Garrett Russo // 202.408.5565
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Washington, D.C. - She's been called a "complete fraud" by her former campaign manager, and a "perennial candidate who couldn't get elected dog catcher" by the state party chair, but today, Delaware Republican Senate Nominee Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) has a new moniker: one of America's Most Crooked Candidates. The bipartisan list is a project of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and now includes 14 of the most rotten candidates for federal office across the country. Two of these candidates were defeated in primaries.
Adding Ms. O'Donnell to the list was an easy call. It has been years since she had a steady job, and instead has been embezzling funds to finance her personal expenses. Ms. O'Donnell has been living at her campaign headquarters and having her campaign cover the rent, a practice prohibited by the Federal Election Commission.
"Why get a job when you can run for office and illegally have others finance your lifestyle?," said Melanie Sloan, CREW Executive Director. "It is astonishing that as a candidate for federal office, Ms. O'Donnell appears to be stealing brazenly from her campaign contributors."
Ms. O'Donnell also has a tenuous relationship with the truth. For years, she routinely claimed to have a college degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University; in reality she finally received her diploma a scant two weeks ago. Further, she has claimed to have won two counties in her race against Joe Biden in 2008; in reality, she won none.
"Ms. O'Donnell has no qualms about lying whenever it suits her purposes," said Sloan. "Americans have a right to expect elected officials to act with honesty and integrity. Sadly, Ms. O'Donnell epitomizes the antithesis of those values."
CREW's Crooked Candidates focuses on office-seekers who have engaged in unethical and, in one case, even criminal conduct. Their misdeeds range from quid pro quo schemes to abusing state office for the benefit of friends and donors, to an obscenity charge. A few candidates even made the list because of their involvement in national political scandals: two were involved in the Abramoff investigation and one played a role in the Bush administration's politicization of the U.S. Attorneys' offices.
With more than 2,300 people running for office this year, CREW's list is likely only the tip of the iceberg. CREW invites anyone who is aware of a particularly disgraceful candidate to forward information about that candidate's misdeeds to: Tipline@citizensforethics.org.
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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Garrett Russo at 202.408.5565 or grusso@citizensforethics.org
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