Great article. Thank you.
I think our own crooked congresspimps can relate vicariously to a lot of this.
"...were caught up" - the excusatory passive voice
"...potential scandal" - actually it is actual
"...not known if...authentic" - some contract recipients - e.g. French businessmen close to Chirca - have already confessed to getting the money, just saying it wasn't illegal.
The article reports this as though it might all blow over, as though it might all be made up, as though they are just allegations. When there are documents in Iraq and confessions on the other end *proving* it happened.