Posted on 01/02/2008 8:58:21 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Conrad Burns is no longer part of a federal investigation of jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Burns, R-Mont., narrowly lost re-election to a fourth term in 2006 after Democrats made his relationship with Abramoff a central issue. Abramoff is the key figure in a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and officials in the Bush administration.
Burns said in a statement that he "never doubted that the baseless and politically motivated charges leveled against me would be found to be without merit."
"My family has paid a great price during this three-year period and we are thankful it is now over," he said.
Ralph Caccia, who has represented Burns in the political corruption probe, said the Justice Department had notified him of Burns' status in the investigation. Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr confirmed that Burns was no longer part of it.
Abramoff's sentencing in the Capitol Hill influence peddling case has repeatedly been delayed because he is helping prosecutors. He is serving prison time for an unrelated fraudulent casino deal.
Burns had accepted about $150,000 in contributions from Abramoff, his clients and associates. He later gave that money away after Democrats criticized his connections to the lobbyist.
Some of Burns' staff also had connections to Abramoff. His former chief of staff, Will Brooke, left Burns' office to work for the lobbyist's firm after taking a trip to the 2001 Super Bowl in Abramoff's jet. Another employee worked for Abramoff before and after he worked for Burns' Senate office.
In the statement, Burns said he made nearly 10 years of records from his Senate office available to the government for review, including all electronic records. He said he was never interviewed as part of the investigation.
Burns works for Gage, a lobbying firm founded by his former chief of staff Leo A. Giacometto.
So just where the hell does Conrad go to get his reputation back?
War is Hell.
Never mind.
We’re still stuck with Jon Tester, the Baucus/Schweitzer wannabee the lib PACs paid for. So far, he’s an unbroken voting record of the usual schlock, posturing and preening for a spot on the fence. Burns had a bunch of loonies mad at him for shooting from the hip, but he was and is an honest man who did a lot of good. I work for the state of Montana, among the Liberalissimos, and it has not been a happy transition.
He was accused by Dhims so, of course, he’s guilty.
One the other hand, Sen. Reid (D-NV), lobbied for Abramoff to prevent an Indian Casino on the gulf coast which would have cut into Reid’s “clients” profits next door....
oh well, damned ndn’s shouldn’t have trusted that ‘white man’ either :D, .... or, Reid’s just another unindicted DhimoRAT Pol who’ll git his in this life.
The DNC and MSM colluded to paint a picture of a Republican “Culture of Corruption” that resulted in a Democrat takeover of Congress in the 2006 elections.
The charges have proven to be without merit. They hounded Delay and Frist out of office and tanked others re-election bids.
The media acted as if they were shocked by the queer antics of Mark Foley but the DNC and MSM knew more earlier (and it was a Democrat staffer who corresponded and saved the IMs) but they used it to attack the GOP leadership for “knowing (some of the details) and doing nothing” (the media and DNC sat on the matter themselves until they could spring it as an October surprise).
The truth of the matter in these cases (Foley was not molesting aides as was orginally suggested) matters not.
And the Democrat partisan witchhunts will continue. But unlike McCarthyism, Nifongism will never appear in high school text books. Neither will the modern era’s yellow journalism.
The Socialist lies must be refuted. And those who make false allegations as prosecutors should themselves be put on trial and sent to prison for abuse of power.
Second that. I went to HS with myron nordquist, his personal attorney. I still grieve over Conrad’s losing by 1729 votes out of 250,000 cast. So, the surge worked and yet we still got schumer’s b*** kisser, but the day of reckoning is coming. And it will be poetic justice if BS gets the same bum’s rush he gave Judy during her farewell speech.
The prosecution of Nifong for his own criminal activities in abusing the power powers of his office are indeed a rarity.
Too often they walk away and history “forgets” the outcome of the scandals.
Me too! I was furious when I saw the headline on the IR today. Not that there was no wrong doing just the investigation done! Of course after that they had the usual 10 min clip about Tester saying nothing!
Just makes you sick. Burns was right all along.
“It’s always somethin!”
Burns ought to sue the media and John Tester for slander.
The question is should John Dolittle, Don Young, and Ted Stevens be given the benefit of the doub?
“The question is should John Dolittle, Don Young, and Ted Stevens be given the benefit of the doubt?”
Burns ought to run against Baucus if for no other reason to shame the Dems for slandering him. Besides, I don’t think we found a top-tier candidate to take on Baucus, anyway.
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