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Maybe We Will Have DeLay to Kick Around Anymore

Former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) raised nearly half a million dollars in the six weeks before he dropped out of his election, the Houston Chronicle reports this morning. All that cash can go towards his legal fund. And once he beats his rap, K Street beckons, the Washington Post says. Proving they can still write satire better than anybody, the paper reports:

I called top lobbyists and asked a simple question, “Could Tom DeLay become a lobbyist now that he’s leaving government?”

The answer was a resounding “Yes.” DeLay may have found himself on the wrong end of several ethics committee reports, they said. He may have been too radioactive a few years ago to run for speaker of the House. He may even have been too tainted by his ties to convicted felons to be reelected to Congress this year.

But he could still make a bundle on K Street, they concurred. Leaders of law and lobbying firms made it clear that they would happily hire him, especially if federal prosecutors don’t indict him as part of the Abramoff affair.

(Houston Chronicle, Washington Post)

Ryan: Guilty as Hell

A jury yesterday found former Illinois Gov. George Ryan Sr. — yes, a Republican — guilty on all 18 counts of corruption, handing federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald (yes, that Patrick Fitzgerald) a grand slam of a conviction. Most of the charges centered around Ryan’s scam that swapped bribes for trucking licenses, including one that went to a man who later killed six children in an accident.

Ryan’s co-defendant, lobbyist Lawrence Warner, was also found guilty of all 12 charges against him. “I’ve been trying not to have negative thoughts,” Warner told the Chicago Tribune after the verdict. “I honestly thought I would walk.”

Ryan faces a maximum sentence of 95 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines. (Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, LA Times)

Dems: Mollohan Charges False

The GOP doesn’t have a lock on corruption, but they seem to have a lock on handling it within their ranks. While Republicans rushed to disassociate themselves from the likes of Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham as details of their scandals leaked out, Democrats are rushing to stand by their top House ethics man, Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV). The ranking member of the House ethics committee is facing accusations of funneling $250 million in federal funds to a network of nonprofits and companies to enrich himself, his friends and associates.

“Some facts are already clear,” Rep. Nicky Joe Rahall II (D-WV) told the Charleston Daily Mail. “Alan Mollohan single-handedly handed the House Republican leadership their collective heads last year over their attack on the ethics rules. Of course he’s their No. 1 target this election year. West Virginians can see through this.”

Meanwhile, a Knight Ridder editorial calls for earmark reform in the wake of the charges against Mollohan. (Charleston Daily Mail, Knight Ridder)

Kaloogian: So Long, and Thanks for All the Pix

Howard Kaloogian, a.k.a. the Baghdad Bamboozler, dropped out of the race to take Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s old seat in Congress. We had good times, Howard. Good times. We’ll miss you. (Pound fist twice to chest, outstretch arm with peace sign) (NC Times)

Newsweek: Those Abramoff E-Mails Are Fun!

Newsweek joins the voyeur party reading 278 e-mails between Jack Abramoff and former GSA official David Safavian. Nothing to radically change our understanding of the two men and their chicanery — but it makes for fun reading. (Newsweek)

Muckraker Salutes All Around

It was a good day for muckrakers yesterday. Political corruption stories ruled the Pulitzer prize awards — from the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s team coverage of the Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandal, to Susan Schmidt, James Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith’s work on bringing Abramoff and his cronies to justice via the Washington Post. And let’s not forget the New York Times’ Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, whose revealed the Bush administration’s domestic eavesdropping operations. We salute you! And so do our blogging brethren. (War and Piece, The Plank, The Washington Note)

Covered Yesterday

Doolittle Lawyered Up. . . (link)

Did Doolittle Lawyer Up? (link)

Abramoff Learned His Tricks from Apartheid-era South African Intelligence? (link)

Waas, Newsman of the Moment. . . (link)

Plame Wasn’t Covert? NY Sun Gives It One Last Try. . . (link)

Cunningham, Felon Met With Saudi Crown Prince. . . (link)

NH GOP Using Terrorist Tactics? (link)

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