The Weekly Fix: Who Watches the Watchmen?

The fix is in. Orange County, California is so corrupt, its anti-corruption joint task force has officially disbanded under suspicions of corruption.

According to the Los Angeles Times, federal authorities teamed up with Orange County’s top prosecutor in 2013 to fight local political corruption. The task force was meant to be an answer to numerous public integrity complaints directed at the district attorney’s office, along with an embarrassing grand jury report that described city hall corruption as “actively festering.”

Four years later, the Orange County Corruption Task Force called it quits because they couldn’t trust each other.

According to reports, the FBI suspected district attorney Tony Rackauckas enjoyed political relationships with corruption investigation targets that created conflicts of interest. At one point, federal agents also launched an investigation into the D.A.’s office to determine if it used jailhouse informants to unconstitutionally obtain incriminating statements from inmates.

The D.A.’s office left the task force in February 2017, complaining the FBI refused to share information on relevant corruption investigations. It turns out, the FBI’s suspicions were not unfounded.

The Voice of OC explains:

Since the end of the task force, at least four former DA personnel have filed complaints or lawsuits against Rackauckas’ office, including his former chief investigator Craig Hunter, who accused Rackauckas of interfering with corruption investigations into politicians he has endorsed.

Additional legal claims have been filed for alleged intimidation surrounding political investigations, and retaliation against those who reported incidents of misconduct.

Meanwhile, taxpayers are left back where they started: looking for anyone, anywhere who will work diligently to keep the politicians in Orange County honest.

It’s time to take a stand. The American people aren’t being heard by their representatives because the game is rigged. Government isn’t broken. It’s “fixed.”