This Firebrand Ex-Congressman Blames The 'Deep State' For His Fraud Indictment

[demmiblue]

Source: TPM

When former Texas lawmaker Steve Stockman returned to Congress in 2013 after a sixteen-year hiatus, he scored headlines for wild stunts like inviting conservative rocker Ted Nugent to a State of the Union address and coining the slogan, “If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted.”

Stockman’s last two-year term was also dogged by swirling allegations of campaign finance violations flagged by government watchdog groups and the Office of Congressional Ethics. Those allegations came into sharp focus on Tuesday with a 28-count federal grand jury indictment against Stockman and one of his former congressional aides, including charges of mail and wire fraud, lying to the Federal Election Commission, excessive campaign contributions and money laundering (one count charges Stockman with filing a false tax return).

Stockman and the former aide, Jason Posey, are accused of using hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from charitable foundations to bankroll Stockman’s congressional campaigns and pay off their personal expenses. Some of the charges against Stockman first came to light after he was arrested on March 17 while trying to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates (Stockman told the Houston Chronicle he planned to make the trip to “help Sunni Muslims”).

The bombastic former lawmaker is maintaining his innocence, telling a Chronicle reporter outside a Texas courthouse on March 18 that he was targeted by a “deep state that’s continuing to progress.” He has continued to sound off about “deep state corrupt officials,” “toilets that spy on you” and Hillary Clinton’s health on his @SteveWorks4You Twitter account in the days since his arrest.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/steve-stockman-texas-lawmaker-indicted-federal-corruption-charges?utm_content=buffer401ba&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[dchill]

1. So, the Deep State is a force for good?