Rep. David Rivera defends himself over federal investigation, plays tape recording of FBI witness

In his first sit down English-language television interview in weeks, U.S. Rep. David Rivera defended himself Sunday against a federal grand-jury investigation into his alleged involvement in a primary campaign against his Democratic opponent.

At one point, Rivera pulled out a black Sony tape recorder and held it up against his lapel microphone to play a recording of what he said was a telephone message from an FBI witness in the case.

The FBI is investigating whether Rivera illegally funneled secret money to Justin Lamar Sternad, who lost in the Aug. 14 primary to Joe Garcia. Garcia now faces Rivera.

“No federal agency has ever stated or confirmed that I am under investigation for anything,” Rivera told WPLG-ABC 10’s Michael Putney on This Week in South Florida.

What Rivera didn’t say: State records show that federal authorities as late as last year were investigating him in a separate matter stemming from a secret $500,000 dog track payment the congressman had arranged.

Rivera had denied at the time that he was even under state investigation or that he had a lawyer. Records showed otherwise.

In the latest investigation, at least two campaign vendors have told The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald that they had been interviewed by federal authorities concerning Sternad’s campaign, which was fueled by tens of thousands of unreported money — much of it cash.

The FBI was scheduled to speak to Ana Sol Alliegro, Sternad’s campaign manager who apparently acted as Sternad’s conduit to Rivera. She disappeared from public view several weeks ago.

A target of a federal investigation is typically not informed of the probe until it is wrapping up or investigators have compiled enough evidence to confront their subject.

When Putney pressed Rivera about his involvement in Sternad’s campaign leading up to the August primary, Rivera tried to discredit vendor Hugh Cochran, who has said Rivera hired his company, Campaign Data, to target voters to receive Sternad fliers.

“Let me play you a little tape from Mr. Cochran, a voice mail that he left with the Miami Herald reporter that is involved in running this story,” Rivera said. “Just so you know Mr. Cochran’s agenda.”

More here.

On Miami TV ads, Rep. David Rivera touts support for undocumented student, attacks rival Joe Garcia

Embattled U.S. Rep. David Rivera has at least two campaign ads running on television in Miami, one positive and in Spanish and one negative and in English.

The positive ad features Daniela Peláez, the North Miami Senior High School valedictorian who faced deportation to Colombia because her parents had brought her to the U.S. illegally as a child. She got a reprieve in part thanks to congressional intervention and has become a fixture at Rivera events, including one last week where he held an immigration workshop at his Miami district office.

Update: Here's the video of the ad, titled El Sueño Americano (The American Dream).

Here's our translation:

I'm Daniela Peláez. When I faced the threat of deportation, I went to see my congressman, David Rivera. He never asked if I was Republican or Democrat. David Rivera put all of his resources at my disposal. Like me, David Rivera has been fighting to help undocumented youth to achieve the American Dream. David Rivera has always backed us. Now it's our turn to back him.

Peláez is one of South Florida's so-called DREAMers, who would be granted legal permission to remain in the country under the DREAM Act, legislation that has stalled in Congress. It was supported by Rivera's fellow Cuban-Americans currently and recently in the U.S. House: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

Rivera, however, has never backed the DREAM Act and criticized the Obama administration's recent decision to allow young people brought into the country illegally as children to temporarily remain in the country legally. Instead, he has suggested modified versions of the legislation, one for students graduating from high school and planning to attend a four-year college and another one for young people serving in the military.

The negative ad features an unidentified man and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who campaigned for Garcia when he ran for Congress in 2010 against Rivera and in 2008 against Mario Diaz-Balart. The ad makes several inaccurate claims.

Democrats call for Rep. David Rivera to 'come clean,' cancel TV ad buy

The Florida Democratic Party issued a statement Wednesday calling for U.S. Rep. David Rivera to explain any involvement he may have had in the campaign of Justin Lamar Sternad, who ran in the Democratic primary against eventual nominee Joe Garcia.

Sternad told the FBI that Rivera was secretly behind his run, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald have learned. Sternad also said his campaign manager, Ana Sol Alliegro, served as a conduit to Rivera. Alliegro, according to what Sternad told the feds, called Rivera "D.R." or "The Gangster."

