Robert Kerns resigned as chairman of Montgomery County's Republican Committee after being charged with rape of an unconscious victim, rape of a substantially impaired person, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, tampering with physical evidence and related charges.
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NORRISTOWN, Pa. - November 26, 2013 (WPVI) -- The former chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee is in police custody, charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a female employee.
Robert Kerns is charged with indecent assault of a person unconscious, indecent assault of a person substantially impaired, and other offenses.
The alleged incident happened on October 25th. The victim was an employee at Kerns' private law practice at the time.
Prosecutors say Kerns met with the victim and tricked her, giving her wine laced with the sleeping medication Ambien. They say he then sexually assaulted her both in his car and at her home after she passed out.
Court documents say the assaults were violent and that the victim suffered severe injuries as a result.
In detailing the alleged assault, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman said Kerns planned the entire assault in advance and tried to cover his tracks afterward. The charges against him include evidence tampering.
Ferman described the victim as "very courageous" in coming forward.
The incident was first reported to Upper Merion Police on October 31st, six days after it occurred. But Ferman said the victim took the unusual step of going to the hospital for testing immediately, before reporting the assault to police.
That allowed crucial evidence to be preserved, including traces of Ambien still in the victim's system, as well as DNA evidence linking Kerns to the assault, Ferman said.
Kerns was taken into custody Tuesday. He had no comment coming in and out of court. Kerns will have to post $100,000 cash to get out on bail.
News of Kerns' arrest came less than two weeks after he resigned as the chairman of Montgomery County's Republican Committee amid reports that an investigation was underway.
At the time, the executive director of the committee said in a statement the committee had "no comment on media reports related to a possible criminal investigation of Mr. Kerns unrelated to his duties as chairman."
Kerns is a lawyer and a partner at Kerns, Pearlstine, Onorato and Hladi.
"Mr. Kerns vehemently denies these allegations. He maintains his innocence. We look forward to testing and defeating these accusations in the court of law and restoring his good name," Center City defense attorney Brian McMonagle said.
Sources said Kerns' last job as chairman of the Republican Committee was to call a special meeting for December 4th, when a new chairman will be selected.
Too many people we place in positions of trust are letting the public down. It does not matter who the president is or was or which party they call home we need to clean these types out of positions of power and to enforce sentences for their actions that are strict enough to disuade others from getting out of line. The trust of the public must be protected for our system to survive.
This list consists of American politicians convicted of crimes, either committed or prosecuted, while holding office in the federal
government. It includes politicians who were convicted or pleaded guilty in a court of law, and does not include politicians involved in unprosecuted scandals (which may or may not have been illegal in nature), or politicians who have only been arrested or indicted. The list also does not include crimes which occur outside the politician’s tenure unless they specifically stem from acts while they were in office.
Obama Years
Judicial Branch
Samuel B. Kent (R) The Federal District Judge of Galveston, Texas was sentenced on May 11, 2009, to 33 months in prison for having lied about sexually harassing two female employees. He had been appointed to office by George H. W. Bush in 1990.
Thomas Porteous (D) The Federal Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana was impeached, convicted and removed from office on December 8, 2010 on charges of bribery and lying to Congress. He had been appointed to office by Bill Clinton in 1994.
Legislative Branch
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) was arrested on December 23rd, 2012 and later pleaded guilty to drinking and driving in a Virginia court. The court fined him 250 dollars. He was sentenced to 180 days in prison, but served no time. Senator Mike Crapo was arrested for a DUI in the early morning of December 23 after being pulled over for running a red light. His BAC was .110. Mr. Crapo has publicly stated many times that he does not drink alcohol at all because his Mormon faith does not allow him to.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013 to one count of wire and mail fraud in connection with his misuse of $750,000 of campaign funds. Jackson, Jr. agreed to plead guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy, making false statements, mail fraud, wire fraud, and criminal forfeiture. Jackson, Jr. used about $750,000 in campaign money for personal expenses that included a Michael Jackson fedora and cashmere capes. Sentencing was scheduled for June 28, 2013.
Rick Renzi (R-AZ) on June 12th was found guilty of 17 of the 32 counts against him, including wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion,
racketeering, money laundering and making false statements to insurance regulators.
Trey Radel (R-FL) was convicted of misdemeanor possession of cocaine in November, 2013. As a first time offender, he was sentenced to one year probation and fined $250. Radel announced he would take a leave of absence, but did not resign.
