Abramoff Investigation Like Peeling An Onion

The more that is peeled of this onion known as Abramoff, the more the levels of corruption in the Republican Party are found. Reuters is reporting The U.S. Justice Department's probe of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff is broader than previously thought, examining his dealings with four lawmakers, former and current congressional aides and two former Bush administration officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Prosecutors in the department's public integrity and fraud divisions are looking into Abramoff's dealings with four Republicans -- former House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, Rep. John Doolittle of California and Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, the paper said, citing several people close to the investigation. Not only are these members of Congress being investigated, but also at least 17 current and former congressional aides, about half of whom later took lobbying jobs with Abramoff, as well as an official from the Interior Department and another from the government's procurement office, the Journal said. Of course DeLay claims it is all a political witch hunt by a rouge Democratic prosecutor, and Ney claims it is all just a misunderstanding, and he's just a victim and a dupe of the workings of Abramoff and Scanlon (who plead guilty to conspiracy charges and is cooperating with prosecutors). The dubious web of deceit and corruption the Republicans have constructed to line their own pockets at the expense of the American people, is becoming unraveled, and none too soon. If there is any justice in the world, the '06 election cycle will allow the Democrats to finally rest control of at least one, and possibly both houses of Congress.