Leading Symbol of GOP Culture of Corruption Pleads Guilty (DNC Research)

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
September 15, 2006
Contact: Stacie Paxton/ Damien LaVera - 202-863-8148

REALITY CATCHES UP WITH REPRESENTATIVE #1
Leading Symbol of GOP Culture of Corruption Pleads Guilty

Washington, DC -Ohio Republican Congressman Bob Ney's guilty plea may mean his
long denial is finally coming to an end, but it doesn't mean the Republicans in
Columbus or Washington are wrapping up their culture of corruption. From
Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner, to the Bush White House and the
Republican Senate leadership, the GOP's culture of corruption is still strong
in Washington.

Instead of working to provide the American people with the honest leadership
and open government they deserve, new reports show that Republicans in Congress
are backing away from promised ethics reforms. After pledging to join Democrats
in cleaning up the ethics scandals Republicans have brought to Washington, "GOP
leaders in both chambers have indicated the legislation won't be addressed
until after the Nov. 7 elections." Worse still,
Washington Republicans have "scaled back their ethics agenda.because of
divisions among Republicans."

Congressman Ney also agreed to participate in the ongoing Justice Department
investigation into scandal-plagued Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an
investigation that reaches from the halls of Congress all the way into the
White House. In the trial that led to the conviction of the White House's
former chief procurement office David Safavian on charges of lying to hide his
relationship with Abramoff, "prosecutors introduced a photograph of Ney and
Abramoff standing next to a private jet that whisked them and other members to
a golf outing in Scotland."

"As important as Congressman Ney's guilty plea is, he is just one figure in the
Republicans' far-reaching pay-to-play scheme in which partisan campaign
contributions bought access and policy outcomes for favored special interests,"
said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "From
Columbus to Congress, the interests of America's working families have taken a
back seat as the Republicans have put their favorite special interests ahead of
what's good for America. For working families, the results have been
disastrous: huge tax breaks for the energy and pharmaceutical companies even as
the American people pay skyrocketing energy and health care costs.

"Yet, instead of cleaning up government, Republicans are backing away from

their election year pledge to pass ethics reform. It is time for a new
direction, which is why Democrats remain committed to ending the Republican
culture of corruption in Columbus and Washington by passing real ethics reform
and restoring honest leadership and open government for the American people."

GOP'S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION STILL STRONG
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN BOEHNER

In Wake Of DeLay Scandals, Boehner Had No Plan To Change Lobbying Rules. John
Boehner became House Republican Leader after Tom DeLay stepped down amid a
swirl of ethics problems. In an interview with the Washington Post shortly
after taking his new post, Boehner "emphasized that he has no plan to change
lobbying rules." He also said that he would not seek a ban on "provisions in
spending bills that fund lawmakers' pet projects," also known as earmarks.


Boehner's Ethics Agenda A "Joke." "Do you remember, back when the spotlight was
on Jack Abramoff, how House Republican leaders pledged to get tough on
lobbyists? Well, you may; apparently they don't. The House plans this week to
take up the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, a watered-
down sham that would provide little in the way of accountability or
transparency. If the Senate-passed measure was a disappointment, the House
version is simply a joke -- or, more accurately, a ruse aimed at convincing
what the leaders must believe is a doltish public that the House has done
something to clean up Washington."

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER BILL FRIST (TN)
Frist Subpoenaed By SEC On Suspicion That He Violated "Insider Trading Laws."
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist... has been subpoenaed to turn over personal
records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales
of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The
Securities and Exchange Commission issued the subpoena within the past two
weeks, after initial reports that Frist, the Senate's top Republican official,
was under scrutiny by the agency and the Justice Department for possible
violations of insider trading laws."

SEN. CONRAD BURNS (R-MT)
Burns Pushed Interior Department To Build School For Wealthy Indian Tribe and
Abramoff Client; Received $152,000 From Abramoff and Clients. In 2004, Conrad
Burns pressured the Department of Interior to award the Saginaw Chippewas of
Michigan $3 million from a program that was designed to fund schools for cash
strapped American Indian tribes, despite the fact that the Saginaw Chippewas
were considered one of the richest in the United States. The tribe had donated
over $150,000 to Burns' campaign and political action committees, including 42
percent of the total funds raised by his leadership PAC, Friends of the Big Sky
Fund. Burns was chairman of the Interior Appropriations subcommittee which gave
him the power to control funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, making him a
valuable asset for Abramoff.

SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA)
Santorum Runs K Street Project For GOP - Hand Picks Republicans To Fill High-
Level Lobbyist Positions. Santorum runs the K Street project where he "vets the
hiring decisions of major lobbyists." The K Street project, created by
conservative movement leader Grover Norquist and indicted former Majority
Leader Tom DeLay, seeks to place Republicans in high-level corporate and
lobbyist positions. As of June 2003, Santorum had successfully placed "33 of 36
top-level Washington positions he monitoring." All positions went to
Republicans. As the Washington Post reported, Santorum's colleagues resorted to
"intimidation and private threats" to bully lobbyists who try to maintain good
relations with both parties. 6/26/03; US News & World Report, 10/17/05; Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/9/06]

Santorum Worked To Expand Reach Of The K Street Project. In May 2002, Santorum
hosted a private meeting in the Capitol where two dozen lobbyists and staffers
got a thick list of lobbyists, some with their party affiliation and past
political jobs already identified. The meeting's attendees were asked to help
fill in the blanks, and told them his own staff would research the political
contributions.

Santorum Discussed Consequences Against MPAA When It Hired A Democrat. When
Democrat Dan Glickman took over the Motion Picture Association of America,
Santorum said he wasn't sure hiring Glickman was "effective" to the movie
industry's approach "if they are going to reach across the aisle." A few weeks
later, Santorum started discussing consequences for the movie industry in
response to its decision to hire Glickman. "Yeah, we had a meeting and, yeah,
we talked about making sure that we have fair representation on K Street,"
Santorum said. "I admit that I pay attention to who is hiring and I think it's
important for leadership to pay attention." A few weeks after that, the House
removed about $1.5 billion in motion picture industry tax cuts from a pending
bill. Glickman then hired a former aide to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and
gave $500 to Santorum's campaign. 7/21/04, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/4/05]

DAVID SAFAVIAN, FORMER CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICIAL AT OMB
Safavian Arrested In Connection With Abramoff Probe. The Bush Administration's
chief contracting and procurement official at OMB, David Safavian was arrested
on charges of making false statements to an ethics official, making false
statements to the General Services Agency's Inspector General, and obstruction
of a GSA-IG investigation.

Safavian Accused of Lying About Abramoff Contacts, At Least Three Times. "The
complaint alleges that Safavian lied about his contacts with Abramoff on three
occasions after his initial false pledge to the GSA ethics officer. The first
was during a 2003 investigation by GSA's inspector general, who was responding
to an anonymous tipster's hotline complaint; the second was in a March 17,
2005, letter to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; and the third was
during an FBI interview on May 26, 2005"

Safavian Provided Hands on Assistance to Help Abramoff Lease GSA Property
Before Trip to Scotland While Lying to GSA Ethics Officer. While he was the GSA
chief of staff in August 2002, Safavian took part in a trip to Scotland hosted
by Jack Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation. In the days leading up to his
trip with Abramoff, Safavian had extensive contact with him regarding his
business with GSA. In July of 2002, they discussed the need for possible "Hill
pressure" to close the deal on the office space in the Old Post Office
building. On the same day that Safavian discussed the golf trip with the GSA
ethics officer, assuring him that Abramoff had no business with GSA, Safavian
emailed Abramoff from his personal computer, the email advised Abramoff on how
to "lay out a case for this lease." The day before the Scotland trip Safavian
arranged for a meeting between Abramoff's wife and business partners and GSA
officials to discuss the lease. 9/20/05]

NEW HAMPSHIRE PHONE-JAMMING SCANDAL
2002 New Hampshire Phone-Jamming Scandal Potentially Involves White House. On
Election Day in 2002, a telemarketing company was hired by New Hampshire
Republican operatives to jam the phone lines of five Democratic get-out-the-
vote centers and one fire fighters union center in New Hampshire. As the plan
was developed, implemented and began to unravel, people involved made dozens of
telephone calls to a White House phone number in the political department,
which was run by current RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman.

Abramoff and Mehlman Linked to Criminal Phone Jamming Scheme. When he was White
House Political Director, Ken Mehlman's office received dozens of calls from
convicted phone-jammer James Tobin, who was sentenced to ten months in prison.
(Mehlman is now the Chairman of the Republican National Committee.) Four people
have now received criminal sentences in the case, but the RNC and White House
refuse to answer critical questions about who in Washington was involved in the
case. Worse still, Jack Abramoff's tribal clients appear to have directed
thousands of dollars to the New Hampshire Republican Party. "wo of his
tribal clients made inexplicable contributions to the NHRSC in October 2002.
The Mississippi Choctaw cut a check on Oct. 10 for $ 10,000; according to FEC
records, it was deposited on Oct. 28 along with a $5,000 check from the Agua
Caliente. Together, the contributions total $15,000, approximate to the $15,600
the NHRSC paid for the jamming. There are no Indian tribes in New Hampshire. If
Abramoff wasn't somehow a party to McGee's scheme, why did he direct money to
New Hampshire? It is just one more open question emerging from McGee's
brilliant idea, which continues to shine an unwelcome light on the Republican
Party almost four years later."

###


Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.
org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

[NJmaverick]

1. Good stuff

Must read for all Democrats

[texpatriot2004]

2. Who's next? Jackinthehouse.org

www.jackinthehouse.org