"It is past time for Representative David Rivera to come clean about his involvement in this notorious and likely illegal shadow campaign," the party's executive director, Scott Arceneaux, said in a statement. "Each day seems to bring more news about Rivera and his cronies' scandalous activities, leaving little doubt that the congressman is more concerned with saving his own political life than looking out for his constituents' interests in Washington."

Meantime, the House Majority PAC, a Washington D.C.-based Democratic superPAC, has canceled its planned TV ad buy to back Garcia in the race. The group had planned to spend some $500,000 advertising in the Kendall-to-Key West district.

Democratic superPAC poll: Joe Garcia 50%, David Rivera 41%

A new, Democratic poll shows Democrat Joe Garcia leading incumbent Republican Rep. David Rivera, 50 percent to 41 percent.

The poll was conducted by the House Majority PAC, a political action committee that backs democrats running for Congress, and the Service Employees international Union. The survey has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.9 percent.

The poll was conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group, a Washington D.C.-based Democratic polling firm. They made live calls in English and Spanish to 400 likely voters from Sept. 8-13.

A poll by the same firm conducted last month for the Garcia campaign showed Garcia ahead of Rivera 49 percent to 40 percent. And a poll released earlier this week by Democracy For America, a liberal PAC founded by Howard Dean, had Garcia up 46 percent to 39 percent.

The Hill, however, reported earlier this week that an internal Rivera poll has the incumbent congressman leading Garcia 44 percent to 38 percent.

Rivera handily defeated Garcia two years ago, 52 percent to 43 percent. Garcia lost to then-incumbent Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart in 2008.

The newly redrawn Congressional District 26, however, is slightly less favorable to Republicans. It stretches from Kendall to Key West.

Read the PAC's release after the jump. The full memo is here.

D.C. analysts: Outlook less favorable for U.S. Rep. David Rivera's reelection

Two well-known Washington D.C. political analysts have updated their ratings of the congressional race between U.S. Rep. David Rivera, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Joe Garcia.

Both changes are less favorable for Rivera, who has been connected to a campaign-finance investigation into one of Garcia's primary opponents, Justin Lamar Sternad. (Here's the latest article on that investigation.) Rivera has accused The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald of being in cahoots with Garcia's campaign.

The Cook Political Report has switched its rating from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up." The Rothenberg Political Report has moved its rating from "Lean Republican" to "Toss-up/Tilt Republican."

"By the numbers it shouldn't be a competitive district, but with Rivera, with all of his ongoing legal problems and investigations surrounding him, it makes him more vulnerable," Rothenberg senior analyst Jessica Taylor said.

Frankel and Hasner to speak at the Forum Club Sept. 24

Two former state legislators battling for the Broward/Palm Beach Congressional 22 seat will speak at the Forum Club in West Palm Beach at 12:15 Sept. 24.

The contest between Democrat Lois Frankel, former mayor of West Palm Beach and former house minority leader, and Adam Hasner, former house Majority leader and Boca Raton Republican is shaping up to be one of the most expensive Congressional contests in Florida. Frankel raised about $2.4 million while Hasner raised about $2.3 million just before the primary.

The only more expensive Congressional race in Florida is the contest between Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West, who raised more than $10.7 million and businessman and Democrat Patrick Murphy, who raised more than $2.3 million, who are running in the Treasure Coast. The West-Murphy race is the third most expensive House contest in the nation, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. West currently represents Congressional District 22 but redistricting transformed the swing district into a left-leaning district so West moved his campaign to the north.

The Cook and Rothenberg political reports both consider the Frankel-Hasner race to be "lean Democratic."

"We think its competitive," said David Wasserman, an editor at Cook. But "the fundamentals of the district favor a Democrat."

Frankel's fate is closely tied with Obama as well as the ability of Hasner to define her negatively. Critics have called her abrasive and criticized her spending decisions at City Hall.

"She has her share of liabilities," Wasserman said. "Republicans need to find a way to capture that and cast her as an unacceptable representative in Washington."

