Anchorage attorney Cliff Groh, keeper of the Alaska Political Corruption blog
One of the blogs I’ve been longtime following is the Alaska Political Corruption blog kept by Anchorage attorney Cliff Groh. This blog has consistently been the best source available about the ins & outs of the wide-ranging federal investigation of political corruption in Alaska that first entered Alaskans’ consciousness with a raid on legislative offices in August and September 2006, led to the conviction of several former Alaska state legislators (members of the so-called “Corrupt Bastards Club”) & the downfall of Bill Allen of VECO, the conviction of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens which was later voided due to prosecutorial misconduct… a big wild ride in Alaska politics that’s been going on now for several years. (A wild ride considerably longer than Palin’s, I might add — & with a much larger impact on Alaska politics too.)
Cliff Groh will be at UAA tonight delivering a lecture in the university’s Polaris Lecture Series. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it. But maybe you can — so here’s the info:
- “Causes and consequences of the federal investigation into Alaska public corruption: Can we get off the slippery slope?” — Polaris Lecture by Cliff Groh
- Thursday, 18 March 2010 at 7:30 PM
- ConocoPhillips Integrated Sciences Building, Room 120 on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus
- See the UAA campus map for location. The building is labeled CPSB.
Background information:
- Biography of Cliff Groh with disclosures (on his blog)
- Alaska political corruption probe — a relatively decent summary on Wikipedia
- FBI investigations into Alaska politics — Anchorage Daily News stories on the federal probe
- Tom Anderson (politician) — Wikipedia article on the first former legislator convicted in the probe. I wrote most of this article back in 2007.
Groh is a model to emulate when it comes to blogging about politics: he presents facts, is careful to distinguish facts from his own theories & suppositions, & refrains from emotive & incendiary language which mostly just distracts from clear understanding. That’s as should be from someone who is concerned more about the rule of law than about narrow ideological concerns. He has my utmost respect.
Bus rider reading the Anchorage Daily News. The front page story, from October 1, 2008, is about former Veco CEO Bill Allen testifying at the Washington, DC trial of Senator Ted Stevens on corruption charges. Stevens was found guilty, but his conviction was later voided due to prosecutorial misconduct. (Not the same, of course, as vindicating him.) Cliff Groh's Alaska Political Corruption blog makes sense of it all.
