I didn’t get to read this NY Times article from Saturday until just now. Gentelmen…start your shredders…
The Justice Department has signaled for the first time in recent weeks that prominent members of Congress could be swept up in the corruption investigation of Jack Abramoff
…
The investigation by a federal grand jury, which began more than a year ago, has created alarm on Capitol Hill, especially with the announcement Friday of criminal charges against Michael Scanlon, Mr. Abramoff’s former lobbying partner and a former top House aide to Representative Tom DeLay.
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Scholars who specialize in the history and operations of Congress say that given the brazenness of Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying efforts, as measured by the huge fees he charged clients and the extravagant gifts he showered on friends on Capitol Hill, almost all of them Republicans, the investigation could end up costing several lawmakers their careers, if not their freedom.
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“I think this has the potential to be the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century,” said Thomas E. Mann, a Congressional specialist at the Brookings Institution.
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The investigation by a federal grand jury, which began more than a year ago, has created alarm on Capitol Hill, especially with the announcement Friday of criminal charges against Michael Scanlon, Mr. Abramoff’s former lobbying partner and a former top House aide to Representative Tom DeLay.
…
Scholars who specialize in the history and operations of Congress say that given the brazenness of Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying efforts, as measured by the huge fees he charged clients and the extravagant gifts he showered on friends on Capitol Hill, almost all of them Republicans, the investigation could end up costing several lawmakers their careers, if not their freedom.
…
“I think this has the potential to be the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century,” said Thomas E. Mann, a Congressional specialist at the Brookings Institution.
But before anybody gets too excited about all of this, remember: this word is coming out of the Bush Justice Dept. which means it will all depend on who gets ahold of the case — the crime-fighting career professionals or the Bush appointees. Notice this passage from the same article:
Richard Cullen, a lawyer for Mr. DeLay, said in an interview Friday that he was “glad that the Justice Department is looking into all aspects of the trip because I think that a thorough investigation will show that the trip was substantive and transparent.”
Given just some of what we already know about the corruption and cronyism at DoJ and their willingness to follow the marching orders from above, it would be little surprise if Cullen’s “prediction” comes to pass.
Cullen is a Virginia Republican Party functionary whose life work has been sucking the teats of the Republican pig!
I agree that there is a risk of documents
related to the case disappering into a memory hole.
But I wonder if this case could be linked with the
current investigation by Patrick Fitzgerald, which could be broadened to include Abramoff’s
nefarious activities. He would not look kindly on
shredded documentation.
Also, we can’t overlook the possibility that
disgruntled insiders will be more than happy
to sink Abramoff’s ship and send along their
own documentation.
Mysteriously shredded documents will only
be seen as damning evidence for the GOP if they try to hide their involvement with Abramoff.
I don’t think the investigation can be shut down
at this point. 2006 doesn’t look like it will be
a happy new year for the Republicans once
this story broadens and includes some big names.
I am looking forward to it with much delight.
yes but once the docs are shredded, how can it be stated that they ever existed. So looking bad for the GOP is a dubious statement. Unless "they were here, now they’re gone" happens, there’s no way to know.
Off the topic, tho.
How do you distract from a messy war?
With another war, of course.
Regime change time again everyone!
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=1804...ize=2&l=e
The fact that the Times would write this, after covering for the Bush administration for 4-1/2 years, is meaningful. If the Brookings Institution has people studying the facts, that’s also meaningful. The fact that Scanlon has just pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy is especially meaningful…for a guy that cocky to suddenly turn humble has to mean they’re using him to go after others, and he took a plea deal.
At a certain point, scandals are beyond the ability of the offending administration to brush them off. The Abramoff deal seems to be there already.
Wow, first we had the perfect storm, now we have the perfect scandal.
Perhaps the Fitzgerald indictment storm that was raging, but has calmed down, will meet with the Abramoff indictment storm, and both will be greatly enhanced.
It appears that the DC grand jury system is getting busier and busier … as things get curiouser and curiouser.
Perhaps the Abramoff and Fitzgerald indictment movements will meet at the same grand jury. Wow, that jury is going to be a perfect indictment storm against the neoCons.
NeoConvicts emerging from the neoCons is the new fad in Washington DC these days.
Americans want Patriot Act Reform. People from across the political spectrum are opposed to the
Patriot Act reauthorization bill, including the over 400 state and local governments that passed
resolutions against the Patriot Act.
To read more before taking action, click here.
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
Americans want Patriot Act Reform. People from across the political spectrum are opposed to the
Patriot Act reauthorization bill, including the over 400 state and local governments that passed
resolutions against the Patriot Act.
To read more before taking action, click here.
http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2...1/16/174944/46
UPDATE: Patriot Act Becomes An Anti-Civil Liberties Christmas Tree
by Congressman John Conyers
Wed Nov 16, 2005 at 03:49:44 PM PDT
11/17 UPDATE: A vote on the Patriot Act is expected in the House tomorrow.
Action Center:
http://johnconyers.com/
Congressman John Conyers’s diary :: ::
Before I describe its contents, a word about procedure going forward. The House is likely to take up the bill as early as Thursday morning, and the Senate soon thereafter. There is not much time.
Throughout the conference, :angry:Democrats were excluded from negotiations about the bill, but the Bush Administration Justice Department was included. It is bizarre to say the least for a conference that is supposed to be between elected representatives to exclude those representatives and instead include a group with a vested interest in the bill — the Justice Department. :angry: No similar access was provided for the American Civil Liberities Union or Americans for Tax Reform, groups with concerns about the Act.
Habeas Corpus and Death Penalties: New language contained in section 507 of the Conference report makes considerable changes to the cherished right of habeas corpus. These alterations are badly conceived and hastily and poorly drafted. Under current law, a state is eligible to receive a special set of procedural rules for death penalty cases (rules that are advantageous to the state) if the state establishes an effective system for providing competent counsel to indigents in state postconviction proceedings. Currently, the determination as to whether or not a state’s scheme for supplying counsel meets the statutory criteria is left up to the federal courts. :O