Judicial Watch is a leading voice for strong ethics enforcement in Congress. Not only do we seek to hold individual members of Congress accountable when they violate the rule of law, but we also have been pushing for ethics reform through our own public education efforts, and through the collective efforts of the Congressional Ethics Coalition.

As part of this campaign, last week, I was invited to testify before a well-attended congressional hearing held by the Special Taskforce on Ethics Enforcement in the Longworth House Office Building. The specific issue on the table is whether Congress should create an independent ethics enforcement entity to help clean up corruption on Capitol Hill.

I told members of the taskforce that an independent entity is a sound idea, but only if it adheres to the fundamental principles of accountability, integrity and transparency.

If you wish to read my complete testimony, click here. Here is the “Reader’s Digest” version:

“The House Ethics process is broken and in need of reform…Suffice to say, from what we know publicly, apparent wrongdoing by Members repeatedly goes uninvestigated. And when violations of House rules are uncovered as a result of Ethics Committee investigations, any resulting punishments generally have been weak and ineffectual.”

• “…Corruption does matter to the public. In fact, last month Judicial Watch commissioned a nationwide Zogby poll of likely voters. The poll results were striking, as 68.5% strongly agreed that corruption is a significant problem in Washington.”

• “A strong Ethics Committee that supports independent investigations of ethical violations – while ensuring the rights of members are protected – is essential.”

• “The leadership of both parties must repudiate the ethics truce [between both parties to not file ethics complaints against each other’s members] and make it clear that ethics enforcement is a top priority and no Member or outside entity will be retaliated against for filing or pursuing non-frivolous ethics charges.”

• “The [ethics] process must be open. Not only should citizens and groups be able to file ethics complaints, but there must be mandatory reporting on the disposition of any complaints.”

It is tough to say if the Ethics Taskforce will recommend changes that get Congress to truly address its ethical bankruptcy. Only time will tell. The Taskforce will report its findings back to the House of Representatives, and we’ll see where it goes from there. Corruption isn’t going away. Last week it was announced that the FBI raided the home of one congressman and the family business of another. In the meantime, it would not hurt to write or call your individual congressional representatives to let them know what you think should be done. Rest assured – Judicial Watch will be monitoring all developments in this area, and I will keep you posted.

Judicial Watch Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Partial Birth Abortion

Last week, the Supreme Court issued an important decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, upholding the ban on the gruesome and inhumane practice of partial birth abortion in a 5-4 decision. (Of course, I take issue with even using the word “abortion,” as this procedure isn’t abortion at all. It is the brutal killing of a child in the process of being born.)

As you may recall, last year, Judicial Watch filed an amicus brief in this case in support of the ban. We argued that the “liberty interest” of the child is every bit as important as the liberty interest of the mother, and that it ought to be protected. Thankfully, in this most recent decision, the Supreme Court agreed, ruling that, “the government may use its voice and its regulatory authority to show its profound respect for the life within the woman.”

Of course, people on both sides of this debate are buzzing about the potential fall-out from this decision. This is the first time since the Roe v. Wade debacle in 1973 that the High Court has upheld a nationwide ban on a specific abortion procedure. No question, this is a step in the right direction for those of us who believe life at all stages must be protected. But it is a modest step, and one that was achieved with a slim majority.

(Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, noted that there were plenty of other constitutionally-protected ways to kill an unborn child. He pointed out that as long as the baby is torn apart – limb by limb – in the womb, it is a constitutionally-protected action. For me, it doesn’t get any lower for our justice system than opinions that talk about the dismemberment of the unborn as “an essential holding” of the Supreme Court. I suggest you read the full opinion, which is linked here.)

In 2000, a differently constituted Supreme Court overturned a partial birth abortion ban, with Sandra Day O’Connor casting the “deciding” vote. (As I said at the time, any Supreme Court that would embrace such a barbaric procedure has lost all of its moral authority.) This time, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito (O’Connor’s replacement) and other conservatives on the Court, were able to hold the liberal activists at bay…barely. The closeness of this decision is a reminder of just how important it is to nominate and confirm conservative judges to the bench.

And lest we forget, four Supreme Court Justices essentially ruled this week that crushing a child’s skull while it is being born should be a constitutionally protected practice. This is deeply disturbing. Thankfully, this time, liberal judicial activists were in the minority.

Congress and President Bush were right to put an end to partial birth abortion. The Supreme Court was right to uphold the ban. Let’s all pray this is one precedent that is respected by future courts, no matter their composition.

A New JW Special Report -- Muslim Non Profit Organizations: Moderate Non-Profits or Elaborate Deceptions?

Even before 9/11, Judicial Watch has been investigating the financial networks that support terrorism. And on September 20, 2001, we filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against non-profit organizations, “reportedly being used as money laundering front organizations for radical Islamic terrorists.”

Well, our investigations continue, and last week, Judicial Watch published a brand new special report entitled, “Muslim Front Organizations: Moderate Non-Profits or Elaborate Deceptions?”

The report provides detailed descriptions of Muslim charities in the United States that allegedly support terrorist activity. According to the report’s introduction: “While the U.S. government finally has taken action against some of the groups identified by Judicial Watch, others are still functioning. The federal government is aware of their presence and the danger they pose to our national security. The question is: Why are they still in operation?”

Among the highlights from the Muslim front organization report:

• According to Hamza Yusuf, a board member of the Council for American Islamic Relations, “[America] is facing a terrible fate, and the reason for that is because the country stands condemned.” Yet, the Department of Homeland Security recently published an online press release from the organization expressing its approval of the Transportation and Safety Administration’s “sensitivity training” program about Islamic traditions.

• The North American Islamic Trust, which operates out of Illinois, owns between 50 and 80 percent of North American mosques. Authorities say the organization is used as a funnel for Saudi and other gulf money to spread an anti-American brand of Islamic fundamentalism in American mosques from southern California to South Carolina.

• The Islamic Society of North America enforces Wahhabi [extreme Islamism] theology in the country’s 1,200 official recognized mosques and has allegedly helped turn the federal prison system into a fertile recruiting ground for al Qaeda. In 2005, the organization received a White House invitation to send a representative to participate in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Representatives’ White House Leadership Conference.

Incidentally, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was in the news just last week. The organization sued U.S. Airways for removing several Imams from a flight for exhibiting extremely suspicious behavior -- behavior very similar to that exhibited by the 9/11 hijackers. (The Imams were removed from the plane and later staged a protest “pray in” at D.C. National Airport.)

Of course, it should go without saying that the federal government should not coddle terrorist front groups in the name of political correctness. Any organization that funds or advocates terror should be shut down immediately. I encourage you to read this report for yourselves. It may be disconcerting to read about all of the suspicious connections, but the report contains information every American should know.

Virginia Tech Slayings

Our prayers are with the victims and their loved ones of the horrific mass murder at Virginia Tech last week. The evil that men do is often unfathomable in its depravity. But some of the reported heroics that saved lives shows that there is no limit to the good that men can do in the face of such evil.

Tom Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law.