Posted on 05/24/2006 5:39:59 PM PDT by kristinn
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday denied a report that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI in connection with a corruption probe.
ABC News, citing high level Justice Department sources, said information implicating Hastert had been developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
But department officials, who asked to not be identified, said the story was not accurate and that Hastert was not under investigation. "The story is wrong. Hastert is not under investigation," one official said.
I for one am getting sick of some of these holier than thou "true conservatives". Hastert has kept the house in line on immigration, and has a 100 ACU rating, yet posters here are calling him a crook and a fat pig etc. It is sickening.
This one I can understand .. especially with the way Hassert has been acting about Jefferson
And I bet this non-story lasts longer with the MSM. After all, this is about a member of the culture of corruption. /s
...but he aligned himself with Nancy Pelosi so fast today, it made my head spin!!!!!!
In other news Yassir Arafat may or may not be dead.
Hmmmmm, Fake but accurate, seems like we have been down this road before.
This was always BS. If they launched the biggest anal exam in history, they couldn't find that Hastert cheated at marbles when he was 11.
(I posted this on another thread here but it is important here due to developments)
From: http://macsmind.blogspot.com/2006_05_14_macsmind_archive.html
Date: 05-16-06
NSA - ABC Blog - Brian is Worried
Have you wondered why the ABC News Blog is paranoid?
Today's post:
"The Department of Justice says it secretly sought phone records and other documents of 3,501 people last year under a provision of the Patriot Act that does not require judicial oversight.
The records were obtained with the use of what are known as National Security Letters, which can be signed by an FBI agent and are only for use in terrorism cases.
The letters require telephone companies to keep secret even the existence of the request for records.
Assistant Attorney General William Moschella told Congress last month that 9,254 National Security Letters were issued in 2005 involving 3,501 people.
Federal law enforcement sources say the National Security Letters are being used to obtain phone records of reporters at ABC News and elsewhere in an attempt to learn confidential sources who may have provided classified information in violation of the law.
The FBI says its request for reporters' phone records are made in compliance with the law."
Who is Brian Ross? He's the ABC News reporter that wrote back in January that Goss's pursuit of leakers was a "Witch Hunt".
In a part of that article he reports, "Goss told the Intelligence Committee that "on the external side, I've called in the FBI, the Department of Justice. It is my aim, and it is my hope, that we will witness a grand jury investigation with reporters present being asked to reveal who is leaking this information."
Now since Ross seems to have a source or two as he reported last Friday, that the Govenment was monitoring his and a colleague's cell phone
"A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.
"It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick," the source told us in an in-person conversation."
Ross may have a good reason to be paranoid. Sources have told me that he has been idenified in at least one investigation as a 'subject" of serveral unauthorized leaks of classified information. See here, and here.
Perhaps that "Senior official" was his source giving him a friendly "heads up?" before the hammer falls.
More to the point, these latest 'scoops' are deflections to throw off the dogs, yet notice that no one other MSM news outlet is coming to his aid, and no wonder - the press is running scared now - real scared.
Additionally, just for reference, Ross is a hack who consistently writes hit pieces on conservatives, which were later found to be unsubstantiated.
Back in Dec, 2005, Don Singleton called for this reference to Ross and Esposito's article on "Secret CIA prisons":
"A grand jury needs to be conviened, and Brian Ross and Richard Esposito need to be called to identify the current and former CIA officers who betrayed their country by revealing this information, and if they will not identify them, Brian Ross and Richard Esposito need to be jailed until they agree to reveal their sources. If they can do it to compel journalists to reveal who told them what as a part of a CIA Coup attempt against the Bush Administration, surely it can be done to ferret out traitors who reveal where top al Qaeda suspects are being held."
For whom the bell tolls...eh Brian and Richard?
I think Hastert has handled this miserably BUT the jump to "he has something to hide" rather than just plain old "turf protection" between government branches is becoming the norm on FreeRepublic.
Hastert and Pelosi made a joint letter declaiming the search at Congress, not Jefferson's home.
They set forth some legal reasonings. I think there must be something to them, even Pelosi signed supported Jefferson on that one while she was trying to get rid of him on committees.
Jefferson is a crook so politically it's a hard position to take.
Hastert did write a letter against an Indian casino after taking money from Abramoff related people. One of his aides defended him saying he always opposes new Indian casinos. It's like Senator Reid's defense of writing similar letters after taking money from Abramoff. He said he often opposes Indian casinos. Indeed that's a requirement for a Nevada politician. For Hastert I don't know the reason, maybe anti-gaming.
At least those are their stories.
Fake but accurate!
That is all about protecting turf...Who has the power? The 3 branches of government jealously guard their power.
I did not like Hastert's stance either..
Yep. This was a pure smokescreen. ABC thought they could trot out the old "unnamed sources" ruse, and it would eclipse the Jefferson scandal, becoming tomorrow's headline and shoving the other story to page 18B.
Then the real, bonafide FBI called to refute it, and they had NO CHOICE but to report it.
I'm sure they swallowed hard, and are probably in mourning right now.
The ABC radio news guy was in the middle of salivating over the Hastert story, when he was interrupted with a "correction."
I think I heard his head explode right before he went off the air.
I don't care whether or not Hastert is part of this investigation or not!! WHAT he said yesterday against the FBI and pro William Jefferson was UNCALLED FOR and needs to be STOOD up against by concerned citizens PERIOD!!! I am getting tired of protecting the Republicans that are Demos in sheeps clothing!!
Unidentified sources challenging unidentified sources. Who really cares about this insanity anymore? It's just too damn much to be assaulted by this day after day.
Brian Ross's history and legal troubles posted on #48.
Yup, once again!
Oy Vey..LMAO!
HA! Sweeet. I wish I'd heard that. And Drudge still has the original "Under Investigation" headline up, so I'm sure many libs are wetting themselves, only to have their hopes dashed again.
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