Quick! Embrace Lobbying Reform!
In a good primer on corruption as an issue in the forthcoming midterm elections, The Washington Post‘s Jim Vandehei discloses the grand Republican strategy:
Republicans worry that more than six candidates for the House and Senate could be hurt by Justice Department investigations, the courts and revelations in the Abramoff affair….
Anticipating more bad news, House GOP leaders are privately discussing a pre-election plan to compromise with the Senate on legislation clamping down on lobbyists and member perks, according to a GOP source familiar with the effort. The source, who discussed the plan on the condition of anonymity, said that if [Rep. Bob] Ney (R-OH) or other Republicans are indicted, House leaders will drop their demands to include strict curbs on the special-interest election spending that favored Democrats in 2004 and quickly pass the lobbying bill to provide political cover to candidates.
Leakers, Press Prosecuted in Britain
“In the United Kingdom, two former government officials, including David Keogh, a British cabinet spokesman, are facing trial accused of leaking a memo detailing a conversation in which Prime Minister Tony Blair is trying to persuade President Bush not to bomb Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Qatar. Britain’s attorney general pursued the leak and has charged the officials with violating Britain’s Official Secrets Act. The men face two years in prison if convicted. But unlike the United States, where journalists are not prosecuted for publishing classified information as long as they obtained the information legally, journalists in the U.K. can also be prosecuted under their nation’s Secrets Act. Britain’s attorney general has warned that any news organization continuing to publish details from the leaked memo will also face prosecution.” (The Blotter)
Ralph Reed Blames McCain for Downfall
“Here’s the view of what happened from the Reed camp: Once the Abramoff stuff exploded, it was going to be a very tough road for Reed….Reed’s connection to the Abramoff stuff had broken back in the summer of 2004, so it couldn’t have been predicted that it would be such a huge deal even now. But it was. The Reed camp blames John McCain for playing payback for his 2000 primary defeat with a campaign of leaks, and the press, of course, was happy to pile on.” (The Corner, TNR)
Advocacy Groups Expand Influence
“As Congress considers new restrictions on political activity by outside groups, advocacy groups are expanding their influence in elections through organizations that operate legally but with fewer disclosure regulations. The Campaign Finance Institute, in a study of 12 leading politically active groups covering election cycles since 2000, found nine groups that are attempting to influence elections through nonprofit entities that can collect unlimited amounts of money but are not required to disclose their donors.” (AP)
Hoekstra Wants to “Fix” FISA
“[House Intelligence Committee] Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) supported FISA reform, saying: âWe cannot fight a 21st Century intelligence war against a sophisticated terrorist adversary with laws that were designed to fight the Cold War using 1970s technology.â (WashWire)
How Much Did Harris Know?
“Rep. Katherine Harris denied Tuesday that she is a target of a federal probe involving a corrupt defense contractor who funneled $32,000 in illegal contributions to her U.S. Senate campaign. Harris issued a statement in the wake of reports that her former chief political strategist, Ed Rollins, was questioned by the Justice Department about her association with Mitchell Wade. Harris said she urged Rollins to cooperate with federal agents, and the Justice Department told her she wasn’t a target of the investigation. She has denied knowingly doing anything wrong when she took money from donors who were reimbursed by Wade.” (AP)
Interior Official May Have Accepted Dead Buffalo as a “Gratuity”
“David Smith, a top Interior Department official, is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He’s no Buffalo Bill, but he’s a good shot and can even count a buffalo among his many trophies. Why, way back in December 2004, Smith put three shots from a high-powered rifle right between the eyes of an aging buffalo at a billionaire friend’s ranch in Texas. Dances With Wolves, it was not. The ranch manager drove him to the meadow where the bison was grazing, and Smith delivered the coup de grace from about 75 yards away. The kill has caused Smith no end of trouble. Interior investigators looked into it and questioned whether Smith had received the old bull’s remains as a “gratuity.” They also examined his role in designating Houston as a port of entry for wildlife and wild game trophies, an action sought by hunters and others, including a friend of Smith’s who is his taxidermist.” (US News and World Report)
What Does The Lt. Gov. Primary Loss Mean For Reed?
“Some say [Ralph] Reed’s ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his convincing defeat [in the GOP Lt. Gov. primary) at the hands of little-known state Sen. Casey Cagle will force him to return to the behind-the-scenes strategizing that made him famous. Others argue that the boyish-looking Reed is simply too young and talented to stay off the ballot for long. The man who proclaimed himself a “happy warrior,” they add, is too competitive to give up his political dreams because of one defeat.” (AP)
Old Abramoff Client Fights Indian Gaming Bill
“Jack Abramoffâs oldest and most lucrative lobbying client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, is helping hold up an Indian gaming reform measure being pushed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who led the Senate investigation into the convicted former lobbyistâs misdeeds on behalf of Indian tribes.” (Roll Call, sub. req.)
Tech Group Applies Lobbying Techniques to Court Case
“A group of high-tech companies, wanting to influence a Supreme Court patent case, began obliquely, first trying to win support from the other two branches of government.” (The Hill)
Veterans Affairs Official to Step Down
“A top Veterans Affairs official criticized after the theft of a laptop containing 26.5 million veteransâ sensitive information is leaving to take a job in the private sector, the department said.” (NYT)
TN Sen GOP Candidate Finance Report Offers Clues to 2006 Income
“Republican U.S. Senate candidate Van Hilleary’s consulting clients have included a Pennsylvania lawmaker at the heart of a pay-raise scandal and a North Carolina Indian tribe, according to a disclosure of personal finances from 2004 and part of 2005.” (AP)
