Tom DeLay indicted on conspiracy charges - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Marvelous Marv · 10-06-2005, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smooth

I'd like to see what the two of you are referring to. I've been watching the news regarding this only sporadically, but everything I've heard is that each time the prosecutor has brought a case (not the case) to a grand jury, they have handed back an indictment. That is, you two keep citing multiple grand jury proceedings as if that means he has to keep coming back to them for an indictment, whereas the information I've heard indicates that he's successfully secured multiple indictments for multiple offenses.

If you have different information, please provide it.

Here's one by Host's favorite columnist, Robert Novak.

Link

Quote:

Criminalizing politics

Oct 3, 2005
by Robert Novak

WASHINGTON -- Last Wednesday afternoon after Tom DeLay's indictment was announced, the caterwauling began among House Republicans about their own decision of Jan. 3. By reinstating a rule that a party leader must resign if indicted, Republican House members complained, they had placed a gun in the hand of a Democratic district attorney frantic to use it.

DeLay, praised and condemned as the epitome of hardness in politics, had taken the soft position that the House Republican Conference could not withstand the abuse for having repealed the resignation rule. Democrats were archetypal hards, determined to use the criminal process to remove from power so formidable an antagonist. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle nearly flinched within the last month, but relentless determination to use the criminal process against DeLay moved Earle.

In today's polarized climate, both parties have contributed to the criminalization of politics. But Democrats, losers in both elections and the world of ideas, have turned to using the criminal process over the last two decades. That means depicting DeLay not as a mere reactionary politician but the cause of national corruption. This resolve was furthered by the reckless DA in Texas and a retreat by House Republicans.

The decision to reinstate the resignation requirement was the subject of Wednesday's closed-door conference of House Republicans. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana declared that the Jan. 3 decision had empowered Earle. He complained that moderate members of the conference had forced the reinstatement. Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida said it was like putting a red cape in front of a bull.

Moderate Republicans, referred to as "weak sisters" by their House colleagues, are poorly equipped to deal with the politics of 2005. On this issue, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who through his long career has been all over the Republican spectrum, was the strict interpretation ethicist supporting the resignation rule. DeLay decided he could not subject his members to this kind of pressure, and restored the rule.

Earle's reputation was behind the decision by House Republicans Nov. 17, 2004, to end the resignation requirement. Under Texas law, Travis County (home of the state capital) has special responsibility for state election issues. That empowers Earle, an intense partisan Democrat who is routinely re-elected in Texas's most liberal county.

Earle's most notorious prosecution involved trumped up charges against Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. When Hutchison won a 1993 special election to the Senate, I was advised by Austin's Democratic power brokers that she would never be elected to a full term in 1994 because she then would be under indictment. She was, but Earle's evidence was so insubstantial that the judge tossed it out of court.

The party pressure on Earle to indict Hutchison was dwarfed by demands that he put DeLay in the dock. Texas Democratic politicians could not forgive DeLay for demolishing their last vestige of power in what has become a heavily Republican state: the gerrymandered congressional delegation. Earle impaneled five grand juries before finding a sixth to indict DeLay on a flimsy charge of conspiracy in financing his redistricting initiative. As recently as two weeks before the indictment, Earle was signaling that prosecution of DeLay was unlikely. According to Texas sources, Democratic leaders made clear this was simply unacceptable.
That most of Earle's prosecutorial targets have been Democrats does not mean he is a straight shooter. A majority consisted of routine cases, but the big ones were tainted by politics. Earle lost a 1985 case against State Attorney General Jim Mattox, a political rival who accused the DA of using the case as a "stepping stone." His 1992 prosecution that drove Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis out of public life was viewed in political circles as a hit job influenced by Gov. Ann Richards. Earle investigated but never brought an indictment against Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, who once called the prosecutor "a little boy playing with matches."

Earle's matches last Wednesday set ablaze the normally well-disciplined House Republican organization. Within minutes after the indictment, Republicans were wrestling over the succession. Democrats are ecstatic. The criminalization of politics may work, even if the case against DeLay is as threadbare as it looks.

I'm hoping that I won't have to see the usual arguments to the effect that "So-and-so said this, so it must not be true."

P.S. The situation comes into sharper perspective when you remember that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has actually been found guilty of violating federal campaign finance laws.

host · 10-07-2005, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvelous Marv

Here's one by Host's favorite columnist, Robert Novak.

Link

I'm hoping that I won't have to see the usual arguments to the effect that "So-and-so said this, so it must not be true."

P.S. The situation comes into sharper perspective when you remember that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has actually been found guilty of violating federal campaign finance laws.

It appears from the following, new report, that the limited amount of information that has been disclosed, indicates, at the least, that the charges against Tom Delay are not frivolous. Delay is either a victim of circumstances and an unfortunate coincidence of timing (and an identical dollar amount of alledgedly laundered funds, vs. funds sent by the RNC back to Texas legislative candidates) or....he knowingly broke the law.

It is not reasonable, with Delay's power and influence, to portray him as some kind of "victim" of frivolous indictment by a rougue prosecutor.

Tom Delay has a defense fund, he does not have to use his own funds if he chooses to mount a vigorous defense against the criminal charges. He gets to keep his seat in congress, and the perks and income that come with the job.

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...100601903.html
DeLay Meeting, RNC Actions Coincided
Financial Transactions Began on Day Texan Met With Fundraiser

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; Page A05

Former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) met for at least 30 minutes with the top fundraiser of his Texas political action committee on Oct. 2, 2002, the same day that the Republican National Committee in Washington set in motion a series of financial transactions at the heart of the money-laundering and conspiracy case against DeLay...........

...........The prosecutor who brought the indictment, Ronnie Earle, has not described the evidence he presented to the grand jury linking DeLay to the $190,000 transactions. But the fact that DeLay and his alleged co-conspirator, fundraiser Ellis, conferred on the same day the checks were ordered has attracted the attention of lawyers involved in the case because of speculation that the two men shared important information that day.

To prove that DeLay participated in money laundering or in a conspiracy to conduct it -- the two allegations in the felony indictment brought against DeLay on Monday morning -- Earle will have to prove two things, according to lawyers who are closely following the case: The transactions involving the $190,000 were illegal, and DeLay played some critical role, by approving them or by helping to carry them out.

DeLay and Ellis have so far given slightly different accounts of the substance of their discussion. Ellis's attorney, Jonathan D. Pauerstein, said that Ellis recalls that their Oct. 2 discussion did not concern or involve Texas or Texas candidates. But DeLay, interviewed last weekend on "Fox News Sunday," said that during a "scheduling meeting" with Ellis in October, Ellis said while they were leaving his office that "by the way, we sent money" to Washington................

As far as Pelosi....it is a different case. She reacted differently. She seems to have cooperated with the FEC. Numerous elected officials seem to be treated the same as she was by the FEC. She is not a member of the party that controls both houses of congress and the executive branch. If the civil offenses that she was accused of, rise to a level of criminality or violation of house ethics that dictate or justify a criminal investigation, I have every confidence that politicians of the party in power control the influence and the resources to pursue criminal penalties against her. Write letters to your elected federal representatives, Marv. That is your right.

Tom Delay's prosecution is a seperate matter than Pelosi's. Delay maintains his innocence publicly, using all means at his disposal to vigorously attempt to discredit the prosecutor by attacking him personally. It seems like an even match. Delay is no "victim". That concept is only a weak "talking point".

1. The complaint (not a criminal complaint) against Pelosi was filed by the National Legal and Policy Center. NLPC is sub-rosa legal foundation funded primarily by the right wing of the Republican Party.

2. NLPC involves itself in targeting Democratic Party leadership and labor union leaders to launch ethics lawsuits against.

3. Peter Flaherty one of the founders is the former director of the "Citizens for Reagan" lobbying group.

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2004Feb9.html
Minority Leader's Fund-Raisers Fined

By ERICA WERNER
The Associated Press
Monday, February 9, 2004; 5:25 PM

.......... "We checked with the FEC; we thought this was OK. When we found out it wasn't, we did everything aboveboard, and we've been complying with them," Daly said.

Daly said Pelosi would dissolve Team Majority after the FEC ends its case. Two Democrats - Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Julie Thomas, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Iowa - have been fined $2,500 each in connection with donations received from the committee. A Democratic source said the agency was negotiating with a third congressional committee before closing the case. .............

................. In the 2002 election cycle, Pelosi gave more than two dozen candidates the $5,000 maximum contribution from Team Majority as well as PAC to the Future, which is her main leadership PAC - thereby exceeding contribution limits.

Team Majority gave back more than $100,000 that was collected above limits, records show. It also collected more than $140,000 that Daly said was within the proper limits. That money was spent last year to support Pelosi's fund-raising activities, including money for salaries, legal fees and phone services, and $2,176 to entertain donors at a box at the Simon and Garfunkel Concert at the MCI Center in December, records show..................

martinguerre · 10-07-2005, 04:28 AM

Quote:

I'm hoping that I won't have to see the usual arguments to the effect that "So-and-so said this, so it must not be true."

Lemme get this right. Bob Novak, Douche Bag of Liberty, reports that "Texas sources" said to Ronnie Earle that he needed to press charges.

Who's Texas Sources? That's a damn funny name. And this is according to Novak?

I'm sorry, but i'll consider trusting that when he's got something on record, not just blind rumor..

Marvelous Marv · 10-07-2005, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannukah harry

they're two completely different types of organizations. one is allowed to donate to a political party/campaign in texas, and the other isn't. a union is a lot more like a religious group (which i assume they can use the money from) than a corporation anyways.

Religious group? If you want to keep your job, you're FORCED to join the union in a closed shop.

Marvelous Marv · 10-07-2005, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

It is not reasonable, with Delay's power and influence, to portray him as some kind of "victim" of frivolous indictment by a rougue prosecutor.

Then it was not reasonable to portray Clinton as a victim of overzealous Republicans, considering his power and influence. Please let Pan know that.

Quote:

Tom Delay has a defense fund, he does not have to use his own funds if he chooses to mount a vigorous defense against the criminal charges. He gets to keep his seat in congress, and the perks and income that come with the job.

