Oaks Must Go

Lost in the mishigas of the crisis in Baltimore City schools don’t forget that the Maryland Democratic Party is a cesspool of corruption, because is this doozy:

Federal prosecutors revealed in new court documents that indicted state Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks confessed to taking cash payments in exchange for official business before becoming an FBI cooperator and upending another bribery investigation.

The allegations come as Oaks prepares to begin his 30th legislative session in the General Assembly, which begins Wednesday. While the U.S. attorney’s office says Oaks confessed both to taking cash payments and to interfering with an investigation, he has pleaded not guilty and has a trial scheduled for mid-April, right after the legislative session concludes.

Neither Oaks nor his defense attorney could be reached for comment Friday evening.

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So we have a Democratic member of the Maryland State Senate who has confessed to taking bribes.

Confessed to taking bribes.

So far, Governor Larry Hogan is the only elected official in Maryland who has said that Senator Oaks should be removed from office.

You would think that Senator Mike Miller, given his historical perspective on the institution of the Senate, would what to rid the chamber of somebody with such an ethical tarnish. But much like he did with Ulysses Currie, Miller isn’t having any of that:

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a fellow Democrat, asked earlier this week whether Oaks should remain in his chamber, said it would be “unfair” for the legislature to vote to remove Oaks before he has his day in court.

This isn’t somebody who has a squeaky clean reputation, mind you. Oaks is somebody who was almost 30 years ago was removed from the House of Delegates for stealing money from his campaign account. And he’s confessed to taking cash for services rendered while on the job as a legislator.

Nathaniel Oaks has confessed to taking bribes and Democrats in the Senate have no desire to see him removed. And why? Because Democrats realize that they need every vote they can get on the veto override of the paid sick leave bill.

As always, the Democrats display their situational ethics. They’ll never do the right thing when they can do the politically expedient thing in said.

Nathaniel Oaks is a frequent flier when it comes to ethics issues in his official duties. His continued service in the State Senate is a disgrace to the chamber and an affront to the citizens of Maryland. He should be removed office with all due haste.