Another Corruption Watchdog Enters the Traffic.com Fray
As I've mentioned before, I've found that non-profit government fraud/corruption watchdog organizations have been very interested in the Traffic.com scandal, no matter what their political persuasions.
The latest watchdog to dig into this scandal is the Sunlight Foundation, whose goal is:
...using the revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy. We are unique in that technology and the power of the Internet are at the core of every one of our efforts.
Once I came across them I intuitively knew that they would be both interested in this scandal and potentially helpful, because many of the most incriminating details of this scam can be found on the Internet if you just know where to look.
In just a few short weeks, the Sunlight Foundation has really begun to dig into this scam. Late last week they issued yet another FOIA request to the USDOT about it, this time a very comprehensive one.
Senior Fellow Bill Allison is a former investigative journalist, and has already put together a major piece on Sunlight's Blog about it, entitled Tracking Contractors and Lobbyists, and a Congressional Intervention.
The founders of Traffic.com, as well as the USDOT, are now getting hammered from multiple fronts, from non-profit watchdogs, from legislators (Senator Hatch sent a pointed request to USDOT Secretary Mary Peters a couple weeks ago), from the FBI, from the USDOT OIG, and from the press.
I'll repeat something I've been saying for some time: The sordid details of this scandal, which reaches into senior levels of the Bush Administration, are going to be exposed to daylight eventually.
I just can't quite tell when, but at least I'm learning about patience.
Jerry
The latest watchdog to dig into this scandal is the Sunlight Foundation, whose goal is:
...using the revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy. We are unique in that technology and the power of the Internet are at the core of every one of our efforts.
Once I came across them I intuitively knew that they would be both interested in this scandal and potentially helpful, because many of the most incriminating details of this scam can be found on the Internet if you just know where to look.
In just a few short weeks, the Sunlight Foundation has really begun to dig into this scam. Late last week they issued yet another FOIA request to the USDOT about it, this time a very comprehensive one.
Senior Fellow Bill Allison is a former investigative journalist, and has already put together a major piece on Sunlight's Blog about it, entitled Tracking Contractors and Lobbyists, and a Congressional Intervention.
The founders of Traffic.com, as well as the USDOT, are now getting hammered from multiple fronts, from non-profit watchdogs, from legislators (Senator Hatch sent a pointed request to USDOT Secretary Mary Peters a couple weeks ago), from the FBI, from the USDOT OIG, and from the press.
I'll repeat something I've been saying for some time: The sordid details of this scandal, which reaches into senior levels of the Bush Administration, are going to be exposed to daylight eventually.
I just can't quite tell when, but at least I'm learning about patience.
Jerry
posted by Jerry Werner | 11:25 AM
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