Pence Reboots
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V19, N29 Thursday April 10, 2014 Pence reboots ‘16 White House option Governor says he’s And what would be the scenario he sees just ‘listening’ to where it might hap- pen? national figures The most obvious path, though it in- ‘reaching out’ volves lightning-strike statistical odds, is that By BRIAN A. HOWEY a Chris Christie, Jeb INDIANAPOLIS – The Bush or Ted Cruz wins swirl of 2016 national ticket talk the nomination and surrounding Gov. Mike Pence needs a social conser- has intensified over the past few vative with gubernato- weeks. We know it’s a scenario rial and Midwestern the first-term Republican hasn’t resume postings to spent so much as a minute balance a ticket. This pondering, though he is now has played out qua- acknowleding to Howey Politics drennially in Indiana Indiana that national figures are since 1972 with Dick “reaching out” to him. Lugar, Birch and Evan Bayh, Lee Hamilton, Dan Quayle, So when Howey Politics Indiana sat down with and Steve Goldsmith posited on various veepstakes specu- Gov. Pence on Tuesday morning, just as the Weekly Stan- lation lists. dard’s Bill Kristol was anointing Pence and Wisconsin Gov. The second potential scenario is the kind of void Scott Walker as presidential timber on MSNBC’s “Morning that created Bill Clinton in 1992 and John McCain in 2008. Joe,” and 24 hours before Chief of Staff Bill Smith turned in his resignation, two questions were asked. First, does Continued on page 3 Pence believe he’s ready for national office? Hogsett tackles graft By MAUREEN HAYDEN CNHI Statehouse Bureau INDIANAPOLIS – Joe Hogsett was being vetted for the job of U.S. attorney four years ago when he asked a federal judge for advice. That judge observed that “My job is to protect the integrity there hadn’t been a high-profile public corruption case in the of the institution.” southern district of Indiana since - House Ethics Chairman Greg the early 1990s, when federal investigators separately brought Steuerwald, on the probe of down a bribe-taking state court State Rep. Eric Turner. A judge and a well-connected union president caught skimming dues. hearing set for today had been The judge cited two pos- sibilities for the dearth of corrup- cancelled and has not been tion cases, Hogsett recounted rescheduled recently: “One, we have the most Page 2 honest, ethical, above-the-board pub- probe of former Marion County pros- lic officials in the entire land. Or, two, ecutor Carl Brizzi. A three-year investi- somebody is asleep at the switch.” gation failed to yield sufficient evi- Hogsett bet it was the latter. dence that the top cop in the state’s Hogsett has raised his profile capital had accepted bribes while in by ramping up prosecutions of gang office. members and corrupt politicians, ar- The corruption task force guing that both undermine the public’s had nailed two of Brizzi’s associates, sense of safety, since he became top including a former deputy prosecu- federal prosecutor in a district that tor. But Hogsett had to tell investiga- is a non-partisan newslet- covers two-thirds of the state. tors their mostly circumstantial case ter based in Indianapolis and He created a multi-agency against Brizzi wouldn’t hold up in front Nashville, Ind. It was founded Public Corruption Working Group, a a jury. in 1994 in Fort Wayne. team of federal and state investiga- A few weeks later, that tors in 2012. Since then his office convicted deputy prosecutor, whom It is published by has charged 30 public officials with Hogsett wanted to be sent to prison, WWWHowey Media, LLC various crimes – three times the cases was sentenced to probation. 405 Massachusetts Ave., charged in the previous two years. The results were discouraging, Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN Last month, Hogsett reaf- but Hogsett was undeterred. 46204 firmed his commitment to rooting out “Those kinds of prosecutions, corruption as he traveled the state to announce a Brian A. Howey, Publisher trio of indictments of public Mark Schoeff Jr., Washington officials – including a rare Jack E. Howey, Editor perjury charge against a Mary Lou Howey, Editor county child-welfare director accused of lying to inves- Maureen Hayden, Statehouse tigators about a sex-abuse Matthew Butler, Daily Wire case. Hogsett revealed Subscriptions that FBI officials in Indiana HPI, HPI Daily Wire $599 are beefing up their resourc- es, creating a stand-alone HPI Weekly, $350 team of agents tasked with Ray Volpe, Account Manager investigating public wrong- 317.602.3620 doing, which mirrors a national priority in the final analysis, are worth doing, email: [email protected] by the FBI to expand investigations of even if the result isn’t what you hoped public corruption. it