Posted on 01/29/2006 2:28:02 PM PST by george76
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) failed today to address rumors that Nevada Senator Harry Reid will step down next month as Senate Minority Leader.
Reid has been stung by revelations that his political action committee (PAC) accepted more than $60,000 in contributions from Indian tribes linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Appearing on CNN's Late Edition, Biden avoided discussing either the Reid situation or any upcoming changes in Senate Democratic leadership.
Reid is no stranger to scandal, having been the subject of a 1979 Justice Department probe into allegations that Reid — then Nevada Gaming Commission chairman — had received bribes through mob lawyer Oscar Goodman and Tropicana attorney Jay H. Brown.
The probe officially cleared Reid, but he subsequently received numerous contributions from gambling industry figures, including Brown.
Some Democrats are worried that Reid's continued presence in the Senate leadership undermines Democratic hopes of scoring significant gains this November.
"Reid is going around the country talking about a 'Republican scandal' — about Republicans accepting one- and two-thousand dollar contributions from Jack Abramoff, when his own PAC took in $60,000," ...
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, appearing on Fox News Sunday, made no announcements concerning Reid's status, but did comment on the growing controversy.
Moderator Chris Wallace asked Dean, "if we find that there were some Democrats who wrote letters on behalf of some of the Indian tribes that Abramoff represented, then what do you say, sir?"
Without mentioning Reid by name, Dean replied, "That's a big problem. And those Democrats are in trouble. And they should be in trouble."
(Excerpt) Read more at redstate.com ...
It'll be on Drudge tonight if there's any truth to it.
"Both were wearing body armor, helmets and ballistic glasses at the time of the bombing."
Only if he leaves the senate. He can stand down as the Minority Leader without leaving the senate. However, if he is indicted (and dems are NEVER indicted) then his seat is up for grabs.
It ain't that hard to outsmart Dean
The 'rats have a deep bench when it comes to ineffective, incompetent, and disaffecting leaders. They didn't miss a beat when Reid replaced Daschle.
It'll never be Schumer....
But I thought this was only a Republican scandal.
You are correct. It wasn't necessarily money going directly to his sons, but rather indirectly, to his sons' (and his son-in-law's) law firms. What Dingy Harry was doing was using his position to assist land developers here in the Vegas valley get cheap Federal land. In exchange, the developers were kicking money to Reid's sons' law firms to lobby on behalf of the developers.
I found a really good chart that lays all of this out--I'll see if I can find the link.
That sneaky little Chris Wallace really is pretty darn good isn't he? Must make his old man cringe. I think he's on our side. My GOD would I hate his snarky little mug if he was still playing for the other team. Actually, I Don't think it's snarkyness, he seems like a really nice man, but I would think so if he were on MTP, for example.
But... but... but I thought HArry cleaned up Las Vegas.
You know what this means, don't you? He's going to be indicted.
He's irreplaceable. I suppose they could nominate Michael Moore, Ramsey Clark, or Cindy Sheehan, but doesn't the Senate Minority Leader have to be a Senator?
It's like Fitzmas. Don't hear much about THAT case anmore, do we. Esp. since they're going to be demanding sources.
lol. I believe so yes.
Found it--here you go:
http://www.insignificantthoughts.com/files/Reid.pdf
Kudos to this blogger--I think his name is Vincent Ferraro.
Because of his previous gaming position, Reid looks the worst of all those in the Abramoff mess.
Is there any expectation of Reid stepping down from his Senate seat, or is this just about him stepping down as minority leader?
Gary Hart? Not an official post, but he was the Dem front runner.
but its a serious point of discussion. I don't think Tom Delay is selling out his votes because they put him up in a nice hotel and he eats filet mignon for dinner. what do we want to show "non-corruption" - fund raisers at the Super8 where KFC is served?
show me personal gain, specific quid pro quo (like the Marc Rich pardon) - that's corruption.
The five top Abramoff money getters were (IIRC): Reid (D-NV), Burns (R-MT), Dorgan (D-ND), Hayworth (R-AZ) and Ney (R-OH).
That doesn't mean anything. Burns' and Dorgan's states both have huge reservations and it wouldn't be surprising at all for them to take money from Indian tribes. Hayworth is a little bizarre because there's no reservation in his district and Ney seems to have been caught in real corruption.
The presence of money means nothing and, when it's all said and done, I'd imagine that Ney and Reid are the only ones who did anything illegal.
BTW, it should be noted that the media's bete noir, Tom Delay, was not on the top list of recipients. Note that Abramoff and Delay are not referred to in the same breath anymore in the MSM.
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