WASHINGTON - February 7 - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a new report on the most corrupt officials in the Bush administration entitled "Criminals and Scoundrels: The 25 Most Corrupt Bush Administration Officials." For the first time, the report chronicles the criminal activities and misconduct of high level officials in the current administration. Using public and court records, CREW developed a comprehensive list of government officials who have abused the public trust.

CREW found and documented more than more than 160 cases of misconduct over the last six years and then narrowed the list based on type of offense, the official’s level of responsibility and the impact on the public trust. The majority of the officials in the report have been convicted of crimes, are currently under criminal investigation, or are being investigated by the inspector generals of their respective agencies. CREW’s website, www.citizensforethics.org, provides summaries of each case as well as accompanying exhibits.

“High level government officials, acting without oversight, have plenty of opportunity to commit crimes,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, “It is clear from CREW’s report, 'Criminals and Scoundrels,' that a system that rewards political cronyism over competence may actually increase government corruption,” Sloan said today.

Some of the egregious behavior detailed in the "Criminals and Scoundrels" report includes: personal trips on the taxpayer dime, directing contracts to benefit family and friends, using a computer to seduce a child, lying to the U.S. Senate, unauthorized possession of classified materials and taking a bribe from a defense contractors to pay a mortgage.

Sloan continued, “Some of the officials named in the report were allowed to remain in their positions – or were even promoted -- despite clear indications that they were running amok. One question the report can’t answer is why the Bush administration didn’t act more quickly to stop some of these officials.”

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