SCTrojan1
10-20-2006, 05:53 PM
It’s safe to say that the Democrats are being hypocritical about corruption, but that doesn’t let corrupt Republicans off the hook for abusing their office. This week, House Ethics Committee began its inquiries into the Mark Foley page scandal, questioning the chief of staff to Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA) about the internal handling of Foley’s preying on congressional pages. One of the pages that Foley had been overly friendly with was sponsored by Alexander, but the emails were not sexually explicit and the matter had been referred to Speaker Hastert’s office as protocol required. Hastert’s office then notified Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chairman of the House Page Board, who told Foley to cease contact with the youngster. At the request of the parents, the matter was not pursued further.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) pleaded guilty this week for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal and could face anywhere from 27 months to 10 years in prison, depending on the outcome of his 19 January sentencing hearing. Ney accepted gifts from Abramoff during the disgraced lobbyist’s whirlwind influence-peddling tour on behalf of Indian casino owners, and is the latest casualty in this sordid drama that began in January of this year with Abramoff’s guilty plea.
Another congressman caught up in a possible lobbying imbroglio is Curt Weldon (R-PA). This week the FBI raided the home of Weldon’s daughter and her business partner, looking for evidence that Weldon used his influence to help his daughter win a million-dollar lobbying contract. Unlike Foley and Ney, Weldon’s situation could be just an attempted character assassination by Democrats on behalf of his opponent. Weldon is facing a tight race for election to an eleventh term, and the issue that the FBI is investigating was reviewed by the House Ethics Committee in 2004 without consequence.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) pleaded guilty this week for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal and could face anywhere from 27 months to 10 years in prison, depending on the outcome of his 19 January sentencing hearing. Ney accepted gifts from Abramoff during the disgraced lobbyist’s whirlwind influence-peddling tour on behalf of Indian casino owners, and is the latest casualty in this sordid drama that began in January of this year with Abramoff’s guilty plea.
Another congressman caught up in a possible lobbying imbroglio is Curt Weldon (R-PA). This week the FBI raided the home of Weldon’s daughter and her business partner, looking for evidence that Weldon used his influence to help his daughter win a million-dollar lobbying contract. Unlike Foley and Ney, Weldon’s situation could be just an attempted character assassination by Democrats on behalf of his opponent. Weldon is facing a tight race for election to an eleventh term, and the issue that the FBI is investigating was reviewed by the House Ethics Committee in 2004 without consequence.