It's one of the most bizarre and troubling news stories about Congress in 2017:

A family of rogue congressional IT staffers got paid millions of dollars for mostly no-show, no-performance jobs by over 20 House members, many of them on sensitive House committees.

A criminal investigation by Capitol Police is looking into the staffers' activities. These staffers had access to members' email accounts, and are suspected of illegally sending sensitive congressional data off the secure House computer networks.

The majority of voters are clearly fed up with politics as usual in Washington. Tens of millions feel disenfranchised, they believe elections are either broken or rigged, and most do not feel represented by the Republican and Democratic Parties.

The broad frustration, discontent, and outrage over the current state of American politics leave the independent and reform movements with both opportunities and challenges in future elections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExcDi9a9His

In an interview with Sean Hannity Tuesday night on FoxNews, Donald Trump Jr. said he "probably would have done things a little differently" when he met with a Russian attorney during his father’s presidential campaign in June 2016.

The internet is often referred to as the “wild west” because everything can be found, everyone can be connected, and there are very few rules. We can open our minds up to anything we want, good, bad, and otherwise. The internet could be a great tool to unite us, right? Sadly, that has not been the case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5b1ZQ1h6c

Texas and Arizona are relatively close geographically, but when it comes to handling voter fraud, they're not in the same hemisphere.

We’ve all heard there’s a need to get money out of politics. But what’s not discussed as often are the details of how to go about doing so.

Enter the 28th amendment. In the past few years, a movement has begun to add a 28th amendment to the US Constitution. The amendment would be aimed at limiting the influence of money over our political process and reserving constitutional rights for human beings, not corporations.

There is big news for the Libertarian Party: It can add one more state where it has official party status and ballot access for the 2018 midterms.

Ballot Access News reported Monday that the LP's petition for party status was validated by the Arkansas secretary of state on July 7. This means the Libertarian Party has ballot access in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia for some or all races in the midterm elections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnfCtztC2oQ

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit over the lack of transparency by President Trump’s election commission.

The lawsuit charges the commission with failing to comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which is designed to ensure public accountability of all advisory committees.

A story in the Washington Post says the federal investigation into a land deal led by Jane Sanders, the wife and political adviser of Sen. Bernie Sanders, has accelerated.

Prosecutors have reportedly hauled off with more than a dozen boxes of records from the Vermont college she once ran and calling a state official to testify before a grand jury.

The investigation centers on the 2010 land purchase that relocated Burlington College to a new campus on more than 32 acres along Lake Champlain.

Gary Johnson, the two-term Republican governor of New Mexico and twice nominated Libertarian Party presidential contender, is making his return to politics this Summer after leading the Libertarian Party to a historic record high voter turnout of over 4 million votes in 2016.