Congressman Tom DeLay cannot be a happy man right now. First, District Attorney Ronnie Earle got him mired in "inconsequential" issues of money laundering and campaign finance transgressions in Texas, which the Hammer pretends to shrug off as mere "partisan" politics. But now that the other big shoe has landed with a deafening thud in Washington, we haven’t heard much from the sharp tongued Congressman from my district of Sugar Land, Texas. Jack Abramoff, the uber – lobbyist, whose motto was to steal from citizens to give to himself and legislators, has decided to plead guilty to "fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a deal that requires him to provide evidence about members of Congress." Several Republican and a couple of Democratic congressmen are implicated in this Byzantine scandal of astounding corruption, greed and abuse of power. The big cahuna among the recipients of Abramoff’s largesse is DeLay. Michael Scanlon (who is expected to sing like a canary) and Tony Rudy, two men intimately involved with the dirty dealings of Abramoff, were both previously working as top aides to Delay. They are widely suspected to have been the conduit between Abramoff’s firm and the hallowed lobbies of the US Congress and specifically, to DeLay.
"The plea deal could have enormous legal and political consequences for the lawmakers on whom Abramoff lavished luxury trips, skybox fundraisers, campaign contributions, jobs for their spouses, and meals at Signatures, the lobbyist’s upscale restaurant……..
Another person under scrutiny, sources said, is DeLay, who is facing separate campaign finance charges in his home state of Texas.
"Tom DeLay is not concerned that Mr. Abramoff is cooperating," said Richard Cullen, his attorney. "He urges everyone involved to cooperate in the investigation and to tell the truth." Cullen had no comment on allegations involving former DeLay aides Rudy and Scanlon.
Among the trips under scrutiny is a golf excursion to Scotland that DeLay and aides took with Abramoff in 2000. DeLay has taken three overseas trips with Abramoff since 1997 — to the Mariana Islands, Russia and Scotland — and received more than $70,000 from Abramoff, his associates and tribal clients for his campaign committees.
Investigating DeLay could take up to a year and require the cooperation of other witnesses before issues surrounding the Texas Republican are resolved, according to people familiar with the case…"
There is nothing more predictable than falling out among thieves – when the going gets tough, the corrupt get to saving their own backsides. The fact that Abramoff was dressed in a spiffy but sinister Godfather like outfit for his guilty plea appearance before the judge, may have been a signal to his erstwhile clients that he was taking them down the same slippery slope that he finds himself on. We have seen the movie … I can’t wait for the real life drama!
Accidental Blogger 