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From the House to the Big House
“With Rep. Bob Ney’s (R-Ohio) guilty plea on federal corruption charges last Friday and a stint in prison looming for the lawmaker, the House suddenly finds the ranks of its alumni behind bars growing to a level not seen in a decade.

“When Ney heads off to prison, likely sometime next year, he will become the fourth Member to be locked up for criminal behavior, and the Ohio Republican may not be the last. Ney will join ex-Reps. James Traficant (D-Ohio), Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) and Frank Ballance (D-N.C.), all of whom currently are being held in federal correctional facilities….”

“In fact, not since the early 1990s, when the House Bank, Post Office and Page scandals were roiling Capitol Hill and prematurely ending dozens of political careers, have so many lawmakers been in prosecutors’ sights.

“From 1993 to 1996, 10 Members went to prison for varying lengths of time, and at least four, and possibly as many as six, were imprisoned at the same time, according to media reports….

“A decade earlier, the Abscam scandal of 1980-81 ended up landing six House Members and a Senator in prison, and the seven served contemporaneous prison sentences between one and three years.” (Roll Call, sub. req.)

Georgia Law Requiring Voters to Show Photo ID Is Thrown Out
“A state judge yesterday rejected a Georgia law requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, writing in his decision, ‘This cannot be.’

“Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. said the law, pushed by Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) to fight voter fraud, violates the state constitution because it disenfranchises citizens who are otherwise qualified to vote.” (WaPo)

Top Republican Calls on Ney to Resign —
“A top House Republican on Tuesday called for Rep. Bob Ney to resign, days after the six-term GOP lawmaker agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.

“‘He betrayed his constituents, he betrayed the body and there’s no place for him in the Congress,’ said Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH), the fourth-ranking Republican in the House.” (AP)

But Few Other GOPers Speak Up
“Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, who pleaded guilty to charges in a federal lobbying probe last week, appears headed to prison — but he’s given no sign he will he resign from the U.S. House first. Thus far, few House leaders have publicly called for him to resign his seat. . . .

“New York Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republicans’ campaign committee, today repeatedly refused to call on Ney to resign, saying it was an issue between Ney and his constituents. Reynolds also noted that he didn’t expect the Ney situation to affect any other Republicans hopes for re-election. When pressed, a frustrated Reynolds said: ‘The guy is in alcohol rehab. I don’t know that any of my colleagues have talked to him about it. It will be the way it is until he resurfaces.'” (WSJ’s Washington Wire)

Durbin, Schumer Want Investigations Into CPA’s Hiring Practices Held
“Senate Democrats urged congressional and Pentagon investigations into hiring and contracting practices in Iraq. The requests came after the Washington Post newspaper reported young novices with Republican political connections got high-level jobs rebuilding Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

“‘Iraq, in one of the most critical moments in its history when the United States was there was being run by neocons (neoconservatives) in diapers,’ said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, a senior Democrat.” (Reuters)

AIG Uses Subsidiaries To Sidestep Contribution Limits
“American International Group… has enlisted dozens of obscure subsidiaries to distribute contributions, all drawn from a common A.I.G. bank account and often through sequentially numbered checks, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars….

“The donations in recent years include totals of $50,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer; $335,000 to those of Gov. George E. Pataki; $34,300 to the campaign of Lt. Gov. Mary O. Donohue; and $25,000 to the 2006 campaign of Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.” (NY Times)

New Evidence in Gus Boulis Murder Case Uncovered
“Prosecutors in the murder of gambling ship mogul Gus Boulis have uncovered a potential treasure trove of evidence, including license plates from cars that investigators suspect may have been used in [Gus] Boulis’ gangland-style hit….

“Boulis, founder of the Miami Subs restaurant chain, was gunned down at the wheel of his BMW in Fort Lauderdale in 2001. Defense attorneys plan to subpoena high-powered Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former business partner, Adam Kidan, to give statements in the murder case.” (Miami Herald)

AG Wants Congress to Pass Data Retention Laws
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that Congress should require Internet service providers to preserve customer records, asserting that prosecutors need them to fight child pornography.

“Testifying to a Senate panel, Gonzales acknowledged the concerns of some company executives who say legislation might be overly intrusive and encroach on customers’ privacy rights. But he said the growing threat of child pornography over the Internet was too great.” (AP)

Ex-Workers Testify About Halliburton
“Testimony by two former Halliburton truck drivers yesterday [at a hearing held by the Democratic Policy Committee] raised the question of whether the company was protecting its workers. The firm’s KBR subsidiary has lost 91 employees and subcontractors to violence in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.” (WPost)

New Jersey Senator Denies Federal Report
“A powerful New Jersey politician accused of being paid for a job that required no work at a scandal-ridden state university denied the report from a federal monitor who had investigated the school’s finances.

“Wayne Bryant, state Senate Budget Committee chairman, said he served his responsibilities for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and claimed the report was ‘not accurate in many respects.'” (AP)

TX Draft Ethics Ruling: Don’t Do the Math

“Texas politicians who receive suitcases full of cash may not be required to report the amount of it, according to a draft ruling by the Texas Ethics Commission.

“Under the proposal, candidates for state offices could satisfy Texas disclosure laws by simply calling it ‘currency.'” (Houston Chronicle)

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