And that bothers you, even though he has not been convicted of anything?

Quote:

As far as Pelosi....it is a different case. She reacted differently. She seems to have cooperated with the FEC. Numerous elected officials seem to be treated the same as she was by the FEC. She is not a member of the party that controls both houses of congress and the executive branch. If the civil offenses that she was accused of, rise to a level of criminality or violation of house ethics that dictate or justify a criminal investigation, I have every confidence that politicians of the party in power control the influence and the resources to pursue criminal penalties against her. Write letters to your elected federal representatives, Marv. That is your right.

Thanks. To sum up your argument, Pelosi was found guilty, but she appeared to be sorry, so she only had to pay a small fine.

However, it was appropriate for DeLay to step down solely on the basis of an INDICTMENT.

The fact that you think this is perfectly equitable is noted for future reference.

Quote:

Tom Delay's prosecution is a seperate matter than Pelosi's. Delay maintains his innocence publicly, using all means at his disposal to vigorously attempt to discredit the prosecutor by attacking him personally. It seems like an even match. Delay is no "victim". That concept is only a weak "talking point".

For future reference, is it your contention that the powerful in Congress are immune to unfair prosecution? Tell that to Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Quote:

1. The complaint (not a criminal complaint) against Pelosi was filed by the National Legal and Policy Center. NLPC is sub-rosa legal foundation funded primarily by the right wing of the Republican Party.

2. NLPC involves itself in targeting Democratic Party leadership and labor union leaders to launch ethics lawsuits against.

3. Peter Flaherty one of the founders is the former director of the "Citizens for Reagan" lobbying group.

So that means the charges against her were not true? She paid the fine even though there was no wrongdoing?

I'm not sure why I even responded to your arguments. They are the weakest I've seen.

Marvelous Marv · 10-07-2005, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinguerre

Lemme get this right. Bob Novak, Douche Bag of Liberty, reports that "Texas sources" said to Ronnie Earle that he needed to press charges.

Who's Texas Sources? That's a damn funny name. And this is according to Novak?

I'm sorry, but i'll consider trusting that when he's got something on record, not just blind rumor..

Thank you for posting a textbook example of a logical fallacy, to wit: "poisoning the well." With a little name-calling thrown in.

As you can tell from my earlier post, I knew someone would try it.

martinguerre · 10-08-2005, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvelous Marv

Thank you for posting a textbook example of a logical fallacy, to wit: "poisoning the well." With a little name-calling thrown in.

As you can tell from my earlier post, I knew someone would try it.

The primary issue isn't Novak. The primary issue is anonymous sources. If a person uses such sources, then it is their personal credibility that makes the story worth reading.

You knew you would get called on it since it's poor journalism. Hell, "Texas sources" just told me that there's a blue light special in aisle 5. Wanna race me there?

Marvelous Marv · 10-10-2005, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinguerre

The primary issue isn't Novak. The primary issue is anonymous sources. If a person uses such sources, then it is their personal credibility that makes the story worth reading.

You knew you would get called on it since it's poor journalism. Hell, "Texas sources" just told me that there's a blue light special in aisle 5. Wanna race me there?

No thanks. I might trip over all of the grand juries.

Link

Quote:

First Grand Jury Declined to Indict DeLay

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 5, 1:22 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A grand jury in Texas declined to indict former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and two of his associates last week before another grand jury indicted them on money laundering charges.

"We have inquired carefully into the case" and "failed to find a bill of indictment against him," the grand jury said. A judge then issued an order of "no-bill" for DeLay and his associates Jim Ellis and John Colyandro.

Copies of the no-bill do not contain the alleged charges or offense dates, according to the Travis County district clerk's office.

DeLay, Ellis and Colyandro were indicted last week by a grand jury on a charge of criminal conspiracy to violate election laws. The indictment forced DeLay to step down as majority leader pending the outcome of the case.

Evidence was then heard by the grand jury that didn't indict. A third grand jury brought the money laundering charges Monday.
Dick DeGuerin, attorney for DeLay, sought to have the original conspiracy charge dismissed Monday by arguing in a court filing that the indictment was based on a law that the Legislature changed law in 2003. The indictment alleges that the illegal acts date to 2002. On the same day, a new Travis County grand jury brought an indictment against DeLay that included one count of conspiracy to launder money and one count of money laundering.

DeGuerin said Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle learned of his plan and went to a third grand jury to get the money laundering charges. DeGuerin accused Earle of "trying to patch up a terrible blunder he made last week for indicting Mr. DeLay for something that wasn't a crime."

But Earle said in a statement released late Tuesday that issues had arisen so he went to the second grand jury.

"Out of an abundance of caution because of the passage of time, the district attorney's office presented some evidence of those allegations to another grand jury. That grand jury declined to indict on the last day of its regular term," on Sept. 28, Earle's statement said.
Earle said prosecutors found new evidence over the weekend and presented it to the third grand jury on Monday, leading to the new indictment on money laundering charges.

Earle did not release any details about the new evidence Tuesday.

The newest charges are more severe, carrying up to five years' probation or up to life in prison. The possible penalty for a conspiracy conviction is up to two years in state jail.

DeGuerin said he believes the new indictment replaces the first. But Earle said prosecutors would press ahead with all three charges, and the final decision would be resolved by a judge.

The money laundering indictment claims DeLay's political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, accepted corporate contributions and then sent $190,000 to the
Republican National Committee with a list of seven Texas state House candidates that should receive contributions. The committee then allegedly issued checks to the candidates for a total of $190,000.

Prosecutors have argued that was a violation of the state's ban on the use of corporate money in local election campaigns.

The allege DeLay, Colyandro and Ellis hatched a campaign-finance scheme to boost Republicans to victory in state House races in 2002. The GOP won a majority in the House that year and took control of the chamber in January 2003 for the first time in 130 years. The Republican-controlled Legislature then passed a GOP-leaning congressional redistricting plan brokered by DeLay that put more Republicans in Congress.

So if you're Ronnie Earle, and a grand jury won't indict, you simply empanel more grand juries, until one finally does what you want. What could be more fair?

filtherton · 10-10-2005, 04:05 PM

If i were ronnie earl, i'd just have delay declared an unlawful combatant. Then we wouldn't have to worry about any of this petty "due process" business.

Marvelous Marv · 10-10-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by filtherton

If i were ronnie earl, i'd just have delay declared an unlawful combatant. Then we wouldn't have to worry about any of this petty "due process" business.

I hadn't seen many people (especially on this board) worrying about that. An indictment seems to equal a conviction to them.

Did you forget he was forced to resign as House Majority Leader?

martinguerre · 10-10-2005, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvelous Marv

I hadn't seen many people (especially on this board) worrying about that. An indictment seems to equal a conviction to them.

Did you forget he was forced to resign as House Majority Leader?

A rule that was in place, i think for O'Neill if memory serves, back when it was the GOP talking about how corrupt the Dems were. I say fair is fair with that...his own colleagues changed it back.

host · 04-03-2006, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

Just giving you a link bro, this is a host thread after all, every coin has its other side.

Quote:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...179853,00.html
<h3>Exclusive: Tom DeLay Says He Will Give Up His Seat
The embattled former Republican leader tells TIME that he will leave Congress and not seek reelection
</h3>By MIKE ALLEN/SUGAR LAND, TEXAS
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR

* Exclusive Interview: DeLay Tells TIME Why He's Quitting Congress

Posted Monday, Apr. 03, 2006

Rep. Tom DeLay, whose iron hold on the House Republicans melted as a lobbying corruption scandal engulfed the Capitol, told TIME that he will not seek reelection and will leave Congress within months. Taking defiant swipes at "the left" and the press, he said he feels "liberated" and vowed to pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government.

"I'm going to announce tomorrow that I'm not running for reelection and that I'm going to leave Congress," DeLay, who turns 59 on Saturday, said during a 90-minute interview on Monday. "I'm very much at peace with it."......

Ustwo, why not back up your comment, quoted above, by posting the "other side" of the Tom Delay "coin".

Time after time, on these threads, you chose to let me have "the last word", in our exchanges. I come here to discuss "politics". My "tactic" consists of displaying, in my posts, the ingredients that shape my opinions and conclusions.

I think that Delay is a corrupt politician, an embarassment to his party, and, if we are a "nation at war", if what has been revealed about Delay in various indictments and guitly pleas is true, a case can be made that he has committed treasonous acts, as well.

Consider your "coin" quote, above, consider that you quote a comment that I made, as your "sig"...it appears under every post you make on every TFP thread, consider not making "host" the issue here. Instead, defend Tom Delay, if you can.

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040302145.html

.....DeLay faces a trial later this year on money-laundering charges in Texas that stems from an October 2005 indictment related to corporate contributions to state elections in 2001 and 2002. Since then, two former aides and one of his most prominent contributors have pleaded guilty in a separate federal probe to crimes including conspiracy; wire, tax and mail fraud; and corruption of public officials.

The picture appeared to darken further last week with the guilty plea of Tony C. Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff. Edwin A. Buckham, the lawmaker's former chief of staff and his closest political and spiritual adviser, was described in court documents filed in the case as someone who collaborated with Rudy, Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon. They arranged payments, trips and favors that the department's investigators charged were part of an illegal conspiracy, according to the documents.

DeLay himself was formally designated as "Representative #2" in the documents, a title that cannot be considered a good omen...

<a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/rudy-factual-basis/?resultpage=3&">The "Factual Basis" for Tony Rudy's Guilty Plea
03-31-2006 - things of value were offered to or accepted by Rudy while he was while he was a staff member in the office of representative #2</a>

SteelyLoins · 04-22-2006, 08:27 AM

Mollohan says he's unaware of any errors in financial reporting

Quote:

By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House ethics committee's top Democrat, under fire from Republicans, said Friday he's unaware of any errors in his financial disclosures the past nine years.

Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., provided a detailed explanation of his investments a week after a conservative group questioned the accuracy of his annual financial reporting. Republican campaign officials called for his resignation from the ethics panel, but Mollohan refused to step down.

The allegations could have an impact on the ethics committee's ability to investigate wrongdoing and could be a factor in this year's congressional elections.

