Editorial: More misbehavior from Republicans

Wednesday, April 25, 2007  

"The FBI raided two Republican Congressmen earlier this month, and we can't muster much sympathy. Their misbehavior is the residue of the GOP's lost, arrogant Congressional majority, which allowed its principles to atrophy. If the Republicans hope to retake Congress in 2008, they'd do well to eliminate the habits that created these scandals in the first place.

On April 13, the FBI raided the North Virginia home of California Representative John Doolittle as part of its investigation into lobbyist/felon Jack Abramoff. Mr. Doolittle's wife, Julie, received tens of thousands of dollars in payments from Mr. Abramoff for consulting work that remains "undefined." Mr. Doolittle subsequently petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs on behalf of an Iowa tribe, one of Mr. Abramoff's clients, that was seeking a federal go-ahead for a casino. Mr. Doolittle is also under investigation for helping to steer millions of dollars in military funding to -- and accepting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from -- a defense contractor implicated in the Duke Cunningham bribery imbroglio.

In a separate case, the FBI searched the family business of Rick Renzi, looking into allegations that the Arizona Representative profited from a federal land swap. As a quid pro quo for his support for the deal, Mr. Renzi allegedly insisted that a mining company buy a 480-acre alfalfa field owned by a former business partner, and may have received kickbacks in return.

Neither Congressman is yet under indictment, and both deny any wrongdoing. If they eventually are charged, they'll be innocent until proven guilty, like anybody else. Still, the FBI does not conduct raids against sitting Members of Congress without probable cause."

Get the Story:
Review & Outlook: Republican Residue (The Wall Street Journal 4/25)

Senate Finance Committee Democratic Report:
Text Only | Response to Democratic Staff | Investigation of Jack Abramoff's Use of Tax-Exempt Organizations (October 12, 2006) Note: 18.3MB file may be slow to load.

Senate Finance Committee Materials:
Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy | Americans for Tax Reform | National Center for Public Policy Research | Citizens Against Government Waste | Toward Tradition | News Article Clippings

House Government Reform Committee Documents:
Report | Billing Records Spreadsheet | Attachment 1 | Attachment 2 | Press Release

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Abramoff Report:
'GIMME FIVE' INVESTIGATION OF TRIBAL LOBBYING MATTERS (June 2006)

Exhibits:
Pre-2001 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Undated | Finance

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