Newsflash: corruption scandals still a threat to GOP
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed May 30, 2007 at 05:20:44 PM EST
Congressional Corruption Caucus (AP Photo)
If the House GOP was hoping that headlines and gossip linking their ranks with corruption and scandal would fade away after last November's massacre, they were definitely being overly optimistic. In fact, even though last November saw a House-cleaning of sorts, the worrisome numbers are building again.
In pure numbers, Republicans are approaching the magnitude of their problem at this stage of the 2006 election cycle. Eventually, nine House Republicans faced FBI investigations. Four stepped down, and two -- Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and Bob Ney of Ohio -- are in prison. Of the five who sought re-election, three lost and the other two remain under ethical clouds.
Let's see...so far I can count one...two...three...SIX current Republican Members of Congress under investigation/suspicion of corruption. Let's review!
Have they no shame?
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed May 16, 2007 at 12:15:36 PM EST
It's hard to believe, but the Congressional Corruption Caucus can't seem to get enough of themselves.
Follow me as we wade through this unbelievable mess:
1) Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) steps down from his position on the powerful House Appropriations Committee after the FBI raided his wife's office.
2) The Republican Steering Committee needs someone to fill his post on Appropriations. Of all the choices, who do they pick? This guy - Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who is under suspicion of using earmarks for personal gain. Way to go - put someone who may have used federal funding to increase the value of his own land on the committee that oversees where federal funding goes. Genius.
3) But wait! It gets so much better! In order to take the Appropriations gig, Calvert left his position as the leader of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the House Committee on Science and Technnology. Who announced today that he was taking Calvert's place? None other than Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), of course. Feeney, you'll remember, took an Abramoff-paid golf trip to Scotland in 2003; former Congressional aide Mark Zachares recently pleaded guilty to charges related to that trip.
What a nice set-up they have here, right? One lawmaker gives up his position because he's under investigation for corruption, and they give it to another lawmaker who's under suspicion for corruption...and then they give that lawmaker's committee seat to yet another lawmaker under investigation. I'm almost dizzy trying to keep up with the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Talk about nerve...
Ethics Reform Now
By Michael Bohen
Posted on Mon May 07, 2007 at 09:45:01 AM EST
If everything goes as planned, it looks like we can finally get some movement on ethics...and not a moment too soon!
Last November, voters overwhelmingly voted to send legislators a message: ethics are important. Don't believe me? Take a look at the exit polls. 74% of voters said that ethics was either "very important" or "extremely important." Since voters made that statement, we've had scandals involving Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), Mark Zachares, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)...and scandals involving the Justice Department, specifically the ousted attorneys who were investigating people like Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). There are also the Bush Administration officials that either are under investigation or who resigned in disgrace. And finally, there is the lobbyist at the center of it all, Jack Abramoff!
I don't know about you, but this is all getting a little hard for me to keep track of. I'm beginning to wonder if there is anyone left in Washington who doesn't have a Common Blog smart tag with their name on it! It's time for Congress to finally get serious on ethics reform. Lobbying reform would be a great way to start...
Jack Abramoff is obviously cooperating with investgators
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Mon Apr 30, 2007 at 05:31:45 PM EST
Jack Abramoff is yakking away - at least, that's the implication the Sacramento Bee gives in an excellent article summarizing the sudden flurry of Abramoff-related activity around the country.
"It's not clear to me or my lawyers exactly what they're doing," Doolittle said Thursday of his own case.
Really? This might clarify some things for you, sir:
The flurry of activity can be traced to the federal courthouse in Miami, where prosecutors revealed last month that they're prepared to reduce Abramoff's sentence for fraud in connection with his purchase of a fleet of gambling ships.
Prosecutors said he had more to tell about Washington corruption, and they were offering a lower sentence as an elixir to lubricate his tongue.
Seems to have worked, no? Since Bob Ney went to prison, nothing much had been happening in the investigation. Then, all of a sudden in the last couple of weeks we get:
- Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) home is raided.
- Kevin Ring, former aide to Doolittle and close friend of Abramoff's, resigns from his law firm.
- Mark Zachares pleads guilty to conspiracy with Abramoff.
- Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) announces he's being asked questions about an Abramoff-funded golf trip he took in 2003 - the same trip Zachares was on.
- Reports surface that Ed Buckham, former aide to Tom DeLay and lobbyist extraordinaire, may be nearing charges, which chould ensare DeLay. Buckham could also be a link between the Abramoff investigation and the Duke Cunningham bribery case (see also Brent Wilkes).
The common denominator? Jack Abramoff.