The committee has been unable to launch new investigations because its five Democrats and five Republicans have blocked each other from moving forward. The partisan split may become more bitter with GOP calls for Mollohan to leave the panel.

The allegations also allow Republicans to counter a major Democratic campaign theme: that majority Republicans have allowed a "culture of corruption'' in the House and Senate.

Congressional Democrats want the ethics panel to investigate lawmakers who had ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to determine whether the members broke the rules by providing legislative help in return for free trips, restaurant meals and seats in arena skyboxes.

Federal prosecutors are conducting criminal investigations into the same conduct.

Besides the allegations against Mollohan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee -- John Conyers of Michigan -- stands accused by former staff members of misusing his office by turning them into baby sitters for his children. Conyers did not respond to the allegations.

The National Legal and Policy Center -- which describes itself as a nonprofit organization that promotes ethics in government through research, education and legal action -- said last week it had filed a complaint in February with federal prosecutors, alleging Mollohan consistently undervalued and omitted assets in his annual reporting. The U.S. attorney's office in Washington refused to confirm whether it is investigating Mollohan.

Mollohan said the value of his property investments -- owned by him and his wife -- increased sharply because of rising values in Washington, D.C., and the North Carolina shore since 2000. The lawmaker said the value was offset by large mortgages, and the couple borrowed against their existing holdings to acquire new property.

In 2001, Mollohan added, the couple increased their holdings after the lawmaker inherited a share of his father's real estate holdings in West Virginia.

Mollohan said the Legal and Policy Center appeared to assert that he should have valued his holdings without regard to his liabilities.

The lawmaker said he can't address allegations that he made 250 errors in his reporting since 1996, because the center has not provided him with details.

He added, "Any claim whatsoever that these investments are in any way related to my actions as a member of Congress is categorically false.''

Mollohan said his financial reports are prepared by a respected accounting firm.

"I would never be so bold as to say that there are no errors whatsoever in the 24 annual financial disclosure statements I have filed as a member of Congress,'' he said.

"What I will say, however, is that if there are any errors in those forms, they were inadvertent, and I am convinced that they are not material -- that is, those forms provide an accurate picture of the investments, income and liabilities of my wife and me....''

Mollohan's 2000 report indicated he had assets worth between $170,012 to $562,000 and liabilities between $170,000 and $465,000. The disclosure reports let congressmen report their finances within broad ranges.

His 2004 report indicated he had assets of $6.3 million to $24.9 million and liabilities of $3.66 million to $13.5 million.
AP-ES-04-14-06 1654EDT

Quote:

McCabe-Henley's ties to organization set up by Mollohan draw scrutinyJake Stump
Daily Mail Staff

Thursday April 13, 2006

The chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center is questioning a Charleston-based real estate firm's relationship with a controversial nonprofit organization set up by embattled Congressman Alan Mollohan.

Ken Boehm, who spent nine months investigating Mollohan and turned over a 500-page complaint to federal prosecutors, contends McCabe-Henley unfairly benefited from its ties to the Vandalia Heritage Foundation.

But Rudy Henley, co-founder and senior managing director of the commercial real estate company, dismissed Boehm's claims as unfounded and nothing more than fodder for "cocktail party gossip."

State Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, who helped to found the real estate firm in 1980, echoed Henley's sentiments. McCabe said Wednesday he is an independent contractor for McCabe-Henley but no longer is a co-owner.

Laura Kuhns, former managing director of McCabe-Henley and now executive director of the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, said Boehm's report was politically motivated.

The Vandalia Heritage Foundation's mission is historic preservation and restoration of dilapidated buildings. It is one of five nonprofits established by Mollohan, a Fairmont Democrat who in 1982 succeeded his late father Robert as West Virginia's 1st District representative.

Boehm's report shows that Mollohan has quietly secured $250 million from Congress for his nonprofit groups through the earmark process. Officials with those groups have made substantial campaign contributions to Mollohan, according to the report.

Boehm has said no congressman past or present has come up with such an ingenious arrangement.

"The earmarks that go into the 1st Congressional District go to a small number of nonprofits," Boehm said. "In turn, they are so interlinked with each other that a small group of companies and individuals benefit from it.

"At the top is Laura Kuhns and McCabe-Henley."

Kuhns once served on Mollohan's staff in Washington. She then worked at McCabe-Henley from 1994 to 2000, serving as managing director and vice president of development for North Central West Virginia.

In addition to her role as leader of the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, Kuhns also serves on the boards of other nonprofits that depend on Mollohan-secured earmarks for their existence.

Among them is the MountainMade Foundation, which is based in Thomas. The foundation enables West Virginia artisans to sell their wares over the Internet and at a renovated building in Thomas.

More than $6 million in Mollohan earmarks have supported MountainMade over the years.
Kuhns serves on the board of the only out-of-state foundation that gets Mollohan's backing, the California-based National Housing Development Corp. It has received $31 million in earmarks in the last five years.

http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006041330/

Quote:

Mollohan owns pricey rental

George Hohmann
Daily Mail business editor

Thursday April 13, 2006

Garnet Career Center
Congressman Alan Mollohan's North Carolina beach house rents for $8,555 a week during the peak summer season, according to a listing on the Internet.

According to the National Legal and Policy Center, the house was advertised for rent last summer for $11,975 a week.

The property has played a role in recent controversies involving Mollohan.

The congressman has been scrutinized for steering government funds to nonprofit organizations run by Laura Kurtz Kuhns, a former Mollohan staffer. Kuhns is a partner with Mollohan and his wife in five properties on Bald Head Island.

Ken Boehm, director of the Center of the National Legal and Policy Center, the organization that has spearheaded criticism of Mollohan, used the beach house at Bald Head Island as an example of the apparently dramatic improvement of Mollohan's financial situation.

"His beach house in the summer of 2005 was being rented for $11,975 a week," Boehm said. "Contrast that situation with his finances in 2000 when he reported Visa card debt of $45,000 to $150,000.

Boehm continued, "The average West Virginian probably doesn't vacation in a beach house that rents for $11,975 a week. And the average congressman doesn't either."

Mollohan and his wife, Barbara, recently bought The Peppervine House for $1.45 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper and the National Legal and Policy Center reported Friday that the Mollohans are partners with Kuhns and her husband, Donald, in five properties on Bald Head Island valued in local real-estate records at a total of $2 million.

Bald Head Island Rentals, which manages The Peppervine House on Bald Head Island for the Mollohans, describes it as a 6-bedroom, 6.5-bath oceanfront home that sleeps 14.

"This gorgeous home is over 4,500 square feet heated and has approximately 2,500 square feet of decking," according to the listing. "Custom hardwood floors and bead boarding throughout the home. Each bedroom has private bath. Kitchen has granite countertops. Den with fireplace. Media room. Fireplace for decorational purposes only, not for guests' use."

The listing goes on to say that renters receive a temporary membership to the Bald Head Island Club, which provides access to a golf course, croquet greenswards, tennis courts, swimming pool, fitness center, volleyball, children's play area, dining room and lounge.

Also, "Guests vacationing in this home may purchase temporary memberships to the Shoals Club," the listing says. "The Shoals Club has a pool, hot tub, children's pool, and a wooden boardwalk to the public access on East Beach." The 10,000-square-foot clubhouse has a dining room, a fitness room, locker rooms, and wraparound porches, the listing says.

The listing and numerous photos of the house are online at www.baldheadislandrentals.com.
Earmarking

Laura Kuhns is a former Mollohan staffer who now runs the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit financed mostly with federal money obtained by Mollohan through an appropriation process called earmarking. She also sits on the boards of several other nonprofits that receive federal money obtained by Mollohan.

Mollohan and Kuhns have said there is no link between the earmark appropriations Mollohan got through Congress and their real-estate investment. They have denied any improprieties.

Boehm and the National Legal and Policy Center criticize the arrangement.

"It's a one-of-a-kind situation in respect to earmarks for the nonprofits," Boehm said. "I would say that no congressman, living or dead, has ever earmarked any tax money, let alone tens of millions of dollars in tax money, to groups run by people with whom he has a personal financial relationship."

In response to queries about the beach properties, Kuhns issued a written statement Wednesday. "Let me state unequivocally and emphatically: I have never personally profited from ‘earmarks' in any way, nor have ‘earmarks' funded my real estate investments or other personal purchases," Kuhns said.

"In the United States of America, we are free to spend the money that we earn, and I can assure everyone, I earn every bit of my salary and more."

Ron Hudok, Mollohan's press secretary, did not respond Wednesday to queries about the Congressman's beach property. Last Friday The Wall Street Journal quoted Mollohan as saying that any time he invests with others in real estate, he puts in half the money to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

"I wish you were correct that I'm worth millions, but in fact it's borrowed money," he told the Journal.

According to the National Legal and Policy Center, Mollohan's 2000 financial disclosure report listed his income-producing assets as being worth from $179,012 to $562,000 with liabilities of $170,000 to $465,000.

"Just four years later, Mollohan's 2004 financial disclosure report showed him with assets worth $6.3 million to $24.9 million offset by liabilities in the $3.7 million to $13.5 million range," the center said.
The National Legal and Policy Center disclosed last week that it had filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia what it alleges are "hundreds of ethics law violations" by Mollohan.

"The bottom line is Mollohan got very wealthy in a four-year period," the center said Friday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors are investigating Mollohan's finances but the New York Times said Saturday federal authorities are reviewing the complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center.
Mollohan told The Associated Press that the timing of the National Legal and Policy Center's announcement and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds' call for him to resign from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct on the same day as the Journal article proves he is in the "crosshairs of the national Republican Party as well as their kind of fellow traveling organizations, of which the National Legal and Policy Center is one.

"They are putting together an association of events and trying to draw sinister conclusions," Mollohan told the wire service. "I think it's my ranking membership on the ethics committee that really sticks in their craw."

Beach property

The beach house owned by Don and Laura Kuhns, known as Cape Fearless, is next to the Mollohan house. The Kuhns' house is described by Bald Head Island Rentals as a 5-bedroom, 4.5-bath oceanfront home that sleeps 10. It rents for $6,555 a week during the peak summer season.

