DeLay gone; Green's friend Ney next
So Tom DeLay is leaving Congress. Is it time yet for Rep. Mark Green to dispose of the $30,000 he took from DeLay's political action committee? One would think so.
Next to fall is probably Green's good buddy Bob Ney, the Ohio Republican who came to Milwaukee to hold a Green campaign rally thinly disguised as a hearing on voter fraud. Previous post: Mark Green's buddy Ney in deep trouble. He was in trouble then, but it's worse now. Read on:
Ex-DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty
Tony Rudy Could Have Sentence Reduced if He Cooperates With Prosecutors
By William Branigin and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 31, 2006
A former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) pleaded guilty to conspiracy today and promised to aid a wide-ranging federal investigation into corrupt lobbying practices.
Tony C. Rudy, who served as deputy chief of staff to DeLay, the former House majority leader, before joining the lobbying team of Jack Abramoff, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Washington as part of a deal in which prosecutors agreed not pursue other possible charges against him or his wife, who had received payments arranged by Abramoff. Rudy had faced charges of conspiracy to corrupt public officials and defraud clients, as well as violating a one-year lobbying ban for former government employees, according to a criminal information filed today.
The guilty plea and agreement to cooperate brought the probe closer to DeLay, who stepped down as majority leader last year when he was indicted in a separate case in Texas involving the alleged laundering of political contributions to state legislative candidates...
Rudy will provide key corroborating information regarding the case prosecutors are building against Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who was taken by Abramoff on a lavish trip to Scotland in 2002. Rudy admitted to prosecutors that he offered Ney the junket, telling Ney's chief of staff by e-mail on May 24, 2002, that the trip would involve golf, "drinking and smoking cubans."
Rudy, 39, entered his plea two days after Abramoff was sentenced in Miami to five years and 10 months in prison for his role in the fraudulent purchase of a fleet of casino cruise ships. In another case, Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. The plea deal in that case required him to provide evidence about members of Congress, congressional staffers, other lobbyists and employees of the Interior Department and other federal agencies.
posted by xoff @ 6:07 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Hey Bill, do we know how Mark Green voted on the so-called Delay Rule to let indicted felons keep their seats pending trial? I haven't been able to track down his vote on that.
In November 2004, in a closed-door vote, House Republicans voted for a rule change that would allow DeLay to keep his leadership position in the Republican Party if he was indicted on felony charges. The previous rule would have automatically removed DeLay from the post, but the new rule would allow a committee to review the charge and make a
recommendation to the House Republicans who would then vote. (Milwaukee Journal sentinel, “Washington Notebook,” December 12, 2004)
Although the vote was conducted behind closed doors and voting records were not made public, Green’s spokesperson said Green voted for the change. Green’s press secretary said:
“The previous rule handed a gun to every district attorney across the country who might have a political interest in disrupting the House leadership.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 12, 2004)
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