http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050714/pl_usnw/campaign_for_a_cleaner_congress__rove_tied_to_house_lobbying_scandal_through_former_aides106_xml
Rove tied to House Lobbying Scandal through Former Aides
Thu Jul 14
WASHINGTON, July 14 /U.S. Newswire/ --
Karl Rove's involvement in leaking the name of a CIA operative for
political advantage during wartime could be just the tip of the
iceberg as far as unethical behavior, since his web of influence
extends to the most notorious figure of the House Lobbying Scandal.
"It's widely known that Karl Rove has been pulling strings all over
Washington for years, obviously not just in the case of the Plame
leak," said Peter L. Kelley, manager of the Campaign for a Cleaner
Congress.
"What is not widely known, however, is his close connection with Jack
Abramoff, who is at the center of the lobbying scandal in which
Washington is now embroiled.
Rove let archconservative operatives like Grover Norquist call shots
at the White House.
And just this week, a Texas judge ruled that a former Rove lieutenant
must face felony charges of money laundering for Tom DeLay's political
operation.
"Without further ethics reforms, the public has virtually no ability
to find out what is really going on in Washington these days," Kelley
said.
"But what we do know is starting to smell, and it offers a starting
point for further investigation."
For sources on the following, and a 5-point plan to limit the
influence-peddling in Washington, see http://www.cleanercongress.org
-- When Rove got to the White House in 2001, he hired as his personal
assistant Susan Ralston, previously Abramoff's personal assistant.
Ralston has since become an insider's insider.
-- Norquist reportedly made a deal in which Ralston would take
messages for Rove at the White House, then call Norquist to tell her
whether she should put the caller through.
-- John Colyandro wrote direct mail pieces for Rove in the 1980s. When
he was hired as executive director of the Texans for a Republican
Majority PAC, he was described as a "longtime pal of Rove's." This
week, a judge said Colyandro must stand trial for laundering over
$600,000 in corporate campaign contributions.
"Could party leaders' abrupt about-face on the Plame case have
anything to do with the other ethics scandals that have been grabbing
headlines for months now?" said Kelley.
"It seems there are more than a few bad apples in this barrel, and
they don't like it that the public is starting to find out."
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Harry
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