"It is a spacious oceanfront home with lovely views," the listing says. "Large covered deck. Sitting area in master bedroom overlooks ocean. Master suite has king and spacious bath. Home also has two queens, one double and two twins. Breakfast area with spectacular views. Beautiful Florida room downstairs with comfortable living area and sitting area in loft."

In her Wednesday written statement, Kuhns said she was introduced to Bald Head Island in 1997. "Since then, my husband and I have enjoyed the island as a get-away from our hectic work lives, and we have watched the real estate values grow.

"Eventually, we decided that rather than renting our vacation getaway each year, we would try to acquire property on Bald Head for the following reasons: 1) values were starting to increase greatly and we wanted to buy while we could still afford it; 2) my family enjoyed Bald Head Island as much as we did and we wanted to provide a place for the entire family to vacation; 3) Bald Head Island enjoys a great seasonal rental business, and we could rent the property out, thereby offsetting our mortgage; 4) this would, hopefully, eventually provide us with a retirement; 5) this would provide a better investment than the stock market; and 6) the tax benefits due to the interest deduction; 7) real estate was Don's employment and business."

Kuhns said that in March 2003, she and her husband acquired an existing oceanfront house and began renting it out. They subsequently renovated it.

"Before actually closing on the property, we invited our good friends, Alan and Barbara Mollohan, to visit on a fall getaway weekend," she said. "After the initial visit, the Mollohans were clearly as infatuated as we were with the island, and they returned and acquired the lot next to our house, on which they constructed a new home."

She wrote that both families have enjoyed vacations at the island and started talking about what they felt were reasonable property values. They learned of opportunities to acquire lots and decided to invest jointly, particularly because spouses Barbara Mollohan and Don Kuhns are real estate professionals.

"Since these five lots were jointly acquired a couple of years ago, we recently sold the first one in January," Kuhns said. "It was always our intent - speaking for Don and myself - to sell the lots and defray more of our cost of holding the beach house, which we only enjoy out of season due to the rentals."

Bald Head Island is 70 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, S.C. The island is two miles off the North Carolina coast, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

According to the real estate company, the island is accessible only by passenger ferry or private boat. The Bald Head Island Marina has 153 slips and accommodates vessels up to 95 feet in length.

A brief history of the island posted on the real estate company's Web site says Native Americans first inhabited the island. "Later on, between the 17th and 18th centuries, Bald Head Island became an important stopping point for various pirates to replenish their provisions and bury their booty while sailing from New England to the Bahamas.

"Bald Head Island also became a preferred hideout for the notorious pirate of pirates, Edward Teach -- also known as Blackbeard -- and Stede Bonnet, the intellectual-turned-pirate," the Web site says. "Today, streets on the island are named after these infamous men."

The site says 1,000 Confederate soldiers were stationed at the island's Fort Holmes during the Civil War and that North Carolina's oldest lighthouse is on the island.

Kuhns also is a member of the Glenville State College Board of Directors. The college has received more than $6 million in Mollohan earmarks in recent years, according to Boehm's report.

"She'd hold a national record in the Guinness Book of Records for most boards having served on," Boehm said.

Kuhns responded: "I have never personally profited from earmarks in any way, nor have earmarks funded my real estate investments or other personal purchases. In the United States of America, we are free to spend the money that we earn, and I can assure everyone, I earn every bit of my salary and more."

As Vandalia executive director, Kuhns earned $102,000 in 2004, according to the latest IRS tax returns on file.

Boehm said Kuhns and McCabe-Henley have both profited from Mollohan's ability to wring money out of the budget.

"When you're working nine months on filing a complaint, you've got to connect the dots," Boehm said. "But it's not hard when there's thousands of dots."

McCabe-Henley manages several properties in the Fairmont area for Mollohan-backed nonprofits.

McCabe Land Co., a separate entity from McCabe-Henley, purchased the 63,000-square-foot former G.C. Murphy Co. building in downtown Fairmont.

Together, McCabe-Henley and McCabe Land Co. renovated the building and turned it into the Veterans Square project, which currently houses the Mollohan-created Institute for Scientific Research.

Veterans Square includes green space, a community amphitheater, parking garage and office space.

Senator McCabe and some of his relatives own McCabe Land Co.

Kuhns said McCabe mentored her on projects like Veterans Square.

"I owe Brooks and Rudy a great debt for taking a chance and allowing me the opportunity to learn on the job," Kuhns said.

Henley said he met Kuhns when he was helping develop the West Virginia High Technology Consortium project in the early 1990s. Kuhns served as executive director of the consortium, another one of Mollohan's earmark-funded nonprofit groups, from 1991 to 1994.

Henley said he was never contacted by Boehm during the course of Boehm's investigation.

"They don't seem to be interested in any fact," Henley said. "They're just spreading a lot of innuendo and assuming guilt by association. There's nothing hidden here. Our stuff checks out."

Kuhns managed development efforts at McCabe-Henley's first satellite office in Fairmont. In 2000, she also served as project director for Vandalia. In December of that year, she left McCabe-Henley to take the executive director's job at Vandalia.

In April 2000, McCabe Land bought the historic but dilapidated Waldo Hotel in downtown Clarksburg for $150,000. Seven months later, McCabe Land sold the hotel to Vandalia for $197,000.

Boehm said McCabe Land gained a quick $47,000 profit, but McCabe rejects that notion.

After slight renovations and upkeep of the property, McCabe Land may have earned $20,000 from the sale, McCabe said.

"We didn't make much, given the significant amount of work involved in the property," said McCabe.

McCabe defended the hotel transaction. He said Mollohan staffers asked him to buy and hold the property for him until the congressman could garner enough funds so that Vandalia could purchase it.

Mollohan worried someone would buy the 100,000-square-foot hotel and raze it, McCabe said.

"We did it as an accommodation to the congressman in helping him save a historic building," said McCabe. "Some may view it as if we're friends of the local congressman. Rather, I see it as an example of the trust the business community has in the congressman in preserving historic properties."

The transaction is just one of several examples of ties between McCabe-Henley employees and Vandalia.

Donald Kuhns, the husband of Laura Kuhns, works as a sales associate at McCabe-Henley.

He serves as the project manager for the Morgantown Industrial and Research Park, a 700-acre property managed by McCabe-Henley. He started working for McCabe-Henley in 1996.

"That employment preceded Vandalia's creation and had nothing to do with Vandalia," Laura Kuhns said. "However, Don does, in fact, provide support to Vandalia when needed, often donating his time to assist our staff and showing property on his own time.

"Does he earn brokerage commissions through his work with McCabe-Henley? Yes, possibly, when the seller of the property has listed the property or when the seller is willing to pay a commission, but by West Virginia brokerage regulations this is paid to the brokerage firm, or McCabe-Henley."

The financial relationship between McCabe-Henley and Vandalia began in 1999 when the nonprofit group hired the firm for "comprehensive real estate services."

Vandalia paid McCabe-Henley $69,300 for real estate consulting in 2004, according to the latest IRS filings.

Tax reports also show that Vandalia received $8.17 million in government grants that year. Revenue from other sources was only $7,000.

Henley said Vandalia approached McCabe-Henley in 1999 to help further the group's mission of preserving and restoring historic properties. McCabe-Henley remains under contract with Vandalia for real estate consulting.

The $69,300 figure for 2004 includes hourly fees and property feasibility assessments that may have emerged from business talks, Henley said. The money also can include time and labor for acquiring and managing properties or offering the group expertise.

Laura Kuhns explained how the business relationship works.

"McCabe-Henley currently provides Vandalia with services under a monthly retainer that may be offset by commissions, if there are commissions," she said. "Vandalia sometimes acquires properties that have no listing and no commission, such as parcels as tax sales. Occasionally we do acquire listed property and the commission may be split between brokerages, as is customary."

Henley believes critics don't fully understand how the system works.

"It's more than just going out and submitting a contract," said Henley.

Henley has been the project leader for some of McCabe-Henley's development projects, including the $12 million Alan B. Mollohan Innovation and Incubation Center, built with $3.5 million in earmarks.

Boehm believes federal investigators should look into business dealings between Vandalia and McCabe-Henley, but Henley balks at any presumptions of wrongdoing.

"You could draw whatever conclusion you want," Henley said. "If you're in D.C. or New York, it may seem conspiratorial, but this is a small state where you run into the same names again and again.

"We do work for them under contract, and we've done so before Laura became director. If the (Vandalia) board feels uncomfortable with that, they can fire us at any time."

If there was ever a situation that perfectly backed up the assertion that the national media is liberal, this is it.

Duke Cunningham was front-page news. Mollohan makes him look like a piker (and a relatively HONEST one, at that), and you can barely find a hint of it in the media. And to make it better, Mollohan is the guy who's supposed to deal with Abramoff and DeLay!

Of course, any errors in Mollohan's reports were "inadvertent." I'll try that on my next tax return.

Rekna · 04-23-2006, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelyLoins

Mollohan says he's unaware of any errors in financial reporting

If there was ever a situation that perfectly backed up the assertion that the national media is liberal, this is it.

Duke Cunningham was front-page news. Mollohan makes him look like a piker (and a relatively HONEST one, at that), and you can barely find a hint of it in the media. And to make it better, Mollohan is the guy who's supposed to deal with Abramoff and DeLay!

Of course, any errors in Mollohan's reports were "inadvertent." I'll try that on my next tax return.

I don't see liberal bias here. Cunnigham got indicted and pleaded guilty to a crime. Mollahan has said he is innocent and has STEPPED DOWN from his position while their is an investigation. What happend to the let's wait until they are found guilty arguments we have heard over and over from the right on this board. How long did it take Delay to step down? Ohh yeah he waited until he was indicted... Maybe this isn't all over the media because it isn't much of a story yet, and I did hear about this before you posted it so apparently it is in the media somewhere.

host · 09-16-2006, 02:15 AM

Without Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff would never have gotten where he is, today.
Neither would the latest ex-congressman to "cop a plea", Bob Ney (R-OH). Tied to Abramoff's past, are Karl Rove, his and Bush's "special assistant", a the white house, Susan Ralston, Grover Norquist, and.....Ralph Reed.....and:

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...062001626.html
Ex-Aide To Bush Found Guilty
Safavian Lied in Abramoff Scandal

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 21, 2006; Page A01

A federal jury found former White House aide David H. Safavian guilty yesterday of lying and obstructing justice, making him the highest-ranking government official to be convicted in the spreading scandal involving disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Safavian, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was convicted in U.S. District Court here of covering up his many efforts to assist Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA, and also of concealing facts about a lavish weeklong golf trip he took with Abramoff to Scotland and London in the summer of 2002.

David Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration, leaves the U.S. District Courthouse on Monday in Washington. A prosecutor urged a jury Monday to convict Safavian in the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal, saying he abandoned the public interest in favor of a secret relationship with the lobbyist.

This was the first Abramoff-related legal action to go to trial and face a jury. Several legal experts said the case could embolden federal prosecutors to seek additional indictments against cronies of Abramoff, who has been cooperating with the Justice Department since pleading guilty in January to corrupting public officials......

Resident Bush pulled his trademark, "I don't know him" when he was asked about his relationship with Jack Abramoff, just as he did when he was asked in 2001, about Enron Chairman, Ken Lay. Later, in 2001, it was determined that Bush not only knew Ken Lay, the two were friends and Bush had nicknamed Lay, "Kenny boy":

Quote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012601228.html
Bush Opposes Release of Photos With Abramoff

By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006; 2:48 PM

President Bush today dismissed the significance of photographs showing him with disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and indicated that the White House would continue to oppose releasing the photos, which he said are irrelevant to a federal investigation.

"I've had my picture taken with him, evidently," Bush said in response to a question at a White House news conference. "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with him or know him very well." He said that "it's part of the job of the president to shake hands with people and smile.".....

......Federal prosecutors are "welcome" to look into those meetings if they believe they involved improprieties, Bush said.

Abramoff "contributed to my campaigns, but he contributed, either directly or through his clients, to a lot of people in Washington," he said.

Asked whether he personally has ever been lobbied by Abramoff or other lobbyists, Bush said: "I, frankly, don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him. . . . But I can't say I didn't ever meet him, but I meet a lot of people. And, you know, evidently he was . . . at the holiday party: Came in, put the grip-and-grin, they clicked the picture and off he goes."

Bush said that "obviously, we went to fund-raisers, but I've never sat down with him and had a discussion with the guy."....

Quote:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202459,00.html
Bush Says He Hopes Enron's Lay Was 'Right With the Lord'
Thursday, July 06, 2006

WASHINGTON — President Bush said Thursday he hopes Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay's "heart was right with the Lord" when he died before he could be sentenced on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Bush called Lay, who was a friend of the Bush family and a large donor to the president's campaign, "a good guy." He said he was shocked to hear both about the Enron scandal and Lay's death this week from a heart attack at age 64.....

..........Lay faced life in prison after his convictions May 25 that ended a blockbuster trial stemming from one of the biggest business debacles in U.S. history.

Bush had nicknamed Lay "Kenny Boy" but pointed out they weren't always allied. He said Lay supported his opponent in his first Texas gubernatorial race, Democrat Ann Richards. When host King pointed out that Richards had told him earlier that she liked Lay, Bush responded, "Yes, he's a good guy."...

Quote:

http://web.archive.org/web/200201151...ART0.d1e8.html
Lay gave more to Bush
President had said Enron chief was Richards supporter

01/12/2002

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – In distancing himself from Enron, President Bush said that CEO Kenneth Lay "was a supporter" of Democrat Ann Richards in his first race for Texas governor in 1994.

But records and interviews with people involved in the Richards campaign show that he was a far bigger Bush supporter.

Mr. Lay and his wife gave Mr. Bush three times more money than Ms. Richards in their gubernatorial contest, according to a computer-assisted review of campaign finance reports by The Dallas Morning News.

Because of its collapse, Enron's financial ties with candidates have drawn more scrutiny and increasingly are being viewed as a political liability. Some officeholders have returned Enron campaign contributions.

Mr. Bush, a Republican, collected $37,500 from the Lays in his successful bid to unseat the Democratic incumbent, state records show. Ms. Richards received $12,500. Enron executives and the company's political action committee also heavily favored Mr. Bush.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday that the president acknowledged that Mr. Lay more recently has been a Bush supporter but did not err in his comments Thursday.

Quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0020110-1.html
....Q -- to inoculate and your administration politically from the fallout?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, Ken Lay is a supporter. And I got to know Ken Lay when he was the head of the -- what they call the Governor's Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of the Governor's Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken, and worked with Ken, and he supported my candidacy.....

Ms. Richards' former chief of staff, John Fainter, said Friday that Mr. Lay and the former Democratic governor "had a cordial relationship" and she named him to a state business council. But he said the Enron chief was not a Richards political supporter.

It is typical for some big-money donors in Texas politics to hedge their bets by contributing money to both sides in political races.

But interviews with people involved in the 1994 race indicate that Mr. Lay's initial $25,000 donation to help launch Mr. Bush's gubernatorial campaign–when he had no primary opposition– was seen in the Richards camp as early evidence he was against them.

Also, Mr. Lay identified himself in an interview broadcast last summer as a Bush supporter.

Mr. Lay told PBS' Frontline that he faced "a little difficult situation" in choosing sides.

"I'd worked very closely with Ann Richards also, the four years she was governor," Mr. Lay said.

"But I was very close to George W. and had a lot of respect for him, had watched him over the years, particularly with reference to dealing with his father when his father was in the White House," he said, "and some of things he did to work for his father, and so [I] did support him."

Thursday, amid growing national attention of the Enron bankruptcy, Mr. Bush was asked by reporters about his relationship with Mr. Lay.

Mr. Bush said he "got to know Ken Lay" as a member of the Governor's Business Council, a nonpartisan board appointed by the governor to boost economic development in Texas.

"He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994 and she had named him the head of the Governor's Business Council.....And that's when I first got to know Ken."

President Bush said Mr. Lay later became a supporter of his gubernatorial re-election in 1998 and the presidential race in 2000.

Ties run deep

A longtime backer of the president's father when he was in the White House, Mr. Lay was a "Bush Pioneer" in the 2000 race, an elite tier of campaign contributors who pledged to raise at least $100,000. He also gave $100,000 to Mr. Bush's inauguration.

The ties between Mr. Lay and the Bush family are deep.

Besides being one of the first President Bush's major financial backers, Mr. Lay headed the host committee of the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston that nominated the ex-president's re-election effort.

"The president has clearly noted that Mr. Lay has been a supporter of his campaigns," Mr. McClellan said Friday.

He maintained that Mr. Bush was accurate in describing Mr. Lay as a Richards supporter in 1994. He noted that after giving $25,000 to Mr. Bush early in the contest, he contributed $12,500 to Ms. Richards in donations reported in July and October 1994.

Also in October, Mr. Lay's wife, Linda, contributed $12,500 to Mr. Bush.

"Mr. Lay was a supporter of Ann Richards during the 1994 race," he said. "And any suggestion to the contrary is revisionist history."

Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit group that tracks campaign contributions, dismissed the White House response.

"President Bush's explanation of his relationship to Enron is at best a half truth," he said. "He was in bed with Enron before he ever held a public office."

Perry to keep donations

Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Rick Perry said Friday that he will not return any of more than $139,000 in contributions he's received from Enron executives since 1994.

"Individuals who have worked for the Enron corporation have contributed to my campaign, I'm sure, over the last four or five years," Mr. Perry said.

"Campaign contributions don't impact my thought process. Never have, never will," he said.

According to state records, Mr. Lay's most recent contribution to Mr. Perry was $25,000 in June. That same month, he contributed $25,000 each to Attorney General John Cornyn and Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, both Republicans.

"I took no money from Enron," Mr. Perry told reporters, apparently seeking to distinguish between contributions from individuals and from the company PAC.

In fact, Mr. Perry has received money from the Enron PAC, according to The News review.

The company gave $2,000 to Mr. Perry in December 1998, after his election as lieutenant governor.

The News review of campaign contributions from Mr. Lay over the last 10 years indicates that he has given money to Republicans and Democrats. But most has gone to Republicans.

For example, since 1996 in statewide races, Mr. Lay has given $3,000 to House Speaker Pete Laney, a Democrat and more than $200,000 to Republicans, including Mr. Perry, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Rylander, and Railroad Commissioner Tony Garza.

A review of contributions before 1995, a period in which Democrats held most statewide offices, indicates a more balanced distribution of donations, including money to former Attorney General Dan Morales, former Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, and former Gov. Mark White, all Democrats.

At the same time, Mr. Lay donated thousands of dollars to Republican statewide candidates, including former Gov. Bill Clements, 1990 gubernational hopeful Clayton Williams, and former state Treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison, now a U.S. senator from Texas.

Also Friday, Mr. Cornyn – who is seeking the Republican nomination for Senate – withdrew his involvement in inquiries into bankrupt energy giant Enron Corp., a day after he spurned calls from consumer and government watchdog groups to take himself off the case.

Texas Watch and Common Cause Texas on Thursday had complained that campaign contributions to Mr. Cornyn from Enron executives cast doubt over his ability to remain impartial.

Mr. Cornyn's office had insisted he would stay on the case but he changed his mind less than 24 hours later.

"It is imperative that the public maintain the utmost confidence in the integrity of any investigation," Mr. Cornyn said in a written statement.

Researcher Laura Nevarez contributed to this report.

and....some of us have posted about Bob Ney's involvement with Abramoff's and his no convicted partner, Adam Kidan's, efforts to strong arm Florida casino ship fleet owner, Gus Boulis, into selling his "fleet" to the two, at the price and terms they wanted to pay....when they felt like paying it....using the insertion of comments into the Congressional Record of the United States,
about Boulis, to coerce his co-operation with Abramoff and Kidan. Boulis was murdered, not too long into this saga, and three accused mafia affiliated "hit men", were later arrested for that crime.

