Hastert A Target In Bribery Probe?
That’s what ABC’s Brian Ross says:
Federal officials say the Congressional bribery investigation now includes Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, based on information from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with other tribes.
The other tribes were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff who reportedly has provided details of his dealings with Hastert as part of his plea agreement with the government.
The letter was written shortly after a fund-raiser for Hastert at a restaurant owned by Abramoff. Abramoff and his clients contributed more than $26,000 at the time.
The day Abramoff was indicted, Hastert denied any unlawful connection and said he would donate to charity any campaign contribution he had received from Abramoff and his clients.
If true, that’s bad news for Republicans – not because Hastert has been any great leader (it’s my belief that he has not), but because it will revive the Democratic ‘culture of corruption’ talking point that had just about died out, particularly in the face of the charges against Representative Jefferson of Louisiana…
But only if Reuters is wrong:
“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday denied a report that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI in connection with a corruption probe….
… department officials, who asked to not be identified, said the story was not accurate and that Hastert was not under investigation. “The story is wrong. Hastert is not under investigation,” one official said.”
[...] Last night, I linked to an ABC News story that claimed that Dennis Hastert was under investigation in the bribery probe involving Jack Abramoff. Hastert is now demanding a full retraction: House Speaker Dennis Hastert is demanding a “full retraction” of an ABC News report that he is being investigated in connection with the Jack Abramoff corruption probe. [...]