Already diaried? If so, let me know and I'll delete.
The Republican culture of corruption in all it's sleaze and unadulterated slime is on full display today. The Bush Justice Department, the REPUBLICAN Justice Department, has been caught right in the middle of the lobbyist pay-for-play scandal.
Robert E. Coughlin II, the former deputy chief of staff of the Justice Department's criminal division, pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of violating the federal conflict-of-interest statute while he served in the department's offices of legislative affairs and public liaison between March 2001 and October 2003.
Citing personal reasons, Coughlin resigned on April 6, 2007. He is one of more than a dozen people -- including a congressmen, lobbyists, Capitol Hill staff members and executive branch officials -- who have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the wide-ranging lobbying scandal. The federal investigation is continuing.
Coughlin, 36, admitted that he leaked inside Justice Department information, attended meetings and contacted officials as part of his efforts to help Abramoff, his firm, Greenberg Traurig and in particularly one of Abramoff's key lobbying colleagues, Kevin A. Ring.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/...