GW Bush Years
Executive branch
Lewis Libby (R) Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R). 'Scooter' was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the
Plame Affair on March 6, 2007 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000. His sentence was commuted by George W. Bush (R) on July 1, 2007.
Lester Crawford (R) Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned after 2 months. Pleaded guilty to conflict of interest and received 3 years suspended sentence and fined $90,000.
Claude Allen (R) Advisor to President Bush on Domestic Policy, Allen was arrested for a series of felony thefts in retail stores. (2006) He was convicted on one count and resigned soon after.
Legislative branch
Jack Abramoff CNMI scandal involves the efforts of Abramoff to influence Congressional action concerning U.S. immigration and minimum wage laws. Congressmen convicted in the Abramoff scandal include: Michael Scanlon (R) former staff to Tom DeLay: working for Abramoff, pleaded guilty to bribery.
Tony Rudy (R) former staff to Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
James W. Ellis (R) executive director of Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), pled guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution in a 2002 state legislative campaign.
John Colyandro (R) executive director of Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), pled guilty to accepting an illegal campaign
contribution in a 2002 state legislative campaign.
Bob Ney (R-OH) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements as a result of his receiving trips from Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors. Ney received 30 months in prison.
Duke Cunningham (R-CA) pleaded guilty on November 28, 2005 to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in what came to be called the Cunningham scandal. Sentenced to over eight years in prison.
William J. Jefferson (D-LA) in August 2005 the FBI seized $90,000 in cash from Jefferson's home freezer. He was re-elected anyway, but lost in 2008. He was convicted of 11 counts of bribery and sentenced to 13 years in prison on November 13, 2009.
Jefferson's Chief of Staff Brett Pfeffer, was sentenced to 84 months for bribery. (2006)
Bill Janklow (R-SD) convicted of second-degree manslaughter for running a stop sign and killing a motorcyclist. Resigned from the House and given 100 days in the county jail and three years probation. (2003)
Jim Traficant (D-OH) found guilty on 10 felony counts of financial corruption was sentenced to 8 years in prison and expelled from the US House of Representatives. (2002)
Vito Fossella (R-NY) US Congressman convicted of drunken driving in 2008, appealed the charge, but then pled guilty in 2009.
Larry Craig Senator (R-ID) – Married Senator and vocal critic of Clinton's affair, pled guilty to disorderly conduct in a Minneapolis
airport men's room, after having been arrested on a charge of homosexual lewd conduct. (2007)
Frank Ballance (D-NC) admitted to federal charges of money laundering and mail fraud in October 2005 and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Clinton Years
Executive branch
Wade Sanders (D), Deputy Assistant United States Secretary of the Navy, for Reserve Affairs, was sentenced to 37 months in prison on one charge of possession of child pornography. (2009)
Legislative branch
Mel Reynolds (D-IL) was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. (1997) Was later convicted of 12 counts of bank fraud. (1999)
Walter R. Tucker III (D-CA) was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1996 for extortion and tax evasion.
Wes Cooley (R-OR), Cooley was convicted of having lied on the 1994 voter information pamphlet about his service in the Army. He was fined and sentenced to two years probation (1997)
Austin Murphy (D-PA) convicted of one count of voter fraud for filling out absentee ballots for members of a nursing home. (1999)
House banking scandal
The House of Representatives Bank found that 450 members had overdrawn their checking accounts, but not been penalized. Six were convicted of charges, most only tangentially related to the House Bank itself. Twenty two more of the most prolific over-drafters were singled out by the House Ethics Committee. (1992)
Buz Lukens (R-Ohio) convicted of bribery and conspiracy.
Carl C. Perkins (D-Kentucky) pleaded guilty to a check kiting scheme involving several financial institutions (including the House Bank).
Carroll Hubbard (D-Kentucky) convicted of illegally funneling money to his wife's 1992 campaign to succeed him in congress.
Mary Rose Oakar (D-Ohio) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance charge not related to the House Bank.
Walter Fauntroy (D-District of Columbia) convicted of filing false disclosure forms in order to hide unauthorized income.
Congressional Post Office scandal (1991–1995)
A conspiracy to embezzle House Post Office money through stamps and postal vouchers to congressmen.
Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) Rostenkowski was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, in 1995.
