Word: abscam
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...vigorous pursuit and prosecution of political corruption, much like the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Abscam effort. This of course is a largely symbolic move, unlikely to change the overall crime rate, but symbols can have tremendous importance, especially in politics Liberal solutions to most problems, not just crime, will demand that the government, instead of the so called free market, confront the problems of society. And these efforts will meet a dubious reception if the people of this country think the makers of these policies are corrupt...
...protest the manner in which the FBI is being brought to task regarding Abscam. If Harrison Williams had refused the bribe, that would have ended the matter for him. I say the FBI did good work. I hope it will continue to uncover dishonest individuals in our Government...
Williams resigned after Cranston and others unofficially assured him that the Senate would pursue an investigation into the FBI's methods in the Abscam operation, which also netted six Congressmen. In fact, by week's end sentiment on Capitol Hill was running harder against the bureau than it was against Williams. Many Senators were appalled by the climate of corruption created by the FBI to ensnare public officials. Says Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd: "I'd like to catch the s.o.b. who thought Abscam up. He should be hung by his heels...
Williams was sentenced for his Abscam bribery and conspiracy conviction of last May. A federal jury concluded that he had accepted a secret stock interest in a Virginia titanium mine and had agreed to use his senatorial influence to gain Government contracts to make the mining venture profitable. The jury also found that Williams had agreed to help gain legal residence in the U.S. for the man offering to sweeten the deal with a $100 million loan, an FBI agent posing as an Arab sheik. The transaction was surreptitiously videotaped by investigators and later shown on television news programs...
Approach first day's viewing with trepidation. Last soap opera seen was Senator Harrison Williams claiming innocence during breaks in the Abscam hearings. First scenes not reassuring: a short man in a blue blazer, with eyes that glint like brass buttons, is carrying through hideous plot. Details as thin as his hair, which is combed forward in little bangs. A sure sign of flabby moral fiber and questionable sexual orientation. Only precedent, either thespian or tonsorial, is Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate in Ben-Hur. What he did to Charlton Heston the fellow in the blue blazer is doing...