Yesterday, Neil Volz (aide to Rep. Ney-turned-Abramoff-associate), pled guilty to conspiracy charges for his involvement with the ongoing Jack Abramoff scandal. Today, the
WaPo reported:
Volz, who has been talking to prosecutors for three months, is providing information on other lawmakers and staff, according to a source close to the ongoing investigation.
The following is speculation, but there's a distinct possibility that Volz has inside knowledge of a quid-pro-quo deal with Speaker Hastert and other Republicans.
The thing that makes Volz's plea so potentially harmful is his ties not just to Ney but other Congressional Republicans. Volz used his connections after leaving Ney's office to work alongside Abramoff and influence members of Congress, using the same tactics which Abramoff found so rewarding.
One such instance was reported by John Byrne of RawStory last year:
[Todd] Boulanger proposes that Blunt, DeLay and Hastert sign the letter [to the Interior Department's Gail Norton]. According to the Post, the missive is circulated by e-mail to Abramoff and "others on the team."
On June third, Hastert's political action committee holds a $1,500-a-plate lunch at Signatures at which Hastert is the featured speaker. Abramoff and two other members of his staff may have been in attendance, as Hastert's PAC records contributions of $6,250 from the lobbyist and six other members of his firm (Todd Boulanger, Duane Gibson, Kevin Ring, Shawn Vasell, Neil Volz and Padgett Wilson) shortly thereafter-including a $500 contribution from Boulanger.
Seven days later, Blunt, Cantor, DeLay and Hastert sign the unprecedented Jun. 10 letter to the Interior Department. The letter goes out on Speaker Hastert's stationery.
Hastert's political action committee process checks from Abramoff and his six colleagues on Jun. 16 totaling $6,250. The checks could have been cut during Hastert's PAC fundraiser on the third, or at another his fundraiser the evening of the tenth, or on any other day prior to the sixteenth.
If this is the case and Volz is dishing on these meetings, we'll likely see confirmation by way of future guilty pleas of the other five Abramoff associates listed--Todd Boulanger, Duane Gibson, Kevin Ring, Shawn Vasell, and Padgett Wilson. We should also keep in mind that the criminal information filings are never exhaustive accounts of what investigators have gleaned from the defendant. As the WaPo noted, Volz is disclosing much more than what was listed in yesterday's news.