Yep, he's talking.
Feeney sought a rule change Abramoff wanted
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Mon Apr 30, 2007 at 04:05:18 PM EST
Busted!
Rep. Tom Feeney insists he never helped convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but in 2003 Feeney was among several lawmakers who wrote to the Energy Department opposing changes to a federal program that also were being fought by an Abramoff client....
Five months later, Abramoff treated a small group of people, including Feeney, to a luxury golf trip to Scotland that began with a trans-Atlantic flight on a private jet and featured twice-daily golf at world-famous locales.
Of course, this is no smoking gun. But it sure does remind one of the actions Bob Ney and Tom DeLay took to help Abramoff in advance of their own Scotland golf trips...and we can't forget where those two ended up.
The excuse, of course, is that the Energy Department's proposed rule change to update guidelines on energy efficient windows and doors would affect manufacturers in the 10 Republican Congressmens' districts. Feeney's district does include one large window and door manufacturer who may have been affected by the rule change (interesting note: Rep. John Doolittle also signed onto the letter). Despite their efforts and the opposition of Abramoff's client Atofina Chemicals, the change was enacted.
$5,643
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 04:24:11 PM EST
$5,643. That's how much Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) repaid to the US Treasury for his Abramoff-organized golf trip to Scotland. Now let's see...private jet service...luxury hotel rooms...multiple rounds at the world's most prestigious golf courses...fancy meals and drinks...Does $5,643 sound like it would cover all that to you? I guess it's possible, but it sounds awfully unlikely.
In fact, it isn't likely. The actual cost of the trip for Feeney, Mark Zachares, and six others was more than $160,000 - closer to $20,000 per person. Rep. Feeney was just a teensy bit off...
Here are some of my favorite details of this angle of the story:
The $5,643 figure was reported identically by everyone, suggesting coordination with or by Abramoff.
Mass confusion!
Feeney spokeswoman Pepper Pennington would not provide many details Wednesday when asked how Feeney derived the $5,643 figure he listed on his disclosure forms.
At first, she said the figure came from the House ethics committee. But in a January statement, the committee said the number was reported by Feeney.
Later Wednesday, Pennington would not say where Feeney learned the cost of his share of the trip.
Pennington claimed Feeney left the trip early and paid his own way back to the States, and also paid all his own greens fees. If that's so, then why did he claim the same, full amount as everyone else who stayed?
Feeney has long denied knowing that Abramoff paid for the trip, but new documents show that Abramoff's assistant sent Feeney's executive assistant an email with instructions on who to say paid, and at what amount. Also, Zachares has said in court documents that he himself was well-aware that Abramoff was paying and that what they were disclosing to Congress was lies.
Perhaps the Representative from Florida was merely mistaken in his math...
Is he for real?
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 04:03:23 PM EST
I had to triple-check to make sure I'd read this headline correctly: "Feeney: FBI probe of his ties to Abramoff is unthreatening."
What planet does this man live on?!
Certainly not the same planet that has witnessed powerful Congressmen like Tom DeLay and Bob Ney brought down because of behavior almost exactly like that Feeney is being investigated for.
Not the same planet that has seen 11 people convicted of Abramoff-related charges. Eleven people! And that's not even counting those who are currently under active investigation!
Not on the same planet where it can be (and has been) argued that the ever-widening Abramoff corruption scandal was the single biggest factor in the Republicans' defeat last November.
Rep. Feeney may be confident that he'll be cleared of all charges, and indeed there isn't yet enough information made public to say with any certainty whether or not it will play out that way. But there is no way any reasonable person can honestly believe that a charge of less-that-respectable ties to Jack Abramoff is nothing to be worried about.
Zachares likely to serve 18-24 months
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 01:52:47 PM EST
Yesterday we reported that Mark Zachares, a former senior staffer to Rep. Don Young (R-AK), would be pleading guilty to charges stemming from his relationship with Jack Abramoff.
Well, Zachares did plead guilty, and federal prosecutors have recommended an 18 - 24 month jail sentence, with a possible reduction if his promised cooperation is "significant." As part of his guilty plea to one count of "conspiracy to deprive the public of honest services," Zachares' wife will not be prosecuted. Some details:
Zachares, 49, admitted that between 2002 and 2004, as a lawyer on the committee staff, he provided Abramoff and his team of lobbyists information and potential clients concerning the reorganization of the Homeland Security Department, federal disaster and highway aid, and maritime issues.
I swear, these people just keep coming up with all sorts of new and creative ways to commit - and define - bribery. Oh, and of course there's always the bigger fish:
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