Posted on 06/02/2008 7:46:11 PM PDT by SSS Two
The chief of staff to a former senior member of the House Appropriations Committee pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to commit fraud, becoming the latest casualty of the scandal centered on disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
John C. Albaugh admitted to accepting gifts -- including tickets to sporting events, concerts by groups such as the Wiggles and a Disney on Ice show -- in exchange for helping lobbyists and their clients, according to prosecutors.
Albaugh is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He faces as much as two years in prison and has agreed to become a cooperating witness under an agreement with the Justice Department.
He is the latest former official caught in the investigation of Abramoff and his illicit dealings with some members of Congress and Bush administration officials. Fourteen lobbyists and public officials have either pleaded guilty to, or been convicted of, charges as a result of the investigation into Abramoff's activities, the Justice Department said yesterday...
Albaugh was chief of staff for then-Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), who was once chairman of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee and, according to sources, is the person identified as "Representative 4" in court documents related to Albaugh's case. In a statement, Istook said he was "as surprised and as shocked as anyone."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Representative #1 - Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio)
Representative #2 - Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.)
Representative #3 - Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla)
folks wonder why the gop has problems,
well, here we are.
remember vietnam flying ace randy puke cunningham?
he was my u.s. congressman and i voted for him.
@sshole.
“We ignored the $90,000 in his freezer. That’s just not significant compared to tickets to see the Wiggles,” said an unnamed prosecutor.
A good deal of the money was laundered through pan-Islamist Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, so the Indians could get a tax deduction and Abramoff's and his co-conspirator's expenditures would be shielded from lobbying disclosure laws and from the Indian tribes. (Norquist took his cut for providing the laundry service, and American taxpayers took a bath for giving the tax deduction.)
More here: http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/06/hannitized_sean.html#comments
Time for more indictments?
----
Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com
This is no time for sarcasm. Besides, Rep. Jefferson has been indicted
This is not a witchhunt. This is a guilty plea, not a baseless indictment.
Isn't it obvious that the Justice Department is building a case against former Rep. Istook? If you had read the whole thing you would have learned that Albaugh directed more than $4 million from the US Treasury to Abramoff's clients and Istook condoned this behavior.
Corruption is serious and Republicans need to take it seriously.
I should have labeled it sarcasm. Sorry for the confusion.
No question about it.
But "according to sources" Istook is guilty.
I have seen so many "news" articles by MSM employees that are little more than (hopeful) conjecture. Ms Plame comes to mind and, I'd have to refresh my memory for specifics, it was rampant during the Watergate MSM furor where literally the half-hour TV network "news" shows at times had no other news but Watergate speculation.
There are of course many contemporary examples -- but Watergate is the most egregious. IMO.
C’mon. Being named “Representative 4” by the Justice Department does not augur well for former Rep. Istook. Get serious.
Frankly I'd never heard of Istook's problems before this and was only vaguely aware of his Congressional experience. I have heard him on the radio filling in for Bill Bennett.
It's the MSM employees' shenanigans over the years to which I object. I'll wait and see if it's more of the same from them. (Please refer to my reply above.)
And how many Congress critters took and are on trial for taking contributions and favors from Abramoff?
And there's Abramoff interpreting Istook; to wit, "Istook 'basically asked what we want in the Transportation Bill.'" Really, Mr. Abramoff? Got proof?
And there's Abramoff interpreting Istook; to wit, "Istook 'basically asked what we want in the Transportation Bill.'" Really, Mr. Abramoff? Got proof?
Mr. Abramoff: "Yeah, I got proof. Ask John Albaugh."
Later ... in a Justice Department conference room ...
Career Prosecutor: "If we want to nail Rep. Istook and Kevin Ring, we need to get John Albaugh to roll."
June 2008 ... John Albaugh begins to roll.
Yes, and McCain provided cover for them in the investigation while he was authoring McCain-Feingold.
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