DeLay Aid Pleads Guilty

It looks like Hot Tub Tom better get ready to fall. ABC News tells us that in turn for a guilty plea for conspiracy, Michael Scanlon will cooperate into the investigation of attempts to defraud Indian tribes and corrupt a member of Congress. The charge was in a criminal information filed Friday accusing Scanlon of conspiring with Abramoff to defraud Indian tribes and engage in a corrupt scheme that lavished trips, sports tickets and campaign donations on a member of Congress, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio. I can just about guarantee you there are House members on both sides of the aisle that are getting nervous over this development. DeLay is among those facing scrutiny for his associations with Abramoff, including a trip to Scotland and use of Abramoff's skybox at a Washington sports arena. Abramoff's lobbying network stretched far into the halls of Congress. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show nearly three dozen lawmakers helping to block an American Indian casino in Louisiana while collecting large donations from the lobbyist and his tribal clients. Among the documents were private e-mails, released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, in which Abramoff said he had persuaded Ney to attach language to an election reform bill to help an American Indian tribe in Texas reopen a closed casino. Abramoff directed a Texas tribe, the Tiguas, to donate to Ney's re-election campaign and PAC by e-mail. Abramoff and Scanlon were paid more than $80 million between 2001 and 2004 by six American Indian tribes with casinos. Bloomberg goes into greater detail, saying His testimony would ratchet up the pressure on Abramoff and aid prosecutors in widening the investigation to members of Congress, such as Republicans DeLay and Representative Robert Ney of Ohio. ----- Beyond the potential legal concerns, Scanlon's cooperation with authorities may spell political jeopardy for Republicans leading into next year's elections, especially if he helps draw other lawmakers into the investigation. "He knows where all the bodies are buried," said a congressional aide who worked with Scanlon. Regardless of who is found to be involved in this, even if they are Democrats, I hope they are hit and hit damn hard. It's time to clean up the corruption brought to Congress by lobbyists and special interest groups.