REPRESENTATIVE #1 • Scanlon Plea | Attachment • US v. Scanlon

"To hear his spokesman tell it, Rep. Bob Ney is a dupe, but not a criminal. The Ohio Republican did favors for disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his business partner Michael Scanlon, but they were nothing more than "official actions" taken in the course of a "normal, appropriate government process" involving no "improper influence."

"Any allegation that Representative Ney did anything illegal or improper is false," announced Ney's spokesman, Brian Walsh, on Monday, in one of the many recent releases to reporters. "It appears, unfortunately, that Representative Ney was one of the many people defrauded."

That's the cover story, at least. A quick look at the Congressional Record, however, suggests the truth is a bit more damning. In fact, the betting money in Washington sees Ney, who is known by colleagues as "the mayor of Capitol Hill," as a pol whose days are now numbered. He may not be the only Republican in Congress to lose his job as a result of the Abramoff investigation, but he is likely to be first in line if congressional indictments come down. "If Bob Ney is not nailed to the wall here, given everything we know right now, it will be quite a surprise," says Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute."

Get the Story:
Is the end near for Ney? (Salon 11/22)
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Relevant Links:
Rep. Bob Ney - http://ney.house.gov

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