"Please bear with me while I briefly explain why I became interested in the subject of this report. Not long after I moved to Washington 16 years ago, I started to wonder how on earth so many people I knew lived such lavish lifestyles. Like many in middle-class DC, they were often lawyers who also had political links of some kind, but I was never sure exactly what they did. And it mystified me that their lifestyles never seemed to reflect what even highly successful lawyers earn: they would move into ever-bigger mansions, fly in private jets to St Barts for weekends, and so forth.

It took years before the penny dropped. This article is an attempt to explain why limitless money sloshes around Washington - and why, as a result, we are heading for one of the biggest political and financial scandals here in history. It is about how government itself is for sale and is selling more lucratively than ever under President George W Bush. People will start to go to prison as the scandal unfolds. Two Senate committees, four congressional subcommittees and no fewer than 12 separate FBI investigations are involved. Can you actually buy access to Bush? If so, what is the going rate? Please read on.

He kept - how can I put this without offending the lawyers? - well, actively in touch with the likes of DeLay. Before long he had spent several million dollars on a luxurious house in Re-hoboth Beach in Delaware, but because that is not within commuting distance of DC he also rented a $17,000-a-month suite at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Last month Scanlon was charged with conspiring to "corruptly offer and provide things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment, to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts". In a plea agreement in which he is already naming names to investigators - dozens of people from lowly apparatchiks to senior White House figures are quaking as a result - he has agreed to pay back (wait for this) $19.5m from the fortune he had amassed."

Get the Story:
Andrew Stephan: Pssst. How much to buy Washington? (The Statesman 12/8)

Meet the Press:
John McCain, Thomas Kean & Lee Hamilton (December 4, 2005)

November 17, 2005, Hearing:
Video | Exhibits

November 2, 2005, Hearing:
Video | Exhibits | Witness List / Testimony

June 22, 2005, Hearing:
Video | Exhibits 1 | Exhibits 2 | Witness List / Testimony

November 17, 2004 Hearing:
Video | Exhibits | Witness List / Testimony

September 29, 2004 Hearing:
Video | Exhibits | Witness List / Testimony

Relevant Links:
Native America Calling - http://www.nativeamericacalling.com

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