Investigations and Politics,
Politics and Investigations
By JOSEPH SCHUMAN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
Scrutiny of Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department leadership may mark the most high-profile inquiry into Bush administration business, but it is just the tip of an investigatory iceberg that -- to mix metaphors -- is starting to heat up.
The latest revelation concerns Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, who temporarily stepped down from the Resources and Financial Services Committees yesterday. This follows his decision to quit the House Intelligence Committee last week in the wake of an FBI raid on his office back in Arizona. People close to the case tell The Wall Street Journal that ahead of last November's election, federal investigators faced unexpected obstacles when trying to get Justice Department approvals for search warrants and subpoenas in the corruption probe of Mr. Renzi. Those delays postponed these approvals until after the election, and the Journal says they "raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations." Among the eight U.S. attorneys fired last fall was the one in Arizona overseeing the case, Paul Charlton. A Justice Department spokesman denies there was any intentional delay in the Renzi case.
Mr. Renzi tells The Hill he was considering the prospect of resigning, but he left the announcement about his committee resignations to Minority Leader Boehner, who, the Hill notes, was "blindsided" last week by investigations into another member of his caucus. Rep. John Doolittle told Mr. Boehner he was leaving the Appropriations Committee, but it was "five days after the fact" that Mr. Boehner learned reporters were examining an FBI raid on Mr. Doolittle's home, sources tell The Hill. Mr. Renzi is the subject of a criminal inquiry into land deals, the Journal says, while Mr. Doolittle and his wife have been tied to the convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
They are among several congressional Republicans and aides snared in what The Hill notes are "widening scandals," including several who lost reelection bids when the House changed hands last fall. Today, three now-Democratically led congressional committees will look at issuing subpoenas for half a dozen senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ex-White House chief of staff Andrew Card, the Washington Post reports: To Republicans the inquiries are a "witch hunt," to Democrats they are a "return to their constitutional role of executive-branch oversight."
Back in the executive branch, the latest investigation confronting the White House comes from within the administration. The Office of Special Counsel is setting up a task force to examine whether Mr. Gonzales, White House political czar Karl Rove or other officials violated the Hatch Act, the 68-year-old law aimed at protecting federal funds and employees from the demands of partisan politics. Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch -- appointed by President Bush -- said the agency will examine whether federal resources or nominally nonpolitical officials were improperly harnessed to help Republicans, and that it will also look into complaints about whether politics played a role in the firing of David Iglesias, the former U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, the Post reports. Mr. Bloch himself is currently under investigation, by the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general, the New York Times adds. He, too, is being accused by employees of politicizing his agency.
From an email
And then this from the rW rag
April 25, 2007
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Republican Residue
April 25, 2007; Page A14
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.
To their credit, John Boehner and the House GOP leadership acted decisively: Messrs. Doolittle and Renzi resigned from their prominent committee posts at Appropriations and Intelligence, respectively, at least until the matters are resolved. The move was a promising sign that the Republicans are serious about changing their ways. But we wonder why similar pressure wasn't exerted against others suspected of ethical transgressions.
Exhibit A is California Representative Jerry Lewis. Despite a federal probe into allegations that Mr. Lewis directed hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarked funds to his friends and political allies, he was nonetheless reappointed to Appropriations as Ranking Member. Given the earmarking scandals, the GOP needs someone on that committee who is above suspicion and not involved in the "favor factory" culture.
Mr. Lewis's fellow California Republican Gary Miller also hasn't been properly disciplined by the House leadership. The FBI is investigating whether Mr. Miller failed to properly report several lucrative land deals, hence avoiding millions in taxes. Like Mr. Lewis, Mr. Miller's presence on the Financial Services Committee erodes the GOP's fiscal bona fides. He was the ringleader behind weakening rules to rein in Fannie Mae and create an "affordable housing" fund that devotes another $500 million per year to Congressional favors.
No doubt there are other instances of lax ethical enforcement, which is precisely the sort of passivity that cost the Republican majority in the last election. The GOP has the opportunity to reclaim the Congress next year, but this is a perishable fruit. It will rot fast if the party is still in thrall to the status quo ante.
URL for this article:
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