GOPers Join Dems to Call for Leadership’s Ouster
“[M]embers from both parties are suggesting Hastert and House Majority Leader John Boehner quit…. Rep. Christopher Shays (R., Conn.) said any leader who had been aware of Mr. Foleyâs behavior and failed to take action should step down. ‘If they knew or should have known the extent of this problem, they should not serve in leadership,’ he said over the weekend.
“In the talk shows today others chimed in on this theme too. Sen. Mike DeWine and Rep. Sherrod Brown, in a Meet the Press interview on their Ohio Senate race, couched their language carefully, but they said if anyone in the House leadership knew of the emails and failed to act they should resign. Seeming to refer to Mr. Hastert, Mr. Brown said anyone who knew about the emails but failed to act jeopardized the safety of House pages and forfeited the public trust.” (WSJ’s Washington Wire)
Hastert Calls on Justice Department to Investigate Foley
“Speaker Dennis Hastert [R-IL] today sent requests to the Justice Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to initiate immediate federal and state investigations into former Rep. Mark Foley [R-FL] regarding the potential criminal violations related to his communications with former House pages….
“Democrats, who have been critical of the Republicans’ handling of the matter, were not appeased by Hastert’s letter.
“‘Speaker Hastert seems more concerned by who revealed the Republican leadership’s coverup of Mr. Foley’s Internet stalking of an underage child than he was about ensuring the children entrusted to the House were protected,’ said Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi [D-CA]. ‘The American people will not be distracted from the issue of why Republicans failed to act when they learned children were at risk.'” (Roll Call, Sub. Req.)
Four “Safe” Incumbents Become Endangered After GOP Scandals
“Most of the House contests in which Democrats are staging strong bids to take over Republican-held seats were predictable as early as Election Night 2004….
“But if the Democrats manage to make the net gain of at least 15 seats they need to take control of the House, the difference could be made in a handful of longtime Republican strongholds â all of which appeared âsafeâ for the GOP when the current election cycle started â that came into play only because of the personal downfalls of long popular Republican incumbents.” (CQ Politics)
Judge May Have Stymied Abramoff Probe
“U.S. District Judge Paul Huck refused to delay [disgraced lobbyist Jack] Abramoff’s prison sentence for fraud charges Thursday, rejecting a plea by the Justice Department’s top corruption prosecutor, who said Abramoff was providing information about officials whose names hadn’t yet surfaced in the case.
“In the past month, the FBI has been pursuing leads about Abramoff’s access to the White House and whether he was able to help lawmakers get Bush administration backing for their bills, according to someone familiar with the direction of the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because of its secrecy.” (AP)
Bush Admin: We’re Not Investigating Nigerian VP in Jefferson Probe
“The United States isn’t investigating Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar as part of the ongoing probe of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, according to a senior Bush administration official.
“The investigation of alleged bribery centers ‘on a charge against our own congressman, not Vice President Atiku,’ Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said in a briefing last week for foreign reporters.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Earmarks Find Way Into Spending Bill
“The [military spending] bill, which accounts for about half of federal discretionary spending, includes only a small part of the expected costs of next yearâs military operations in Iraq. After the fall elections, President Bush is expected to request another supplemental spending measure to pay for the war, just as the administration has for the last three years.
“Lawmakers nonetheless found room in the bill to pay for thousands of requests never sought by the Defense Department. These projects, or earmarks, included $2.1 billion for 10 additional C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets, which the Pentagon is trying to discontinue. They are made by Boeing in the home state of Senator Jim Talent, Republican of Missouri, who is locked in a tight race for re-election.” (NY Times)
Indefatigable Rep. Waxman Seeks Investigation Into Abramoff, WH Ties
“Democrats called on the White House on Friday to explain a congressional report showing many contacts with Jack Abramoff, but aides to President George W. Bush dismissed the notion the disgraced lobbyist wielded any influence….
“Rep. Henry Waxman of California, senior Democrat on the government reform panel, said he planned to talk with the committee’s chairman Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, to seek a wider investigation….
“Among the questions Waxman said he wanted answered were whether officials accepted items like concert tickets and whether they reported them on financial disclosure forms.” (Reuters)
Murtha: Trading Votes for Pork Across the House Aisle
“For more than a decade, Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania has operated a political trading post in a back corner of the House of Representatives.
“A gang of about two dozen Democrats mill around his seat. A procession of others walk back to request pet spending projects, known as earmarks. And Republicans come by, asking him to enlist some of those Democrats to join them on close votes. ‘Whether they get what they want in the bill or they get the votes they are looking for, nobody ever leaves completely disappointed,’ said Representative Paul E. Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat often found in what is known as the Murtha corner.” (NYTimes)
Kean Is Unapologetic About Campaign Tactics
“Republican Tom Kean Jr. said yesterday he had no reason to apologize for his campaign’s tactics, including contacting an imprisoned political boss for help in digging into the past of his Democratic rival, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez [D-NJ]….
