Looks like our old friend, the indefatigably corrupt Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), is making news again.
St. Petersberg Times takes a front page look at the “allegations pil[ing] up” against Feeney. Here’s some highlights:
The third is Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida.
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Feeney, 47, has tried to move past the allegations but, in typical fashion, has shown little regret or caution.
He kept patronizing Abramoff’s Washington restaurant, Signatures, long after others stopped. He defended former majority leader Tom DeLay even after the Texas congressman was indicted. He let a private group pay for his trip to China last month, even though many in Congress are avoiding such travel because of bad publicity over questionable trips.
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Feeney, usually one of the most accessible of the state’s congressional delegation, refused to answer questions. His staff described questions into his relationship as a “fishing expedition” and said he has done nothing wrong.
So will Feeney disclose who paid for that trip to China last month, in which he visited the Chinese Space Agency and called for more cooperation with them? Perhaps he should, considering that NASA, where his wife also works, is in Feeney’s district. Even more notably, Feeney spent years as the general counsel and registered lobbyist for the firm Yang Enterprises, Inc. — which harbored an illegal Chinese alien eventually found guilty of espionage charges related to sending military missile guidance chips to China — a firm that currently has lucrative contracts with NASA.
Full disclosure on this matter would seem to be particularly important, given the revelation of Feeney’s lies regarding his continuing relationship with the Yangs and their company.
On a related point, here’s an unfortunate little tidbit from the article:
The list of allegations against Feeney continues in the article, along with some ink for Clint Curtis’ run for Congress against him:
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He received $5,000 from former Rep. “Duke” Cunningham’s PAC before Cunningham resigned last year amid a bribery scandal.
“My concern about him is that he seems to view the rules are optional,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a group that has primarily criticized Republicans. “Rules are there for a reason.”
In September, Feeney was named one of “the 13 most corrupt members of Congress” by Sloan’s group. The Congressional Accountability Project demanded that the House ethics panel investigate Feeney and others for their ties to Abramoff.
“No one likes being attacked but he still continues with his daily routine,” said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, a Brooksville Republican who served in the Florida Legislature with Feeney. “This hasn’t changed him at all.”
Feeney did not face opposition in 2004 but this year already has two opponents, veterinarian Andy Michaud, a Democrat, and computer programmer Clint Curtis, a lifelong Republican turned Democrat. Both Curtis and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee question Feeney’s ethics.
Here’s a complete list of Reps who received money from Duke Cunningham. Feeney is among those accepting the most, but has not returned the money at this time.
Hat-tip to Jesselee from Stakeholder, who has more on the St. Pete Times article.
Clint Curtis’ campaign website, where he needs much financial and logistical support if he’s to have a chance of taking on Feeney and the Florida Republican Machine is right here.
The Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal series, please see:
– A Quick Summary of the story so far.
– An Index of all the Key Articles & Evidence in the series so far.
If Clint can simply confront him on the vote-rigging prototype deal, all the rest of Feeney’s sleaziness will just seem like frosting on the cake.
The Abramoff stuff is important, but just imagine what the details of that Oct., 2000 meeting will look like in an Orlando Sentinel front-page article. That would also force Dr. Andy Michaud to discuss election fraud; without Clint in the race, Andy would probably take his cue from the D.N.C., which would say, "Don’t go there." Can’t embarrass John Kerry, you know.
The fact is, with the right publicity this race could open up a discussion of election fraud in every state in the country. The media will have no choice but to cover it when it’s part of an actual campaign.
You got it Robert.
This Abramoff guy was practically there at those meetings; I’m positive he knows all about Yang…..
By the way Brad, if you want to check into this I suggest you contact someone named Kevin Walsh. He’s a private investigator and will give you a full wording, official slice of this story if its accurate.
The mafia down here protects Tom Feeney, Feeney is the most corrupt guy in Florida there is next to Jeb Bush and Clint knows exactly what I mean when I say "mafia".
Doug E.
Also, I liked the part where he carries around a plastic card in his wallet with points on how to be a con
One point has to be: Steal all of the taxpayers money
you can before being voted out
I’m also glad to see that Ginny Brown-noser Waite is getting some attention too, shes been collecting ill-gotten money since she walked in the Pukes door to run for Congress
Feeney had given up on blaming Clint Curtis for not stopping Henry Nee, because at the time Clint was a life long republican.
Now Feeney has changed his talking points to blaming Clint Curtis, since Clint left the republican party and is now of the democratic party as a conservative.
"The democrat Clint Curtis did not stop Henry Nee from selling missile parts to communist china while I was Nee’s lawyer", said Feeney. "Therefore Clint Curtis is weak on terrorism", he read from a republican talking point memo.
Support the republicans by believing Tom Feeney …
… OR …================SUPPORT CLINT CURTIS================
Doug E #3
Oh yeah, wonderful strategy, make false accusations about Abramoff really being a Yang …
You gotta get your yin out of your yang.
The Clint Curtis story stands on its own and is the integrity side of this campaign, and needs no link to anything else.
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SUPPORT CLINT CURTIS
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Hopefully we can get Clint to speak at one of the central florida political groups. We had his opponent speak to us a little while back, he seems like a reputable man. I want the one most electable to be the candidate.
There is no doubt in my mind that Rove will pull out all stops to prevent Clint from ever seeing the main election.
There is only one way to defeat a bully and that is to beat the living hell out of him. Feeney is a cowardly bully as well as a liar and I dare him to sue me for making that statement.
Barry G #7
The criminal Nee and Feeney could not have done it alone. They are two one of many.
POWER DISTRIBUTION IN SENATE COMMITTEES
Senate Standing Committee; Chair, (R=repub; D=dem); (Member Count)
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (Chambliss, R); (11 R, 09 D)
Appropriations; (Cochran, R); (15 R, 13 D)
Armed Services; (Warner, R); (13 R, 11 D)
Banking, Housing,and Urban Affairs; (Shelby, R); (11 R, 09 D)
Budget; (Gregg, R); (12 R, 10 D)
Commerce, Science,and Transportation; (Stevens, R); (12 R, 10 D)
Energy and Natural Resources; (Domenici, R); (12 R, 10 D)
Environment and Public Works; (Inhofe, R); (10 R, 08 D)
Finance; (Grassley, R); (11 R, 09 D)
Foreign Relations; (Lugar, R); (10 R, 08 D)
Health, Education,Labor, and Pensions; (Enzi, R); (11 R, 09 D)
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; (Collins, R); (09 R, 07 D)
Judiciary; (Specter, R); (10 R, 08 D)
Rules and Administration; (Lott, R); (10 R, 08 D)
Small Business and Entrepreneurship; (Snowe, R); (10 R, 08 D)
Veterans Affairs; (Craig, R); (08 R, 06 D)
"the Senate divides its tasks among 20 committees, 68 subcommittees, and 4 joint committees" …
"The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committee’s business" (link here).
How many democrats, independents, greens, etc. chair committees in the senate or the house? (Zero)
Therefore, republicans are where the power and the accountability of congress lies.
Both the White House and the Congress are republican controlled. All the Cabinet is republican.
It’s a republican thang, Feeney is a republican, so remember the status quo is a function of that republican power.
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SUPPORT CLINT CURTIS
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Soooo…? , no action. I give up. I’m going to call the Orlando papers and ask why! There has GOT to be a reason they don’t report any of this! Experience has taught me that reporters are lazy….they are being handed a story and do nothing. We are missing something folks….I’ll report back to you what they say!
Emma