All of this would be of only passing interest, here, if not for the fact that two of president Bush's close white house assistants, Karl Rove, and Susan Ralston, were once close to Jack Abramoff, and the former House majority leader, Tom Delay, was publicly supported by Bush, well past the day that he resigned from his House leadership post, and Delay hails from Bush's home state of Texas:

Quote:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...y/15533905.htm
Posted on Sat, Sep. 16, 2006

CORRUPTION
Lobby scandal topples U.S. rep
Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a case with South Florida roots that grew into a wide-ranging Washington scandal.
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com

U.S. Rep. Bob Ney agreed to plead guilty Friday to charges that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in trips, cash and campaign donations for political favors, making the once obscure Ohio Republican the first lawmaker to fall in the probe of a once-powerful lobbyist.

Ney, 52, admitted his involvement in the influence-peddling enterprise run by convicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who brought the scandal to South Florida with the fraudulent purchase of a local fleet of gambling ships.

Abramoff, in his plea deal with prosecutors, detailed Ney's role in helping him and his clients in exchange for everything from a golf trip in Scotland to meals in the GOP lobbyist's Washington restaurant.

With November's congressional midterm elections looming, Friday's announcement of Ney's plea agreement reignited Democratic accusations of a Republican ''culture of corruption'' on Capitol Hill.

Ney had strongly denied wrongdoing even as the investigation closed in around him over the last year.

Now the 12-year veteran of Congress is set to plead guilty on Oct. 13 to charges he conspired to commit fraud and violate federal lobbying laws and that he made false statements. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faces at least 27 months in prison.

In a statement, Ney apologized -- but said ''a dependence on alcohol has been a problem for me.'' Then he added: ``I am not making any excuses, and I take full responsibility for my actions.''

Justice Department officials condemned his misconduct.

''He illegally deceived the public and the House of Representatives about his actions,'' Alice Fisher, an assistant attorney general heading the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said in Washington. ``In doing so, the congressman was acting in his own best interests, and not in the best interests of his constituents.''

ASSISTANCE IN MIAMI

Fisher said Justice's public corruption prosecutors received ''substantial assistance'' from the Miami offices of U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta and the FBI.

Indeed, Ney's downfall began in South Florida, where he had used his congressional influence to sway the sale of SunCruz Casinos to Abramoff and his New York partner Adam Kidan.

The SunCruz case against Abramoff and Kidan gave Justice Department officials the leverage to pressure the lobbyist to turn on other colleagues, congressional aides and politicians early this year.

The charges against Ney are based primarily on his behind-the-scenes work for Abramoff's Indian tribal clients and for a foreign businessman who gave him tens of thousands of dollars in casino chips and cash. <h3>But the charges also include the lawmaker's unusual tactics to help the lobbyist purchase the Dania Beach-based SunCruz gambling fleet.

During negotiations in the SunCruz deal, Abramoff asked his lobbying partner, Michael Scanlon, to do him a favor. That's when Ney entered the picture.

Scanlon contacted Ney's chief of staff, Neil Volz, to arrange to have Ney disparage SunCruz owner Konstantinos ''Gus'' Boulis in the Congressional Record. Scanlon drafted a statement that Ney put into the record in March 2000, calling Boulis ''a bad apple'' to handicap the seller.

After the deal was completed that September, Ney praised Kidan in the Congressional Record as a businessman with a ``renowned reputation for honesty and integrity.''</h3>

Law enforcement officials said that just weeks after the controversial SunCruz sale, Abramoff and Kidan took $10,000 from their gambling business and donated the money to the National Republican Congressional Committee on Ney's behalf.

That SunCruz was the actual contributor was first reported by The Miami Herald in late November 2005.

Although Ney did not receive the $10,000 directly, U.S. officials said SunCruz's donation in his name to the GOP campaign committee was improper. The then-unknown Ohio congressman stood to gain stature with the Republican leadership.

Volz, who has already pleaded guilty in the Washington investigation, admitted to participating in the Congressional Record activities. Scanlon, who has also pleaded guilty, was the former communications director for former House Republican leader Tom DeLay of Texas. At the time Scanlon sought Ney's help in early 2000, Scanlon had already left DeLay's office. Scanlon and Volz were close friends on Capitol Hill.

CORRESPONDENCE

After the SunCruz sale in fall 2000, Abramoff and Scanlon exchanged e-mails about the company's $10,000 contribution to the GOP's campaign committee on Ney's behalf, according to law enforcement officials.

Scanlon, who did public relations work for SunCruz, also corresponded with Ney's staff about the Nov. 1, 2000 political contribution.

As lobbying partners, Scanlon and Abramoff would go on to rake in as much as $80 million from their work with Indian tribal clients that owned casinos (none from Florida). Those fees drew the scrutiny of the House Ethics Committee, Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the Justice Department.

As for the former SunCruz owner, Boulis, he was gunned down in Fort Lauderdale in February 2001. Three men -- including one who was a former FBI informant with ties to the Mafia -- have been charged in his slaying.

A year ago, a South Florida federal grand jury indicted Abramoff and Kidan on charges of defrauding lenders of $60 million in the SunCruz sale. Both men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Both remain out on bond, while they cooperate with federal authorities.

Several Miami prosecutors have been involved in the SunCruz and Washington investigations: Lawrence LaVecchio, Paul Schwartz, Jeff Sloman, Paul Pelletier and Edward Nucci -- along with FBI agent Susan Sprengel.

To put all of this in perspective, there is no article that covers so many former Tom Delay staffers, and their ties to Jack Abramoff, than the following one, found....believe it or not, in this esteemed (and trusted....) publication:

Quote:

http://online.wsj.com/public/article..._20060407.html

End of the Affair
Behind Unraveling
Of DeLay's Team,
A Jilted Fiancée
Breakup of Ex-Aides Shook
Group Tied to Abramoff;
The Prosecutors Move In
Ms. Miller's Tearful Apology
By BRODY MULLINS
March 31, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The engagement of Emily Miller and Michael Scanlon was supposed to mark the coming out of a new Washington power couple.

The two had met on Capitol Hill, where they worked as press secretaries to Rep. Tom DeLay, the feared Texas Republican. They got engaged in September 2001 on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., and planned an August 2002 wedding. As the date approached, Mr. Scanlon bought a $4.7 million oceanside mansion and guest house, formerly part of the DuPont estate, in Rehoboth Beach, Del. He furnished it down to the monogrammed towels and presented it to his bride-to-be.

Then, with the wedding a few months away, he called off the engagement and started dating a 24-year-old waitress.

Mr. Scanlon and Ms. Miller, now both 35 years old, were among a tight-knit group of aides who helped Mr. DeLay rise to the pinnacle of Capitol Hill in the 1990s and cement his power as House majority leader. Some of those aides provided a link between their boss and Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist.

The end of the engagement was part of that group's unraveling -- which has had significant consequences for official Washington. The aides have since turned on one another, feeding the ethics scandal surrounding Mr. Abramoff that now roils the capital. Mr. Abramoff has admitted he directed Native American clients to pay huge sums to Mr. Scanlon's public-relations firm. Mr. Scanlon secretly gave Mr. Abramoff half of his profits.

Prosecutors came to Ms. Miller to help them build a case that drove her ex-fiancé to plead guilty, according to a person familiar with the situation. Mr. Scanlon's testimony in turn helped force Mr. Abramoff into a guilty plea. Another former DeLay aide, Tony Rudy, has been cited by prosecutors in the investigation. Now Washington is wondering whether prosecutors will use testimony from Messrs. Scanlon and Rudy to go after Mr. DeLay, who has resigned as majority leader.

While Mr. Abramoff has become well-known as a symbol of the excesses of Washington influence-peddling, the story of the DeLay aides and their role in the scandal is less-known. People who have spoken to Ms. Miller say that after her breakup she began questioning how Mr. Scanlon could afford a lavish lifestyle while working summers as a beach lifeguard and doing seemingly little work at his public-relations firm. She talked about the beach house he had presented to her, the private jet he flew around in and the $17,000-a-month apartment he rented at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington. Prosecutors would later ask the same questions, and discover Mr. Abramoff's deals with the Indian tribes.

Ms. Miller, who hasn't been accused of wrongdoing, declined to comment through her attorney, Dan French, who said the "details of Ms. Miller's past personal life are not relevant to the criminal actions of Mr. Scanlon and Mr. Abramoff." Mr. Abramoff was sentenced this week in Florida to five years and 10 months in prison over fraud in a casino deal, but his ultimate prison term won't be known until he is sentenced in the corruption scandal in Washington.

The story of the star-crossed Capitol Hill romance -- and its repercussions in national politics -- begins in 1997, when Mr. Scanlon arrived in Rep. DeLay's office as press secretary. There he worked closely with Mr. Rudy. Both press aides were veterans of Republican politics and eager sportsmen. Mr. Scanlon, a native of suburban Washington, could run five miles in under 30 minutes, while Mr. Rudy, of Brooklyn, N.Y., played in an amateur ice-hockey league.

The two shared a pit-bull political style and pushed Mr. DeLay to lead the charge in 1998 for the impeachment of President Clinton. "This whole thing about not kicking someone when they are down is B.S.," Mr. Scanlon once wrote to Mr. Rudy in an email published in "The Breach," a book by Peter Baker about the impeachment. "Not only do you kick him -- you kick him until he passes out -- then beat him over the head with a baseball bat -- then roll him up in an old rug -- and throw him off a cliff into the pound surf below!!!!!"

The two staffers often lent a hand to Mr. Abramoff, according to court documents and former colleagues. The lobbyist helped Mr. DeLay raise millions of dollars. Mr. Abramoff frequently treated Mr. DeLay to dinner at his sushi restaurant on Capitol Hill and took the congressman on trips overseas. Mr. Abramoff spoiled Mr. DeLay's aides, too, taking them on trips to casinos and golf courses owned by his clients, according to travel disclosure forms.

The aides returned the favor. In the fall of 1998, Mr. Abramoff wanted to help a Republican, Joe Ada, get elected as governor in Guam, even though he was trailing incumbent Gov. Carl Gutierrez badly in the polls.

