UPDATE: SANTOS EXPELLED BY HOUSE . . . Finally! After months of disturbing reports regarding Representative George Santos’s lies, fraud, money laundering and other offenses, the New York Republican has been removed from office. What’s next? New York Governor Kathy Hochul will now begin the process of a special election to replace the missing seat in the House. The Senate...

Many people ask me, “Hey Jim, how do you do it? How do you write and speak on, (and once a year, teach) ethics? After all, you’re just like us, aren’t you? You must face the same trials and travails as the rest of us have, right? When things are tough, how do you make the tough calls?” Well, I’ll...

This is Molly. Walking down the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, I discovered her sitting at a small card table at the foot of the stairs with a sign advertising her work: poetry for strangers. (she likes e. e. cummings.) “I’d like a poem,” I say. “on what subject?” she asks. “Integrity.” “what about integrity?”...

Dysfunction is no longer an adequate descriptor of Washington leadership these days. We’re all aware of the key players in this madness. The media recites them in a 24/7 loop of chaotic images and infotainment. Nonetheless, the strong and the good eventually overcame the darker forces in our nation’s past. Before we continue our march toward the abyss of cynicism,...

While Trust and Confidence is now available through several online sources (Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Apple), I thought I’d revisit an excerpt from the book when Secret Service director Lewis Merletti was preparing a presentation for Ken Starr. First some Cliff’s Notes. During the 1998 investigation of President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Kenneth Starr compelled Secret Service agents...

Are you getting as tired as I am about scandal after scandal coming out of Washington. In he past, despite divisions, Senators and Representatives managed to right the ship and move forward representing the country’s citizens in legislation that would live up to the promise of the Founders. Now, outside influence has taken the place of honest legislative debate, and...

During the 1998 investigation of President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Ken Starr compelled Secret Service agents to testify about what they may have seen or heard regarding Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. With the support of the Department of Justice, Director Lewis Merletti argued that if agents were allowed to testify about anything other than criminal acts,...

Wasn’t that the fantasy/drama show from the 70s? Welcome to Fantasy Island, the reality show in Washington, DC. On the South side of the island, we have the octos (octogenarians). Democrat Dianne Feinstein, at 90 years old is clearly frail and recently fell in her San Francisco home. Retiring? Not a chance. Republican Mitch McConnell, 81, stopped in mid-sentence during...

After recent reports of ethics scandals, it appears the two “learned” justices need a remedial course in ethics. It’s a good thing I’m here to help. “Gentlemen, the study of law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you — unlike any other schooling you have ever known before… You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds....

In 1940, journalist Edward R. Murrow stood in a church in England while the country endured German bombers night after night. Inside the church was a crudely written sign which read, “If your knees knock, kneel on them.” It’s time for Americans to get up off their knees and fight. Like a hamster on a wheel, we’ve become stuck going...