Congressman Chris Lee Resigns After Craigslist Controversy

In the latest round of congressional controversy, married United States Representative for New York Chris Lee, a Republican, has resigned his seat after it was revealed that he answered a Craigslist dating ad with a shirtless photo and misrepresented his identity to the ad's writer. In his e-mail to the woman, according to Gawker's Maureen O'Connor, who broke the news to the public, Lee described himself as a "fit fun classy guy" and said he was 39, rather than his actual 49, and a divorced lobbyist.

While his infidelity, in and of itself, isn't exactly newsworthy and should really be a private matter between Lee and his wife, O'Connor deemed it newsworthy because Lee has a voting record of siding with the family values crowd, who inject themselves into the private lives of others a la don't ask don't tell and abortion funding (O'Connor, 2011). The fact is - technology brought him down, and technology has done in many politicians over the years.

Instant Messenger - Messages, Massages, and a Minor, Oh My!

Congressman Mark Foley, a Republican from Florida, found out the hard way that the nifty little piece of technology known as Instant Messenger leaves messages that recipients can keep; show others; and most importantly, that they can be used as evidence. According to Babington and Weisman of the Washington Post, Foley was accused of sending sexually charged messages to a 16-year-old male page, and later resigned his seat. A sample of his dialogue with the boy can be found in the Phoenix New Times News.

In retrospect, the Matt Foley scandal, and other scandals involving the family values crowd in the weeks prior to the election, are often credited with being the tipping point that pushed an electorate already dissatisfied with the Republican brand into downright disgust, and the Democratic Party won back the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections.

Check Kiting - ATM Plus Deposit Slips for Several Banks Equals Money in the Bank!

Scandals aren't unique to just one party. In reality, any congressional member who lets power go to his or her head can wind up being guilty of some form of indiscretion or another. Case in point - Rep. Carl Perkins, the Democratic congressman from Kentucky, who was caught up in the House Banking Scandal in the early '90s. Among his federal charges in 1994, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, was involvement in a check kiting scheme.

Check kiting, for those who aren't aware, is usually accomplished by floating yourself short-term loans by using the delay in time that it takes for checks to clear between banks, known as float time. By using two or more banks, a check kiter can deposit worthless checks between banks and inflate their available balance for some time before institutions caught on. With the advent of faster clearing times, check imaging, and the near elimination of float, check kiting is becoming less and less prevalent. Perkins used banking technology illegally for personal profit, and in the end was caught by surveillance of these accounts.

Video and Audio Surveillance - Fake Sheiks and Boats Topple Several

One would think that after audio tapes brought down the Nixon administration in the '70s, politicians would be a little more careful about the activities they engage in. But such was not the case in the Abscam sting. Arab Scam, or Abscam as it is more traditionally called, was an FBI sting operation that ran from 1978 to 1980 and involved FBI operatives who posed as wealthy Arab sheiks who attempted to bribe congressmen and senators for assistance with personal business matters.

According to a PBS news article on congressional scandals, six congressman: Democrats John Jenretter, Raymond Ledered, Michael Myers, John Murphy, and Frank Thompson; Republican Richard Kelly; as well as one senator, Democrat Harrison Williams, were convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges. The scandal also tainted the career of Democratic Senator John Murtha, who was involved in the Abscam sting and was indicted with charges, but the charges were dropped when he cooperated with prosecutors against others who were indicted. Once again, it was technology, this time in the form of videotaped evidence, that caught up with politicians.

Technology is ever changing, and will continue to be the undoing of politicians, or anyone else who takes his or her power for granted.

Sources:

O'Connor, Maureen. (2011). Married GOP Congressman Sent Sexy Pictures to Craigslist Babe. Gawker. Babington, Charles and Weisman, Jonathan. (2006). Rep Foley Quits in Page Scandal. Washington Post.
Phoenix New time News. (2006). Email Exchanges between Florida Representative Mark Foley and a Page.
U.S. Department of Justice. (1994). Former Congressman Perkins is Charged, Agrees to Plead Guilty.
PBS News. (2006). History of Washington Scandals.