Democrats Fight DeLay over Residency
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay voted absentee in Virginia on Friday, while Democrats in his longtime home state claimed he is still a Texas resident and belongs on the fall ballot….
Under the Texas Election Code, DeLay must “conclusively” establish by public record that he is a resident of another state, said Chad Dunn, an attorney for the state Democratic Party. Democrats contend he hasn’t done so because he still has a Texas driver’s license, was registered to vote in Fort Bend County, Texas, as of Thursday and gets a Texas homestead exemption.
DeLay told reporters Thursday he is a Virginia resident and planned to vote next week. Flaherty said he obtained a Virginia driver’s license and registered to vote in Virginia in late April or early May. She said he voted absentee because he will be traveling Tuesday, the state’s primary day.
Judge May Decide if US Eavesdropping is Legal
Oral arguments are set for Monday at U.S. District Court in Detroit at which the American Civil Liberties Union will ask Judge Anna Diggs Taylor to declare the spying unconstitutional and order it halted.
The National Security Agency’s domestic spying program faces its first legal challenge in a case that could decide if the White House can order eavesdropping without a court order.
Specter Ready for Fight over Spy Program
The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman says he’s prepared to force telephone company executives to testify about the White House’s eavesdropping program if the Bush administration doesn’t fully cooperate in drafting new rules on what’s allowable.
“If we don’t get some results, I’m prepared to go back to demand hearings and issue subpoenas if necessary,” Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Sunday on CNN’s Late Edition.
Specter said he was more hopeful, after talking Thursday with Vice President Dick Cheney, that committee hearings and subpoenas could be avoided.
Brown: E-mail Shows Bush Glad FEMA Took Katrina Flak
The former emergency management chief who quit amid widespread criticism over his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina said he received an e-mail before his resignation stating President Bush was glad to see the Oval Office had dodged most of the criticism….
The September 2005 e-mail reads: “I did hear of one reference to you, at the Cabinet meeting yesterday. I wasn’t there, but I heard someone commented that the press was sure beating up on Mike Brown, to which the president replied, ‘I’d rather they beat up on him than me or Chertoff.’ “
Lobbying Firm Made Payment to Hill Aide
A lobbying firm with close ties to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) paid nearly $2 million last year in a separation agreement with a partner who was leaving to become a top aide to Lewis, then the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Attorneys for Jeffrey S. Shockey, who became the deputy staff director of the committee, told reporters yesterday that the lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White projected that Shockey would have made $3 million at the firm in 2005 if he had remained a lobbyist. That would have been a 76 percent increase from the $1.7 million he billed clients the year before.
The firm’s relationship with Lewis is being scrutinized by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles who issued subpoenas to its clients last month. Lewis has denied any wrongdoing, and Shockey’s attorneys said he has not been contacted by federal authorities.
Energy Dept. Discloses Data Theft
A hacker stole a file containing the names and Social Security numbers of 1,500 people working for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons agency.
But the incident last September, somewhat similar to recent problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was not reported to senior officials until two days ago, officials told a congressional hearing yesterday. None of the victims was notified, they said.
Records for 150,000 Colorado Voters Missing
Records containing personal information on more than 150,000 voters are missing at Denver election offices, and officials are scratching their heads.
Texas House Speaker Gets $700,000 Donation
Businessmen, a lobbyist and a major corporate foundation have donated almost $700,000 in the past eight days to pay for the renovation of Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick’s apartment inside the Capitol, according to documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press….
Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said the speaker and his wife don’t think it would be appropriate to use public money for the renovation project, which is expected to include redoing the apartment’s kitchen and two bathrooms and tearing down a loft over the living room.
Much is made about the bipartisan nature of these individual scandals, but I think the rush by some pundits and reportersâand GOP partisansâto claim that âeveryone does itâ misses the mark because it fails to distinguish between petty, personal corruption, like Jeffersonâs, and the real systemic corruption of the sale of public policy to the highest bidder, like how Tom DeLay exploited the campaign finance system.
The CA 50 Election: Does It Matter?
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (N.Y.) predicted Friday that corruption would not be a factor in the race to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), and he reiterated his belief that the Democrats will not be able to use the issue to their advantage in the midterm elections.
At a briefing with reporters, Reynolds said last weekâs special election to succeed incarcerated ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) was a perfect opportunity to test the âculture of corruptionâ message that Democrats have pounded throughout the election cycle. . . .
During a briefing with reporters last week, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) theorized that when the GOP took control of the House in 1994, it was because voters were mad at Democrats, not because they thought so highly of Republicans.
The same dynamic is in play this year, Hoyer said.