Joe Kolter (D-Pennsylvania) Convicted of one count of conspiracy and sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Jay Kim (R-CA) accepted $250,000 in illegal 1992 campaign contributions and was sentenced to two months house arrest (1992)
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Mitch Fights Back, Several Years Later
All of those, supposedly centrist Republican groups who funded the Tea Party crazies because they were challenging Democratic senators and representatives in Town Hall meetings, when the Preisident was first elected, are now paying for their arrogance.
They thought they could control the Tea Party, getting the base all upset about social issues just before an election and then ignoring them until the next election. Oh!, how wrong they were. The Tea Party is now ripping the GOP apart at the seams.
McConnell and the rest of the GOP are learning a big life lesson: When you get into a relationship with angry, destructive people, they will turn on you and destroy you.
Compare these two statements that demonstrate how far the GOP has strayed from sanity.
The first is from the late actor John Wayne, who on JFK's 1960 election said, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president and I hope he does a good job."
The second is from talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who on the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009 said, "I hope he fails."
The GOP is willing to punish America to defeat President Obama and Democrats. Slice it any way you want, That's SICK.
Republican Campaign Committee Pushes Back Against Conservative Group
By JONATHAN MARTIN
In a warning shot to outside conservative groups, the National Republican Senatorial Committee this week informed a prominent Republican advertising firm that it would not receive any contracts with the campaign committee because of its work with a group that targets incumbent Senate Republicans.
Even more striking, a senior official at the committee called individual Republican Senate campaigns and other party organizations this week and urged them not to hire the firm, Jamestown Associates, in an effort to punish them for working for the Senate Conservatives Fund, a group founded by Jim DeMint, then a South Carolina senator, that is trying to unseat Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and some other incumbents up for re-election next year whom it finds insufficiently conservative.
“We’re not going to do business with people who profit off of attacking Republicans,” said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the committee.
“Purity for profit is a disease that threatens the Republican Party.”
The committee has conveyed the same message, privately, to 2014 Senate candidates, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee (the senatorial committee’s House counterpart), the Republican Governors Association and Mike DuHaime, the chief strategist for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, for whom Jamestown also does work.
Jamestown declined to respond to the attempt to curtail their business, deferring to the Senate Conservatives Fund, which criticized Mr. McConnell.
“This is happening because Mitch McConnell is having a complete meltdown,” said Matt Hoskins, executive director of the conservative group.
“He can’t defend his record so he’s threatening and attacking everyone who disagrees with him. He’s so rattled, he has decided to declare war on the entire conservative movement, which represents the very people he needs to win re-election. This isn’t the behavior of a confident person. It’s the irrational reaction of a power-hungry bully who isn’t getting his way.”
Some of Jamestown’s conservative clients also moved to defend the firm.
“When some in Washington stepped away from our campaign, Jamestown stood with us and fought,” said Representative Mark Sanford, Republican of South Carolina. “I think their team is a good one and what a few in D.C. decide isn’t going to change that.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s power play is part of a larger effort among establishment Republicans after the recent
government shutdown to seize control of the party from insurgent forces who want to push Republicans toward a more hard-line posture and aggressive brand of conservatism. The attempt to effectively blacklist the consulting firm illustrates the extent of the tensions between the establishment and the hard-liners.
Mr. McConnell’s allies in Washington’s lobbying community have been furious for weeks that Jamestown, which also does work for groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition, was on retainer with the Senate Conservatives Fund.
One prominent Republican lobbyist even printed out the records of a Louisville television station detailing the run times of every ad
devised by Jamestown for the conservative group’s campaign against Mr. McConnell and gave it to a reporter.
“These are not the kind of people we would ever do business with,” said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In the wake of the shutdown, Mr. McConnell and his top aides are also becoming more outspoken about wanting to effectively destroy the Senate Conservatives Fund. The senator has told donors that he and other party leaders will take a much more aggressive approach in confronting such conservative groups.
And on Friday, one of Mr. McConnell’s closest aides offered a vivid metaphor about the leader’s determination.
“S.C.F. has been wandering around the country destroying the Republican Party like a drunk who tears up every bar they walk into,” said Josh Holmes, Mr. McConnell’s chief of staff, now detailed to the National Republican Senatorial Committee through the election. “The difference this cycle is that they strolled into Mitch McConnell’s bar and he doesn’t throw you out, he locks the door.”
Who ultimately wins? The country will be better off if they both fade away.
ACVDN
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