However,  "Democrats will absolutely hammer Hasner as a tea party acolyte who was campaigning for  U.S. Senate as the most conservative person in the race and obviously now he has to posture a little  more to the middle to win the district."

Hasner dropped out of the GOP Senate primary and switched to run in  Congressional  District 22 after West announced he was switching districts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miami-Dade prosecutors drafted 52 charges against Rep. David Rivera -- and offered him a deal -- before case fell apart amid tensions with FDLE

In the summer of 2011, the arrest of U.S. Rep. David Rivera seemed all but certain.

Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had waded through piles of credit-card receipts and banking records, tracing thousands of dollars from Rivera’s political campaigns to his personal accounts. Miami-Dade prosecutors were preparing a “draft” complaint charging the Republican congressman with 52 counts of theft, money laundering and racketeering.

The lengthy probe of Rivera’s finances “unequivocally explains the theft and/or fraud of campaign funds,” FDLE inspector Brett Lycett wrote in a July 5, 2011, e-mail to a prosecutor. “We believe the violations are quite evident.”

But in the ensuing months — after Rivera’s lawyer poked holes in the case — the investigators’ confidence gave way to prosecutors’ increasing skepticism about the potential charges. The 52-count complaint accusing Rivera of systematic misspending of campaign funds was never filed; instead, prosecutors would write a 16-page memo explaining why they believed they could not arrest Rivera for anything.

Newly released e-mails and other records from the Rivera investigation show the increasing tension between the FDLE and the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office as the case dragged on through this past April, when prosecutors — under pressure from the FDLE to make a decision — finally dropped the high-profile case.

Some six months earlier, in November 2011, FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey urged Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle to move more quickly, worried that the time lag would prevent them from bringing some charges against Rivera.

“While I appreciate the need for careful deliberation in matters such as this, I am concerned that the statute of limitations may become an issue if a decision regarding prosecution is further delayed,” Bailey wrote in a Nov. 3 letter to Rundle.

By then — unbeknownst to Bailey or his investigators — Rundle’s prosecutors had already offered to drop the criminal charges against Rivera if the congressman agreed to admit to civil election-law violations, e-mail records show. More here.

Gloria Romero Roses, a Democrat vying to challenge David Rivera, releases first TV ad

Gloria Romero Roses, one of several Democrats vying for her party's nomination to challenge Miami Republican Congressman David Rivera, is going up on television.

The 30-second ad, titled "Progressive," tries to appeal to Democrats who will vote in the Aug. 14 primary, which pits Roses against three other hopefuls: Joe Garcia, Gustavo Marin and Lamar Sternad. It also makes a pitch to Hispanics: Roses, who was born in Colombia but raised mostly in Hollywood, briefly speaks in Spanish. The newly redrawn Congressional District 26 runs from Southwest Miami-Dade to Key West.

The ad mentions Roses' experience as a parent dealing with past overcrowding in Miami-Dade public schools and describes Roses as someone who would "stand with President Obama to guarantee equal pay for equal work and protect Medicare from Tea Party extremists." (The ad does not mention labor unions, including one that has expressed concerns over Roses' previous work for a condo-management company.)

In a statement, Roses' campaign manager, Vlad Gutman, cast Roses as "a refreshing change from the career politicians we're all used to."

"She knows firsthand what families are going through," he said. "That’s why she’s earning the support of voters in every part of the district, and this TV ad is the next step in communicating her background and values to people from Westchester to Key West."

 

Reaction rolling in on health care decision

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.: "What’s important to remember is that what the Court rules on is whether something is constitutional or not, not whether it’s a good idea. And while the Court has said that the law is constitutional, it remains a bad idea for our economy, and I hope that in the fall we will have a majority here that will not just repeal this law, but replace it with real solutions that will insure more people and cost a lot less money."

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.: "A lot of us feel the health-care law wasn’t perfect.  ut it was needed.  Our system was broken and we had to do something.  Insurance companies were refusing to cover people or dropping those who got sick. So, we passed legislation to prevent insurers from running roughshod over people. And today, the Supreme Court upheld most of these reforms. Now, I think it’s time we finish the job of fixing our economy and creating more jobs."

