Glass Houses

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How could anyone but the batty Pelosi and her ilk not have seen this coming?

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s office says a U.S. territorial government was supposed to pay for travel by two of his staff aides to the Pacific island. Two Democratic congressmen filed disclosure forms saying a nonprofit group paid their expenses to the same place.

They all were at least partially wrong, according to lobbying firm records obtained by The Associated Press. The expenses were paid initially by lobbyist Jack Abramoff or his former firm, despite House rules prohibiting lobbyists from paying for the travel of lawmakers or their aides.

It’s not clear to this day whether the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands partially or fully reimbursed Abramoff or the Preston Gates law and lobbying firm that hired him. The nonprofit group says it never paid a dime.

Abramoff and Preston Gates represented the Pacific island government. One priority was to persuade Congress to block Clinton administration efforts to regulate alleged “sweatshop” garment factories. The rules never were enacted.

The records state Preston Gates paid hotel and airfare for Thompson and Clyburn.

Clyburn said in an interview he had never heard of Abramoff at the time, and provided a copy of a letter showing he was invited by the nonprofit foundation. “That’s all I know about it,” he said. Thompson did not return several calls seeking comment.

The Preston Gates billing documents also included a hotel bill for DeLay’s chief of staff in 1996, Ed Buckham, and travel upgrades for Buckham and another DeLay aide at the time, Tony Rudy. DeLay was then majority whip, the third-ranking House Republican.

Who woulda thunk it?

While it looks like some of Delays aides got caught up in this mix, the two Democrat’s are implicated directly….what a pity.

How these idiots could not have known that this would bite them in the ass is beyond me. Did the Democrats believe that none of their members did the same thing? I would bet the majority have, and you can count on some skeletons in Pelosi’s and Boxer’s closet in regards to this.

As The Captain said:

No wonder DeLay wanted the ethics probe to continue. At this rate, he may well neutralize ten or twenty representatives on the other side of the aisle before anyone lays a glove on him.

Check out Michelle Malkin, The Loudest Cricket, Generation Why, & Eclipse Ramblings for more