Just after lunch on Oct. 26, 1998, Mr. Abramoff emailed Mr. Rudy: "We want to know if there is anyway to get Tom to call for an investigation of the misuse of federal funds on Guam by this governor," he wrote in a message reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Abramoff said he would draft a statement for Mr. DeLay and suggested that if Mr. Rudy could "issue a press release and letter requesting an Inspector General (I guess from Interior?) to investigate these matters, it should have a major impact on the election next week."

Within a few hours, Messrs. Rudy and Scanlon released a statement from Mr. DeLay and a letter to the Department of the Interior's inspector general calling for a federal investigation into the Democratic governor. "The allegations and materials I reviewed point to serious corruption" by the governor, Mr. DeLay said in the letter.

Despite their efforts, Mr. Ada lost the race, and the department didn't conduct an investigation. After leaving office, Mr. Gutierrez was tried on corruption charges but acquitted on all counts. Mr. DeLay's spokeswoman said he declined to comment. Mr. Rudy's lawyer didn't return phone calls.

In late 1998, Mr. Rudy was promoted to deputy chief of staff and Mr. Scanlon was elevated to communications director, reporting to Mr. Rudy. To fill the void in the press office, Mr. Scanlon soon hired Ms. Miller, a Georgetown University graduate who had worked as an ABC News associate producer and as a press secretary for Rep. Rick Lazio, a New York Republican.

Ms. Miller shared the pugnacious style of her new colleagues. She was once quoted in a Washington Post profile of Mr. DeLay yelling at a reporter: "You lied!... You betrayed him! You twisted his words!... We don't know you. You don't exist... You are dead to us."

Ms. Miller and Mr. Scanlon soon became close friends. Mr. Scanlon, married at the time, would sometimes bring his newborn son into the office, and Ms. Miller enjoyed watching over him, according to DeLay staffers.

By the end of 1999, Mr. Scanlon's marriage was falling apart, and he moved out of the one-story bungalow he shared with his wife. He left the DeLay office for a private-sector job in public relations. In March 2000, Mr. Abramoff hired Mr. Scanlon to work with him in the Washington, D.C., lobbying office of Seattle-based law firm Preston Gates Ellis LLP.

Mr. Abramoff frequently sought Mr. Rudy's help to influence legislation on behalf of his clients. In exchange, Mr. Abramoff offered the DeLay aide meals, expensive trips and cash, according to Mr. Abramoff and prosecutors. In June 2000, Mr. Abramoff took Mr. Rudy to watch Tiger Woods win the U.S. Open golf championship at Pebble Beach.

Shortly afterward, Mr. Rudy helped arrange for Mr. DeLay to send a U.S. flag that had flown above the Capitol to the owner of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet, which Mr. Abramoff wanted to buy. When the SunCruz owners agreed to sell to Mr. Abramoff for $147.5 million, the lobbyist listed Mr. Rudy as a reference on his $60 million loan application. Mr. Abramoff later pleaded guilty to faking a wire transfer to get financing for the deal, which led to his sentencing in Florida this week.

In March 2001, Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon joined Greenberg Traurig, a Miami-based law firm looking to build a lobbying practice in Washington. One of Mr. Abramoff's first hires there was Mr. Rudy. The two former DeLay press secretaries, once allies, became fierce rivals.

Mr. Rudy bad-mouthed Mr. Scanlon among colleagues, according to other Greenberg Traurig lobbyists. Mr. Scanlon fought back by leaking unfavorable tidbits about Mr. Rudy to the press. Mr. Scanlon was now dating Ms. Miller, who had been promoted to Mr. DeLay's communications director.

Using Ms. Miller as his eyes and ears in the DeLay office, Mr. Scanlon, according to DeLay staffers and journalists, told reporters that Mr. Rudy often visited Mr. DeLay's office in 2001, a possible violation of lobbying rules. Former congressional aides must wait a year before lobbying their former colleagues. Mr. Scanlon also told reporters that when Mr. Rudy worked as a House aide, Mr. Rudy urged House Republicans to steer political work to his wife's firm.

When Mr. DeLay heard about the squabbling among his former aides, he was "livid" and threatened to get Mr. Scanlon booted from his lobbying job, according to a March 29, 2001, email from Mr. Rudy to Mr. Abramoff. Mr. Abramoff got Mr. Scanlon to stop the leaks, and no stories came out at the time about Mr. Scanlon's allegations.

Around this time, Mr. Abramoff's bet that SunCruz revenue would allow him to pay back the $60 million loan wasn't panning out. In June 2001, SunCruz filed for bankruptcy, and Mr. Abramoff's lender demanded payment. To resolve the matter, Mr. Abramoff needed to come up with millions of dollars. He hatched a plan to bilk his clients.

Most of Mr. Abramoff's Native American clients operated gambling casinos and wanted to block rival tribes from invading their turf. The tribes also worried that the federal government would tax their casino revenues. Mr. Abramoff told his tribal clients to hire Mr. Scanlon, who had set up his own public-relations firm and would soon leave the lobbying practice. Mr. Scanlon then secretly routed half of his net profits back to Mr. Abramoff. While Mr. Scanlon's actions didn't violate any laws, Mr. Abramoff admitted that he defrauded his clients by receiving kickbacks and not telling them.

As the friendship between Messrs. Abramoff and Scanlon deepened, they teased each other about their regular racquetball matches. "You better start pulling some real opponents or I am going to beat your ass to a pulp next time we get out there!" Mr. Scanlon told Mr. Abramoff in one trash-talking email. Mr. Scanlon was "afraid of a real man!" Mr. Abramoff answered in an email sprinkled with obscenities.

Mr. Scanlon reveled in his newfound wealth. In September 2001, he bought two houses in Washington for a total of $1.2 million, according to court papers. In November 2001, he bought a $1.6 million beach house in Rehoboth Beach and completely renovated it. A few months later, in March, he paid $4.7 million in cash for a place for him and Ms. Miller to live. The beachfront mansion had a weight room, sauna and a three-bedroom guest house. Mr. Scanlon mounted lights on the deck so he could hold parties on the beach at night, according to his surfing friends. He also bought vacation homes on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, including one villa he rented out for $50,000 a week.

In September 2001, Mr. Scanlon, now divorced from his wife, proposed to Ms. Miller before dinner at The Ivy, a Los Angeles restaurant popular with celebrities. The couple planned a wedding at the beach for the following summer. In January 2002 Ms. Miller quit her job as Mr. DeLay's spokeswoman to prepare for the Aug. 10 wedding. The couple sent a save-the-date card to guests that read: "The Celebration Begins."

The celebration never came. Mr. Scanlon broke off the engagement that spring and began dating a 24-year-old waitress at a Rehoboth Beach seafood restaurant.

Mr. Scanlon returned to his summer lifeguard job at Rehoboth Beach, occasionally visiting Washington and staying at his Ritz-Carlton apartment. In November 2002, Mr. Scanlon quietly married his new girlfriend.

Ms. Miller was devastated, according to friends. She spent hours at the gym. Two weeks after her planned wedding date, she started a blog with beauty and diet tips for women.
[The 'Save the Date' card announcing the Aug. 10, 2002, wedding of Emily Miller and Michael Scanlon was soon followed by a cancellation notice.]
The 'Save the Date' card announcing the Aug. 10, 2002, wedding of Emily Miller and Michael Scanlon was soon followed by a cancellation notice.

Three weeks after Mr. Scanlon got married, Ms. Miller was a bridesmaid at the Houston wedding of another former DeLay aide. Ms. Miller confessed to friends at the reception that she had helped Mr. Scanlon spread negative stories about Mr. Rudy, according to people who attended. When she saw Mr. DeLay and his wife, Ms. Miller tearfully apologized and said she had been used as a pawn in Mr. Scanlon's fight with Mr. Rudy, to whom she also expressed remorse.

Mr. DeLay accepted Ms. Miller's apology, according to wedding guests, and embraced her, saying: "We are all a part of the DeLay family." A DeLay spokeswoman, Shannon Flaherty, said Mr. DeLay couldn't recall his exact words.

After flying back to Washington, Ms. Miller called Mr. Scanlon's ex-wife, Carrie Anne Liipfert. People familiar with Ms. Miller's thinking say she missed spending time with Mr. Scanlon's son. She also sought the comfort of another woman hurt by Mr. Scanlon. Over the next few months, the two spoke frequently and became friends.

Ms. Miller told Ms. Liipfert about the millions of dollars Mr. Scanlon was making and about the properties he had purchased, according to people who know both women.

When Mr. Scanlon and Ms. Liipfert, who declined to comment, separated three years earlier, Mr. Scanlon was making $155,000 as Mr. DeLay's communications director and had $39,000 in debt, including $19,400 on his credit cards, according to court records. His child-support payment was set at $1,680 a month.

Now he had millions of dollars in beach houses and flew around in a private jet. In February 2003, Mr. Scanlon's ex-wife filed a motion in a suburban Washington court to increase the child-support payments. Mr. Scanlon's "financial circumstances...have improved dramatically," Ms. Liipfert told the court, according to records. "It is believed he earns millions of dollars per year now."

Mr. Scanlon fought his ex-wife's request and refused to tell the court how much he made. He said his ex-wife "has been in direct contact with third parties concerning his finances and business enterprises, apparently seeking to embarrass" him, according to court records.

In April, Ms. Liipfert asked the court to subpoena former yoga instructor Brian Mann, a move that suggested she had knowledge about her ex-husband's work with Mr. Abramoff. Federal investigators later discovered Mr. Mann was the director of a fake think tank that Messrs. Abramoff and Scanlon used to collect fees from clients.

At the end of the summer of 2003, Mr. Scanlon reached an out-of-court settlement with his ex-wife. Under the settlement, the two aren't permitted to discuss the terms.

Just as Mr. Scanlon was being pressed by his ex-wife for more money, Mr. Abramoff was starting to show the stress of being pinched by his lenders.

"Mike!!! I need the money TODAY! I AM BOUNCING CHECKS!!!" he emailed Mr. Scanlon on Feb. 19, 2003, as the latter vacationed in St. Barts, according to an email released by Senate investigators. After Mr. Scanlon promised to send a kickback check, Mr. Abramoff wrote: "Sorry I got nuts, but it's a little crazy for me right now. I am not kidding that I was literally on the verge of collapse. I hate all the s--t I'm into."

