Jim Clark, the chief of staff for former Governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in his role to shove tax incentives down Alaskans' throats that would have benefited one of his fat-cat cronies.
Are you as surprised as I am?
Prosecutors say the scheme had two main goals: pushing through oil tax legislation VECO favored; and returning Murkowski to office for a second term as governor.
Murkowski, according to charging documents, was the only candidate for governor that supported an oil tax rate that VECO officials desired.
And to pull off the conspiracy, federal prosecutors claim VECO paid for re-election polls from two separate companies, one in state and the other Outside.
Hmmm. Well that didn't work out sao well, did it?
This is why Ted Stevens's seat is competitive. You haven't seen corrupt politics until you've seen Alaska Republican politics. And people are getting tired of it.
Finally.