would be,” he said during a recent “Our message has been con- interview. “It sends a very important Contact HPI sistent, but bears repeating,” Hogsett message to everybody up and down www.howeypolitics.com told reporters. “It doesn’t matter what the government chain that somebody [email protected] your politics are or who you know. If is out there watching what they’re do- Howey’s Cabin: 812.988.6520 you violate the public trust, this work- ing.” Howey’s cell: 317.506.0883 ing group will find you and investigate Public officials caught under you, and the U.S. Attorney’s office Hogsett’s tenure have included city Washington: 202.256.5822 will then prosecute you to the fullest councilmen with dirty money, town- Business Office: 317.602.3620 extent of the law.” ship officials who embezzled public Only later did Hogsett ad- funds, IRS employees convicted of © 2014, Howey Politics Indiana. mit how tough that threat is to carry unemployment fraud, and a wealthy All rights reserved. Photocopy- out. financier who spent stolen money on “The plain fact is,” he said, campaign contributions to prominent ing, Internet forwarding, fax- “cases of public integrity and corrup- state politicians. The caseload has ing or reproducing in any form, tion are often very difficult to make also included a police chief who used whole or part, is a violation of and to prove.” town money to buy himself a cache of federal law without permission Last fall, for example, Hogsett guns and a deputy sheriff accused of from the publisher. reluctantly shut down a high-profile brutalizing suspects in his custody. Page 3 Robert Jones, the FBI’s special-agent-in-charge tion of public corruption. Indiana, said the range of cases is telling: “There is no ac- But it was also a recognition of his history as a ceptable level of public corruption,” he said. good-government advocate, said Common Cause Indiana Hogsett hasn’t been without critics. His early deci- director Julia Vaughn. sion to crack down on corruption raised questions about Back when he was secretary of state, Hogsett, a his political ambitions. Democrat, worked with the state’s then-attorney general, Hogsett, 57, a father of three and Rushville a Republican, to get a strict interpretation of lobbying dis- native, launched himself into state politics more than 25 closure laws. Both men, said Vaughn, drew the ire of party years ago. He was a top aide to former Democrat Gov. leaders and legislators who later rewrote the laws to make Evan Bayh, elected as secretary of state in 1990, and later them more lax. served as chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. “He’s not a Johnny-come-lately to the idea But, earlier this year, Hogsett killed rumors he’d that public service should be about public service and not be leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office to run for Indianapolis about private gain,” Vaughn said. mayor. In committing to stay in office until his term is up Hogsett appreciated the award but sees the praise in January 2017, the Obama appointee effectively ruled as fleeting. “If you decide to go after public corruption, out a 2016 run for governor or Congress. you don’t make many friends,” he said. “Usually just en- “I cannot in good faith walk away from the re- emies.” v sponsibility that I have,” he said at the time. His commitment to the job has earned him the Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the “Mr. Clean” award from the Indiana chapter of Common CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at Cause, the government watchdog group. The group hon- [email protected]. ored him last summer for his decision to prioritize prosecu- Follow her on Twitter @MaureenHayden Late last year, senior Pence administration offi- Pence, from page 1 cials suggested the classic “follow the money” on Indiana campaign and Federal Election Commission reports. In the That’s when the biggest names – the Cuomos, Rockefell- Feb. 6 edition of HPI, we reported Pence’s Indiana cam- ers, Bushes, Bradleys or Kennedys – either take a pass or paign finance filing was $1,354,038.63 in contributions and through scandal or personal circumstance, beg off. The $491,610.51 in expenses. He had a year-end cash-on-hand names in the second or third tiers then move up. In the balance of $1.357 million. As for Pence’s FEC accounts, the 2016 scenario, all eyes are on former Florida Gov. Jeb Mike Pence Committee had a balance of only $4,736, and Bush, who told the Washington Post earlier this week that his Win Back American PAC showed a balance of $5,210. he would make his decision by the end of the year. “In my There haven’t been trips scheduled to Iowa, New case, that means can one do it joyfully without being tied Hampshire or South Carolina events recently.