Conservative Patriots Group

Possible Corrupt Bargain by Lisa Murkowski?

I find it very interesting that, Arne Fuglvog, one of Lisa Murkowski’s aides, receives this deal shortly after Lisa attacks the Tea Party.

Is this deal part of a corrupt bargain?

Did Lisa or members of her family receive a portion of the illicit catch or, perhaps, a portion of the financial proceeds of the illicit catch?

Nothing would please me more than negtive answers to these questions.

Grant W Hunter

Tel: 9072586735

Email: hunterpp@gci.net

Blackberry: 9074447295

Blackberry email: mghunterpp@gci.blackberry.com

Our view: What?

Senator's explanation lame

Published: August 6th, 2011 08:14 PM

Last Modified: August 6th, 2011 08:14 PM

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, facing questions from news outfits around the state about fisheries aide Arne Fuglvog, decide to give some answers last week. Her answers only raised more questions.

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• Murkowski said that she learned from Karen Knutson, her then-chief of staff, in December 2010 or January 2011 that there were allegations against Fuglvog but that she took no action then because she didn't know "much more beyond that."

Why didn't she know more? A United States senator has a fisheries aide about whom there are federal allegations of fisheries violations. At the least, Murkowski should have had Fuglvog tell her exactly what the allegations were and ask him flat out what he had done. That wouldn't disrespect the legal process but the senator would find out if there were storm clouds gathering over her office.

You'd think a senator would make it crystal clear to every staff member that she would have to know about any criminal investigation of any of them, and any change in the status of those investigations. Even given the presumption of innocence, staffers often go on leave or suspension until a criminal matter is resolved. Murkowski's explanation that these things "can go on for years or turn out to be nothing at all" is stunning. Shrug off a federal criminal investigation of one of her staffers?

• Murkowski said Fuglvog didn't tell her he had a plea agreement in the works until June 29 and didn't say he had already signed it. She told him he would have to resign -- but then allowed him to stay on until the agreement was filed and made public.

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Here she cited the presumption of innocence. Huh? Presumption of innocence was irrelevant once Fuglvog agreed to a guilty plea. He told the senator that he was admitting guilt, admitting that he had committed a crime. Why would she keep him on the staff at that point? OK, the agreement hadn't been filed and the judge hadn't brought the gavel down yet. But practically speaking, Murkowski knew that Fuglvog was neither innocent nor effective -- hence the cancellation of a fishing-issues trip to Dillingham.

• Fuglvog signed that plea agreement on April 8, more than 2 1/2 months before the date Murkowski said she learned of it. Did anyone else on the staff know about that? If Murkowski didn't know about it, why not?

It's good Sen. Murkowski changed her mind about an explanation. But her account is at best a description of her own inadequacy and poor judgment in handling an issue of integrity.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2011/08/06/2003672/our-view-what.html#ixzz1UU7sgr5K

Former Murkowski fisheries aide headed to prison

Jill Burke | Aug 02, 2011

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On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Anchorage charged Arne Fuglvog, fisheries aide to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, with a single, misdemeanor violation of the Lacey Act, an act that combats “illegal” trafficking in wildlife, fish, and plants.

While working as a commercial fisherman in 2005, Fuglvog took 63,000 pounds of sablefish from an area near Yakutat, more than twice what his permits allowed, according to details provided in the plea deal Fuglvog signed, which was also made public on Monday. After overfishing, Fuglvog falsified reports to cover up the take, stating that the fish had instead been harvested from an area known as the “Central Gulf,’ according to prosecutors, adding that he then went on to sell the catch for about $100,000.

Fuglvog has known about the charges for at least several months. Although the plea deal was made public earlier this week, it’s signed and dated nearly five months ago, in April, and is referred to as a "negotiated resolution."

If a judge agrees to the terms of the plea deal, Fuglvog will spend 10 months in prison, pay a $50,000 fine and send another $100,000 – approximately the same amount he profited from the illegal fishing – to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for enhancing fisheries in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Alaska.

He will also have to admit his wrongdoings in an announcement in National Fisherman Magazine.

Fuglvog’s legal woes also brought a swift end to his five-year career with Sen. Murkowski as a fisheries aide. One day before his crime was made public, he left his job.

"Prior to joining my staff, Arne Fuglvog violated a fishing regulation by misstating the location where he caught sablefish. I accepted his resignation Sunday, and he will plead guilty to this charge as part of a plea agreement,” Murkowski said via e-mail.

Fuglvog not only served under Murkowski, but spent many years before that in fisheries public service work, she said. "He knows the importance and value of our fisheries, and he also knows what all fishermen understand: fishing laws and regulations must be followed,” she said, adding that "Arne has cooperated fully with the authorities, taken responsibility for his actions, and accepted the consequences."

