There's a political story today that could be even bigger than the ongoing Swift Murtha bilge flowing from the GOP. I searched, found
one diary on this (9 comments, now gone), but this is really a huge, HUGE deal. I'm not exagerrating when I say the entire structure of GOP political control in DC could be in peril today.
Abramoff associate and former Delay aide Michael Scanlon has flipped and agreed to testify in any future criminal matter relating to Abramoff. ANY. The implications are enormous.
More below the fold ...
From the
Post:
Michael Scanlon, a former top congressional aide who became a partner of high-flying lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was charged today with conspiracy to bribe government officials and cheat Indian tribes out of millions of dollars.
{...}
The charge was detailed in a court document known as a "criminal information" -- a process that often precedes a plea-bargain arrangement with a cooperating witness. Officials familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Scanlon has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate in the ongoing bribery and public corruption investigation of Abramoff, members of Congress and executive branch officials
And Josh quotes Roll Call reporting:
Michael Scanlon has agreed to testify against one-time business partner Jack Abramoff in any future criminal case involving the ex-lobbying superstar.
The Justice Department has filed a "criminal information" document in federal court related to Scanlon, and there will be a hearing before a federal judge Monday afternoon.
At that time, Scanlon is expected to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy. Scanlon, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), would then testify against Abramoff and anyone else indicted in the case, according to Justice Department sources.
Just read that last sentence: anyone else indicted in the case. For those of us who've followed the incrediby broad web Abramoff spun, that rings huge alarm bells. Ney (the subject of the immediate indictment) is only the beginning. Delay, Bush, Cheney, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed ... the potential targets of this probe read like a Who's Who of GOP power brokers. And now a man at the very center of this network has flipped and agreed to testify against any of them who get caught up in this investigation.
This has the potential for blowing up DC.
update: MamaBear below points to Salon which has the story from the War Room leading the website right now. They end with:
But Abramoff and Scanlon aren't likely to be the only ones who take a fall. The Justice Department filing charges that Scanlon did "knowingly conspire, confederate and agree with Lobbyist A [Abramoff]" to "corruptly offer and provide things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts benefitting Scanlon, Lobbyist A, and their clients."
Note the plural with respect to "federal public officials." One member of the House of Representatives, widely believed to be Robert Ney, an Ohio Republican, is specifically singled out in the filing, though only under the pseudonym "Representative #1." Ney is known to have attended the infamous golf trip to Scotland in 2002 that was paid for by Abramoff. But Abramoff's net spread very, very wide. As legislators prepare to split town for Thanksgiving, one wonders how many of them are going to have a happy holiday.
Heh. Indeed.