The Corruption Chronicles
Obama’s Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government
Tom Fitton

Threshold Editions
July 2012/ ISBN 9781451677874
Non-Fiction / Government / Politics
Amazon

Reviewed by Elise Cooper

The best-selling book, The Corruption Chronicles: Obama’s Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government, written by Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch (JW), is about how no one is above the law. He outlines how this grassroots group has been the watchdog for the American people. The first half of the book discusses the Clinton and Bush administrations, but the meat of the book is the latter half when Fitton highlights issues such as the bailouts, Obamacare, Guantanamo, the voting ID laws, and the government czars. With these issues he shows how government should and must be held accountable.

He states that Judicial Watch is the people’s independent inspector general, not associated with Congress or any Presidential administration. Fitton’s reason for writing the book is, “to present all the information gathered together to educate the public. There is a real need to show the people how we combat government corruption. You can’t rely on the traditional institutions of government to police wrong doing in Washington.”

One of the most interesting parts of the book is his list and explanation of the ten most corrupt politicians. Among those listed are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and Nancy Pelosi. However, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, was not listed. When asked about this he noted, “The list is not perfect. There are people that could easily have been put on it. We have been researching Reid for quite some time. He is someone who deserves a lot of scrutiny. His not being included on the list does not serve as an exoneration.”

Readers will soon discover that JW is able to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to force the government to become transparent and allow the public to see how administration officials conduct government business. He exposes this current administration as one of the most secretive in a generation by taking them to court to force them to reveal to the American public the inside facts. JW has filed over 800 requests for information and over 75 lawsuits seeking enforcement of FOIA. It is thought-provoking to read how the Obama Administration through FOIA was forced to reveal visitor logs, giving the readers an inside view of who attended the White House meetings during the writing of Obamacare. As Fitton explains, “Only certain records were released. Others were withheld for arbitrary and unlawful reasons. In fact, the White House continues to advance the ridiculous claim that the visitor logs are not agency records and are therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.”

The book emphasizes how “The Obama Administration became a morass of corruption and obfuscation…he was about to change Washington DC into his personal reconstruction of Chicago complete with dictatorially appointed czars and corrupt bureaucrats with a history of secret manipulation.” This is very evident with the way the Obama Administration is trying to stop voter ID laws that would make voting rolls clean and accurate. Fitton directly commented, “The real concern about this administration is that it looks like they are trying to put themselves in a position to steal this election by opposing voter ID laws. This is an issue the American people support, voter and election integrity. We filed lawsuits in about a dozen states hoping these warning letters will force some of the states to clean up their voter roles.”

Fitton was asked about a powerful quote in the book, “Right now, America stands on the brink of a complete government takeover in virtually every major aspect of the economy…” He commented, “They nationalized the financial sector, the big banks and the financial services markets, into public utilities. The mortgage sector has been nationalized as well, practically through the activities of Fannie and Freddie. There was the push for Obamacare. We are on our way with these startling developments. These takeovers are socialist in nature.”

The Corruption Chronicles is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the future of America. The reader will gain awareness into issues not reported by the mainstream media. Fitton is hoping that through this book individuals will be alerted about this private watchdog group in which “the government will be held in check and be accountable to the American people. If you consider the media the fourth branch we are hoping to be the fifth branch. We cause heartache for the bad guys and help to reassure the good guys.” He does that and more with this insightful, concise, and educational book.