Fuglvog comes from a longtime fishing family in Petersburg and has spent at least three decades chasing salmon, crab, halibut and other species, according to a 2007 biography. He has years of experience advising and serving on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

In 2009, he was an apparent finalist for the top spot at the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. The United Fisherman of Alaska endorsed Fuglvog for the spot and sent letters on his behalf during the candidate search. Fuglvog didn’t get the job.

Fuglvog is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge and enter a guilty plea next week.

Murkowski's office would not comment on how long the Senator had been aware of the investigation into Fuglvog's illegal fishing, and what response, if any, was taken or whether he had been taken off of fish policy issues. At the time his resignation was accepted, Fuglvog was still employed as a legislative assistant - the same generic job title he's held throughout most of his career with the Senator. Fuglvog earned $83,000 in 2009 and $91,000 in 2010 as part of Murkowski's staff, according to salary records.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com

U.S. on Brink as ‘Absolutist’ Tea-Party Supporters Resist, Murkowski Says

Q

By Brian Wingfield and Katarzyna Klimasinska - Jul 29, 2011 8:00 PM GMT-0800

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Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, speaks during an interview in Washington D.C., on Friday, July 29, 2011. Photo: Christopher Powers/Bloomberg

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, speaks during an interview in Washington D.C., on Friday, July 29, 2011. Photo: Christopher Powers/Bloomberg

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Q

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- The debt-ceiling proposals put forth by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio would each cut about $750 billion over the next 10 years, according to Bloomberg Government analyst Scott Anchin. To get to a ratio of 60 percent debt to GDP, $4.9 trillion in deficit reduction measures would be needed in the next 10 years, says Bloomberg Government analyst Christopher Payne. (Source: Bloomberg)

Attachment: Debt briefing

U.S. lawmakers allied with the “absolutist” Tea Party have put the nation on the financial brink with their aversion to compromise, Senator Lisa Murkowski said.

“I am really worried about where we are standing, and I think part of that has come about because you have individuals that say it is my ‘way or the highway,’” Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg’s Washington office. “That is not how you govern.”

House Republicans backed by the Tea Party have vowed to support an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit only if it’s accompanied by spending cuts and doesn’t raise taxes. President Barack Obama and Democrats propose a mix of tax increases and spending reductions.

“You have folks who are so black-and-white, who are so absolutist, that we are in a process now where we are on the brink,” said Murkowski, 54, who was defeated by a Tea Party supporter last year in a Republican primary and then re-elected as a write-in candidate.

The senator said she backs the proposal advanced by the Gang of Six, “or some iteration of it.” The bipartisan group of senators called the Gang of Six has proposed to cut the budget deficit by $3.7 trillion using a combination of spending cuts and an overhaul of taxes that would raise $1 trillion. Obama endorsed the plan, while House Republicans balked at the tax increases.

‘Damaging The Process’

“Those that believe that compromise is a dirty word, that believe that there is no place for compromise within their efforts, I think are damaging the process,” she said yesterday.

U.S. borrowing will exceed congressional authority on Aug. 2 unless Congress raises the debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.

A short-term extension of borrowing authority may be the best option to prevent a U.S. default, giving lawmakers more time to wrestle with plans to cut the deficit, Murkowski said.

“I think that has to be our fallback position,” she said.

The Federal Reserve is preparing guidance for banks in the event the debt limit isn’t raised and the Treasury Department runs out of money to pay all of its bills, a government official said yesterday.

The guidance would cover issues including how payments on short-term loans are made, collateral pledged for loans as well as other supervisory and regulatory matters, said the official, who asked not to be identified because congressional negotiations on the debt limit are still under way.

Credit Rating

A credit-rating downgrade of U.S. Treasury securities caused by a failure to increase the borrowing authority would affect collateral pledged for loans.

Standard & Poor’s on July 14 said there’s a 50 percent chance the U.S. AAA rating would be cut from the highest grade within 90 days even if an agreement is reached by Aug. 2. S&P said it needs to see “a credible solution to the rising U.S. government debt burden.”

The Senate is unified to ensure the U.S. meets its debt obligations, according to Murkowski.

“I think we avoid the default,” she said. “I don’t know if we avoid the downgrade, and I’ve got real concerns about that.”

The debt and budget issues are “sucking the air out of the room” for other issues, Murkowski said. “And if in fact we go into a situation where it’s a short-term extension, my fear is that this will continue for the balance of the year,” resulting in very little new legislation.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington at bwingfield3@bloomberg.net; Katarzyna Klimasinska in Washington at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net