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers: "Bill Nelson cast the deciding vote on the largest tax ever placed on the American people and he will be held accountable in November by all Floridians. ObamaCare not only kills jobs, burdens families and runs up our already-massive debt, it oversteps its bounds by stripping Americans of their freedoms and mandating compliance with a government edict by calling the law a tax."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston: "As a breast cancer survivor and one of 129 million Americans with a pre-existing condition, I am overjoyed that the Supreme Court upheld the right of every American to have access to quality, affordable health care insurance. Because of the Affordable Care Act, South Floridians like Lainie Schultz, a young woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks before her 25th birthday, will not be denied the health care coverage she needs because of pre-existing conditions. Thanks to the tax credit in the Affordable Care Act, small businesses like the GBS group in Pembroke Pines are, for the first time, able to offer health care coverage to their employees. The Affordable Care Act has already made it possible for American families and small businesses to have more control over their health care by reducing costs, increasing choice, and instituting common sense rules."

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami: “While I strongly disagree with the court’s judgment, today’s decision exemplifies why we are a system of checks and balances.  Our work is not finished, however. The court’s ruling underscores the critical role Congress must play by repealing ObamaCare.  America’s healthcare system should empower individuals and families instead of Washington bureaucrats. This ruling imposes a new huge tax on America’s already struggling families and this is unacceptable to those of us who believe that our money should stay in our pockets and not sent to Washington. I have already voted 30 times in Congress to defund, fully repeal or do away with parts of ObamaCare and I will vote that way again."

U.S. Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami: "It is in the best interest of our nation’s economy to repeal the job-killing health care law and replace it with common sense reforms that address what is wrong with the health insurance system in America. We must pass legislation that lower costs and protect American jobs, not threaten them. We must move toward a system that welcomes patient choice and flexibility, instead of more government involvement, by ensuring Americans the ability to make medical decisions without bureaucratic interference."

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar: "The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a real victory for the American people.  This decision upholds the principle that all Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care. Millions of Americans have already benefited from this important piece of legislation. I have always advocated for access to universal health care with a public option.  With the Affordable Care Act, we have taken a huge step towards putting patients and their doctors, rather than big insurance companies, in charge of an individual’s health care decisions.  While I am pleased that this important legislation was upheld by the Supreme Court, there is still work to be done.  I hope that my Republican colleagues will now do their part and end their partisan attacks by putting the interests of Americans’ health care needs first."

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami: "The Affordable Care Act is already paying dividends for millions of Americans, with more improvements to the system going into effect in the next few years. In passing health reform, President Obama and a Democratic Congress made history for our country and progress for the American people. Because of the ACA, affordable health care is now a right for all, not a privilege for the few. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed our progress and protected that right, securing a future of health and economic security for working people and their families, students and seniors."

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami: “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a huge tax increase on the American people. The President’s healthcare bill, which was written behind closed doors, dramatically increases taxes, fees, and the cost of healthcare for all Americans. Obamacare was supposed to lower the price of healthcare. Instead, it has done the exact opposite – the price of healthcare has skyrocketed. With the individual mandate, President Obama is slamming the American people with a burdensome new tax. It has also been a major factor in the sluggish growth of our economy and anemic job creation. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to repeal Obamacare in order to protect Americans’ access to the care they need, from the doctors they choose, at a price they can afford." 

Congress congratulates Miami Heat

Here's an important, bipartisan measure put forth by the U.S. House and Senate yesterday: a resolution congratulating the Miami Heat on its NBA championship.

The House resolution notes, among other things, that "on July 9, 2010, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh were anointed the Three Kings at a ceremony in AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami" and that "the 'White Hot' Miami Heat fans sold out the AmericanAirlines Arena and cheered on their hometown team." (Read the Senate version here.)

The resolution was sponsored by Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio, and by two members of Congress, Democrat Alcee Hastings of Miramar and Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. The House measure was co-sponsored by South Florida Reps. Ted Deutch, Mario Diaz-Balart, David Rivera, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Allen West and Frederica Wilson.