On Feb. 22, 2004, the Washington Post in a front-page article reported that Messrs. Abramoff and Scanlon charged four Indian tribes $45 million for lobbying and public-relations work over three years. The sum rivaled the lobbying fees of the biggest U.S. corporations.

Mr. Abramoff's world quickly caved in. The next week, he was fired from his lobbying job. On Capitol Hill, Sen. John McCain opened a Senate probe into his business.

The Justice Department, already investigating Mr. Abramoff's SunCruz deal in Florida, expanded its investigation to include his work in Washington with Mr. Scanlon and the Indian tribes. Federal prosecutors soon found out that Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon received more than $80 million from the tribes.

Mr. Scanlon at first seemed unfazed. In the months after the story broke, he bought a pair of $2 million beach houses and returned to his lifeguard job. In July 2005, he sold the beach house he bought for Ms. Miller for a $1 million profit, according to court records.

But pressure was mounting on him. Justice Department prosecutors secretly approached Ms. Miller to help build a case against her ex-fiancé, says a person familiar with the case. Last November, Mr. Scanlon pleaded guilty to bribery charges. He agreed to go to jail for as long as five years and pay back nearly $20 million to the tribes. Mr. Scanlon also implicated Mr. Abramoff.

Six weeks later, Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption and bribery charges and agreed to pay the tribes $26 million. Depending on his sentence in Washington, he may spend a decade behind bars. In his plea agreement, Mr. Abramoff said he sought to bribe Mr. Rudy "to perform a series of official acts" by offering him golf trips, meals and a $50,000 payment to his wife.

Days later, Mr. DeLay announced he wouldn't seek another term in the Republican leadership in the House. He faces a re-election fight this fall. Mr. Rudy quit his lobbying job.

Until the summer of 2005, Ms. Miller worked as a spokeswoman at the State Department. In May 2004, she earned a bit of fame when she cut off a live interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. Ms. Miller hasn't held a steady job since leaving the State Department. She blames talk about her involvement with the investigation.

Friends say Ms. Miller still has Mr. Scanlon's four-carat engagement ring.

Since the Abramoff / Tom Delay, and ex-Delay staffers tied to Abramoff, connections are so numerous, and each is being investigated by prosecutors and reported by the press, there isn't room in one post, to detail it all. We'll just touch on some of the highlights, and ask other interested TFP members to post their thoughts. I'd especially enjoy seeing documentation posted, that points out any elected democratic party members who either accepted money or favors directly from Jack Abramoff or his web of cronies, or who are under investigation by prosecutors....anywhere.

The "scandal" has already cost Rove's, Abramoff's, and Norquist's fellow "College Republican", Ralph Reed, from their early 1980's affiliation with that group, his political influence, as founder of the Christian Coalition, and his political career....he recently lost his primary run to be the republican candidate for Georgia Lt. Governor, on the november ballot.

Quote:

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/nation/14903527.htm
LaTourette downplays lobbyist link
14th District GOP lawmaker fends off allegations he sent letters as favor to Abramoff
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer

The stench of corruption tied to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff is wafting over another Ohio congressman.

In testimony in a federal trial that concluded this week in Washington with the conviction of David Safavian -- a former top federal procurement officer -- the name of Republican U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette surfaced.

Safavian, who was found guilty on four felony counts of lying and obstruction, was caught up in the wide-ranging investigation into influence peddling involving Abramoff.

Although LaTourette's re-election bid isn't on ground as politically shaky as fellow Ohio Republican Congressman Bob Ney's, cracks are developing in the incumbency of the six-term representative from Madison, who two years ago was a shoo-in.......

Quote:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/15529762.htm
Bush to visit California on fundraising trip for Doolittle, Pombo
ERICA WERNER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush will visit California next month to raise money for Republican Reps. Richard Pombo of Tracy and John Doolittle of Rocklin, who are seeking re-election amid ethics questions.

Bush will attend a breakfast for Pombo on Oct. 3 and a fundraising lunch at an El Dorado Hills country club for Doolittle the same day, the campaigns said separately on Friday.

The Doolittle event, which his campaign hopes will raise as much as $500,000, will be Bush's first appearance on behalf of Doolittle. The congressman's friendships with former Majority Leader Tom DeLay and convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff have provided fodder for Doolittle's Democratic opponent, Charlie Brown.

Doolittle accepted campaign cash from Abramoff and Abramoff clients, while interceding on their behalf. His wife also performed fundraising work for Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January in a conspiracy to corrupt public officials.

Unlike Doolittle, Pombo has donated to charity the campaign money he received directly from Abramoff. But he has been targeted by environmentalists over his chairmanship of the House Resources Committee, where he has shepherded legislation helpful to oil and gas interests that have donated generously to him........

Quote:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...535551,00.html
Who's the Next Target in the Abramoff Probe?
Former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney has admitted his role in Washington's influence-peddling scandal, but prosecutors still have other politicians in their sights
By ADAM ZAGORIN/WASHINGTON
Posted Friday, Sep. 15, 2006

......... A source close to the investigation told TIME that scores of US prosecutors and FBI agents continue to examine the activities of other sitting members of Congress and prominent individuals who could face prosecution, though not necessarily before the November 7 election. The source confirmed previous public reports that particular scrutiny is being paid to Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican who faces a tough campaign for reelection.

"A lot of the conduct to which Ney has pleaded guilty is similar to the alleged conduct of Senator Conrad Burns and his staff," points out Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a non-profit watchdog group. "Abramoff has said that Burns and his staff used Signatures [Abramoff's restaurant] like their cafeteria. And Burns took a number of legislative actions on Abramoff's behalf, even as members of his staff went on trip to the 2001 Super Bowl on private jet and visited Sun Cruise gambling ships, which were partly owned by Abramoff. "Abramoff himself said in an interview earlier this year, "Every appropriation we wanted [from Burns's committee] we got. Our staffs were as close as they could be. They practically used Signatures as their cafeteria. I mean, it's a little difficult for him to run from that record."

But Erik Iverson, a senior advisor to Sen. Burns campaign in Montana told TIME, "There is no federal investigation. Certainly no one has ever told us there is, or contacted us. And there is absolutely no similarity between what's happening to Mr. Ney and Mr. Burns. That is all just politics." As a matter of policy, the Justice Dept. does not comment on possible targets of its investigations.

Ney, 52, is the first member of Congress to admit wrongdoing in the federal probe. Prosecutors are likely to insist that he spend as much as 27 months in prison, although a judge could impose up to 10 years, though that stiff a sentence is considered unlikely. His plea agreement lacks language that would require him to testify or to cooperate in other federal prosecutions — in contrast to earlier plea agreements of Ney's longtime chief of staff, Neil Volz, as well as Abramoff himself. The absence of such language suggests that Ney was able to provide little information beyond the scope of his own activity....

Quote:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/15511768.htm
Posted on Wed, Sep. 13, 2006
Efforts to rein in lobbyists stall in Congress
By Richard Clough
Chicago Tribune

.......Congress is not completely ignoring the issue, though. The House could vote on a measure as early as Thursday to require identification of lawmakers who seek to attach spending earmarks - often "pork" funding for specific projects in their congressional districts or states. The Senate passed a bill last week that would simplify the tracking of congressional spending habits.

But until Congress sends a comprehensive lobbying reform package to the president's desk, lawmakers seem content to just chip away at a problem they had pledged to wipe out.

After Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to fraud and conspiracy charges and Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., was imprisoned in March for bribery and tax evasion, congressional leaders declared in no uncertain terms their commitment to reforming the system that led to these disgraces.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., proclaimed the need to "regain the trust of the American people" while Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., spoke of "significant reform" that Congress would enact.

The House and Senate set out to make good on such promises by drafting legislation to rein in shady lobbying practices.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly in March to pass the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act. But two champions of reform, Obama and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voted against the bill because they - and numerous watchdog groups - said it was insufficient to deal with the problems that led to the scandals.

The House narrowly approved a similar bill in May, which drew mixed opinions from lawmakers.

Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., who has introduced his own legislation aimed at lobbying reform, called the House bill "a sham" when it was approved.

"It does nothing to address the problems in the current lobbying system," Meehan told the House in May.

Some lawmakers have defended the bill and are hopeful that it might yet pass. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., called the bill "very strong."

But the legislation has been in limbo for the past four months after the Senate resisted a portion of the House measure that would increase regulation on so-called 527 political groups, referring to the part of the tax law that allows organizations to raise money to influence political races independent of the candidates themselves. The House has not yet named conferees to negotiate with the Senate, and some believe this may be the death knell for the package.

"That's not a good sign," said Douglas Pinkham, president of the Public Affairs Council, a nonpartisan organization for public affairs professionals. "At this point, I would not expect lobbying reform to pass this year."

Pinkham said that as public outrage faded, congressional leaders no longer felt the obligation to reform.........

.........But a coalition of six reform-oriented groups sent a letter last week to lawmakers castigating them for their failure to "take any meaningful steps to deal with the extraordinary congressional corruption scandals that have occurred."

Though congressional leaders have left the centerpiece reform package on the shelf for months, many have pointed to this week's discussion on earmarks as a sign that Congress has not forgotten about the commitment to reform.

Hastert issued a statement with Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., saying they want to establish the earmark changes immediately "to ensure these new rules apply to all spending and tax measures that will go to the president's desk this fall."

Amid the debate over lobbying practices and congressional ethics, lawmakers and lobbyists maintain that, despite what the majority of Americans may believe, most lobbying that takes place in Washington is beyond reproach.

"The vast majority of lobbyists in Washington are just representing their clients," Obama said.

A Pew Research Center survey this year found that 81 percent of Americans believe it is common for lobbyists to bribe members of Congress.....

We get the government that we deserve. Here's the national US Treasury debt, on six different dates. Who are the "tax and spend"....?
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

09/12/2006 $8,534,633,344,894.82
09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38
09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32

10-10-2005, 04:05 PM	#49 (permalink)
filtherton Junkie Location: In the land of ice and snow.	If i were ronnie earl, i'd just have delay declared an unlawful combatant. Then we wouldn't have to worry about any of this petty "due process" business.