Time has a great intro to the ongoing Abramoff scandals, including new details on the prosecution's case, what Scanlon's plea means and what developments we can expect.
An investigation that began nearly two years ago into whether lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associate Michael Scanlon bilked six Indian tribes out of $80 million now looks as though it could touch dozens of lawmakers, their current and former staff members and Bush Administration officials....All of which is about the last thing the Republicans who control Congress wanted to hear as they move into what is an already hostile political climate for next year's midterm elections. "There's certainly a sense of foreboding among Republicans that this is the big one," says Charlie Cook, whose nonpartisan Cook Political Report tracks congressional elections. "This is the one that could really catch on."
More info after the jump.
With the web of corruption seeming to spread by the week,
dengre's suggestion of a special prosecutor looks like a better and better idea. Appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the entire web of lies...Abramoff, Scanlon, Ney, DeLay, Reed, Norquist, Federici. They're all tied to what could be the washing the streets of the rats who feed off the avarice and greed that has become K Street. If Dems were to call for an special prosecutor once Congress resumes it would be a brilliant, agressive strategic move on their part. Particularly in light of recent desperate GOP smears that Democrats were equally involved, a Dem. call for a special prosecutor would serve two functions:
- brings extra press and attention to the expanding scope of the Abramoff scandals
- shows that Dem. officials have nothing to hide in their alleged involvement with Abramoff over the years
While we learned last week that Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is in the Justice Department's cross-hairs, Stephen Braga, Scanlon's attorney, suggests that there's much that his client's plea left out:
"The government's investigation is much broader--and Mr. Scanlon's cooperation in that investigation is much more extensive--than [the facts] recited in the plea-agreement papers." Adding to lawmakers' concerns is that federal authorities may be lowering the bar for corruption cases from earlier scandals in which, typically, individuals blatantly handed politicians expensive gifts and cash. At a time when money is flowing into politics as never before, the Justice Department is suggesting that legally reported campaign contributions may constitute bribery if it can be proved that they were given in return for official actions.
The problem, as many have pointed out, is being able to prove that an explicit quid-quo-pro took place. That's no small order. Justice Department officials have tried, and failed, numerous times in the past to prosecute Congressional corruption. What past trials lacked, however, was explicit proof. DoJ investigators now have not only a deeply involved Abramoff associate in Scanlon, but Abramoff's detailed e-mails and also we learn:
...authorities have collected the daily "wrap-ups" that Abramoff required his assistants to provide, including notations of nearly every phone call and appointment, every favor asked and every payment delivered.
If these daily 'wrap-ups' are anywhere close to as detailed as Abramoff's e-mails, then bribery charges become much easier to bring about. That's what makes this case so potentially dangerous. Whereas in the past, investigators had hearsay evidence or record of a meeting without explicit proof, here we have explicit evidence from recorded notes / e-mails and from Abramoff's right-hand man, Michael Scanlon. That's what is making the GOP establishment shake. That's what is making many in and around K Street scared. If the corruption we all know exists inside the Beltway begins to be prosecuted to the fullest extent, then the landscape of how our legislative process is influenced changes. That's the long-term result that may come about after the Abramoff scandals have run their course. In the meantime, the American people wait and place faith in the Justice Department.