Boy, give Republicans the run of the house, and what do they do with it? These are all snippets from various media outlets:
Three months after a controversial floor vote propelled Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) into the national spotlight, FBI agents are looking into alleged attempts to sway the Michigan Republican during a tense Nov. 22 showdown on Medicare reform, according to sources.
Smith declined to comment on whether he has had discussions with the FBI, and it is unclear if agents have actually interviewed him yet. But sources said Smith has indicated he will not seek protection under the Speech or Debate Clause, which restricts lawmakers from being questioned about legislative activity. (Source: Roll Call)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is launching an investigation into why four American Indian tribes spent at least $45 million on lobbying and public relations in just three years for one of Washington's most influential lobbyists and a former top staffer to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). (Source:
Roll Call,
Washington Post)
When Dick Armey was House Majority Leader, he was known for saying whatever was on his mind. In the 13 months since he left Congress, the Texas Republican's outspokenness has continued to draw attention and, increasingly, the wrath of his former colleagues in the GOP leadership.
Armey, who now splits his time between the conservative group Citizens for a Sound Economy and the law and lobbying firm Piper Rudnick, has in recent months loudly criticized the current House GOP majority for its alleged free-spending ways.
Armey's comments have angered Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and other top Republicans, prompting some of them to look for ways to retaliate or, at the very least, portray him as a hypocrite.
"We have started looking very hard at all of Piper Rudnick's earmarks," said a House Republican leadership aide. (Source: Roll Call)
Speaking Monday at his annual town hall meeting in Shelby County, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby attacked the court system of the United States. He said that life was pretty good before the Warren court.
Does Shelby believe in segregation? Does he believe in Jim Crow?
If he thinks life was "pretty good" before the U.S. Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice Earl Warren, he must. (Source: Birmingham News)
In 2002, the GOP won a majority in the Texas Legislature, and Craddick got his prize: He was elected speaker.
Now, prosecutors want to know whether the $152,000 in payments amounted to influence-buying, and whether DeLay's PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority, was used to violate campaign finance law in other ways as well.
District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat, has been conducting a grand jury investigation and has issued dozens of subpoenas in recent months. (Source: Associated Press)
Colorado Democrats and a congressional watchdog group on Sunday called for a federal criminal investigation into allegations that Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell's former top aide got a kickback from an employee.
They said that Campbell's decision to refer the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee is insufficient because the allegation is potentially criminal, not just unethical. (Source: Denver Post)
A House Democrat has called for the criminal indictment of two former aides to Sen. Orrin Hatch for raiding Democratic files through a computer used both by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said, "Stealing from a box is wrong, even if you have the combination" -- and said the raiding of Democratic files was not much different than Republicans who burglarized Democratic headquarters in the 1972 Watergate scandal. (Source: Desert News (UT))
It's been a busy February for GOP malfeasance. And I'm sure I've left plenty out.