not all questions. We'll have to see where we go from here. . . . This was a carefully calculated plan to steal private information."

The episode took place in July as both parties started investigating the backgrounds of candidates in Maryland's marquee races this year.

According to the prosecutor's statement, which Weiner said was accurate, she used Steele's Social Security number to access his credit report on a Web site designed to let people view their reports.

Weiner pretended that she was Steele, even creating an e-mail address -- [email protected] -- needed to obtain the report, the statement said. She also agreed to the "terms of service" on the site, which included a warning "not to impersonate another person."

According to the statement, Weiner's superiors were notified within hours of the episode, and the report was destroyed the next morning before it could be disseminated. Weiner and her boss, the committee's director of research, later resigned.

Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said it does not appear as though Weiner acted alone. "It looks like the DSCC is trying to make a scapegoat of a younger staffer," he said.

Phil Singer, a spokesman for the committee, said yesterday that the prosecutor's statement showed that "the DSCC responded to this incident in an exemplary way."

"The U.S. attorney's office also confirmed that the DSCC, as it has repeatedly said, did not use the credit report for any financial or political purpose and that Mr. Steele suffered no economic harm," Singer said. He said he believes "this matter is now closed."

Yesterday's hearing was delayed briefly after Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola disclosed from the bench that "Michael Steele is a friend of mine." Facciola said he and Steele are members of the John Carroll Society, an association of Catholic laypeople, and he offered to recuse himself.

Neither Weiner nor the U.S. attorney's office objected to Facciola continuing to handle the case.

Weiner was instructed to return to Facciola's courtroom for sentencing a year from now. Ellerman, her attorney, said he expects the charge to be dropped then.

In the meantime, Facciola told Weiner that she will need the court's permission before leaving the Washington area for more than 48 hours and is expected to remain a District resident.

 

[insein]

You know my boss has an idea regarding politicians who commit crimes and im starting to agree with him. He always says that if a politician commits a crime they should be put to death. His theory is that they are the ones who make the laws and they are in positions of power so they should have the least amount of benefit of the doubt.

At the very least there should be no plea bargins. I hate lawyer scum letting these fuckers off. Nail them to the wall. ALL Politicians. Lord knows a regular person that commites identity theft is going away for 5-10.

 

[Bonnie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032401726.html

Well that just brings nice convenient closure to this.

 

[Annie]

Well that just brings nice convenient closure to this.

I'll bet this isn't the end of it, the Republicans are going to persue.

 

[William Joyce]

Don't you people realize that when Democrats commit crimes, it's civil disobedience for a righteous cause?

And when Republicans breathe, it's a felony?

Tsk.

 

[Bonnie]

I'll bet this isn't the end of it, the Republicans are going to persue.

You know I really hope so...I'd like to see Republicans rub poo in the Dems faces over this.

 

[Rabbit]

Fraud is a big deal, and them saying that it won't happen again isn't enough. I definitely believe that there should be jail time for these people.