“The Star-Ledger reported yesterday that [Kean Jr. researcher Chris] Lyon struck up a correspondence with former Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski, who is serving time in federal prison in Kentucky on corruption charges, in an effort to find damaging information about Menendez’s long career in the rough-and-tumble world of Hudson County politics.
“Janiszewski, in a letter to Lyon dated June 11 and obtained last week by The Star-Ledger, offered political advice as well as a list of Hudson County politicians who hold grudges against Menendez and might provide damaging information about him. One of them was Oscar Sandoval, a Union City psychiatrist and former FBI informant who helped land Janiszewski in prison.” (New Jersey Star-Ledger)
GOP Independent Groups Step Up Ad Financing
“Heading into the final weeks before the Nov. 7 elections, independent advocacy groups, many financed by a few wealthy donors, are spending millions on ads in some of the most contested states and congressional districts….
“Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 26, Republican-leaning groups spent $13.8 million on advertising while advertising on behalf of Democrats totaled $6.3 million, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group. Throw in the advertising the political parties are paying for, and the Republicans have spent $5 on ads for every $3 spent by Democrats….
“As election day nears, television viewers have been introduced to Republican-oriented groups with names such a Progress for America, Softer Voices and the Economic Freedom Fund. Their benefactors include Univision founder Andrew Perenchio; conservative philanthropist John M. Templeton Jr. of Bryn Mawr, Pa.; Foster Friess, former manager of the Brandywine mutual funds; and Bob J. Perry, the Texas builder who helped finance the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that attacked Sen.
John Kerry’s Vietnam record during the 2004 presidential race.” (AP)
Va. Candidate Pleaded in 1970’s Assault
“Democratic congressional candidate Phil Kellam said Friday he regrets his actions in an incident that led to him plead guilty to assaulting a woman 28 years ago, when he was a 21-year-old college student in North Carolina.
“Kellam, who is challenging first-term Republican Rep. Thelma Drake [R-VA], said he never touched the woman but lost his temper after almost getting into a traffic accident with her.” (AP)
Woodward Revelations Surprise Sept. 11 Commission
“Members of the Sept. 11 commission said Sunday they were alarmed that they were told nothing about a July 2001 White House meeting at which George J. Tenet, then director of central intelligence, is reported to have warned Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser, about an imminent attack by Al Qaeda and failed to persuade her to take action.” (NY Times)
Tabloid Scandals Dominate N.Y. Campaigns
“Democrats are heavily favored to win all the statewide contests in New York this year, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer, who are trouncing their Republican rivals in recent polls.
“So the lack of electoral suspense has given way to tempestuous tabloid drama, with voters learning more than they might care to know about candidates’ marital transgressions and family feuds.” (AP)
Santorum Asks County to Drop Tax Exemption
“In a letter to Allegheny County assessment officials, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has acted to close a long-running political soap opera over whether he does or doesn’t live in his house in Penn Hills.
“Mr. Santorum formally asked that the county remove the homestead tax exemption from his Penn Hills residence. He said that he had made similar requests to county officials in conversations in 2005 and earlier this year, but to no avail….
“The issue has been a sore spot for the senator because of efforts by political opponents to point out that he spends much of the year in Washington’s Virginia suburbs rather than in the Penn Hills residence, and because of an overlapping controversy over whether the Penn Hills School District should have been forced to make cyberschool tuition payments on behalf of the senators’ children.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Detainee Law May Not Provide Total Immunity From CIA Investigators
“Congress has eased the worries of CIA interrogators and senior administration officials by granting them immunity from U.S. criminal prosecutions for all but “grave” abuses of terrorism detainees.
“But legislation passed Friday may not leave them entirely in the clear.
“International legal experts said the measure is meaningless overseas, where international courts theoretically could still prosecute alleged violations of anti-torture treaties.” (McClatchy Newspapers)
Campaign Contributions and the Ohio Supreme Court
“An examination of the Ohio Supreme Court by The New York Times found that its justices routinely sat on cases after receiving campaign contributions from the parties involved or from groups that filed supporting briefs. On average, they voted in favor of contributors 70 percent of the time. Justice OâDonnell voted for his contributors 91 percent of the time, the highest rate of any justice on the court.
“In the 12 years that were studied, the justices almost never disqualified themselves from hearing their contributorsâ cases. In the 215 cases with the most direct potential conflicts of interest, justices recused themselves just 9 times.” (NY Times)
Allegations Trip Up Voting Rights Group
“An advocacy group that registered more than a million voters two years ago is wrestling with new allegations of voter fraud and sloppy work just weeks before crucial midterm elections.
“In Philadelphia, the city’s voter registration office has rejected about 3,000 cards submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now since April because of missing information or invalid addresses.
“Election officials in three of Ohio’s largest counties have cited problems with hundreds of voter registration cards. ACORN is accused of submitting cards with nonexistent addresses, forged signatures and, in one case, for someone who died seven years ago.” (AP)
