Elected officials in a leading U.S. city long distinguished for its pandemic of public corruption keep a secret, taxpayer-funded slush fund to pay family members, campaign workers and political allies for a variety of questionable jobs. 

The covert account has been utilized for decades by Chicago aldermen but has escaped public scrutiny because it’s kept under wraps. This week the Windy City’s local newspaper exposed the surreptitious pot of cash ($1.3 million a year) in a story that says the mayor is on the verge of asking a federal judge to end decades of court supervision over City Hall corruption. 

In the latest scandal to rock a perpetually corrupt local government, the District of Columbia’s council chairman illegally used official stationary to solicit donations for the Democratic Party and secretly had a politically connected city contractor renovate his house.

The double whammy was exposed this week by two separate Washington D.C. newspapers hot on the prominent lawmaker’s tracks. At the very least they constitute serious ethics violations by D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, a popular politician with a decades-long career in social services. Gray once headed the District’s Department of Human Services as well as a notable organization dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk youth.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement today in response to the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to grant a civilian criminal trial to 9/11 terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and other 9/11 terrorists in New York City:

The decision to bring Mohammed and other Al Qaeda terrorists to New York for a civilian criminal trial is not Eric Holder's to make. President Obama is the commander in chief and he is ultimately responsible for the safety and security of this county.

President Obama already reversed Holder on the release of prisoner abuse photos on national security grounds and he should reverse Holder now in the interest of national security. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should remain in military custody, be kept outside the United States and be brought to justice in the military tribunal system.