by Nick on August 8, 2008
Elizabeth Edwards has released her statement over at Daily Kos:
Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.
John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.
The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.
John has spoken in a long on-camera interview I hope you watch. Admitting one’s mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time.
by Nick on August 8, 2008
John Edwards has admitted that he had an affair with Rielle Hunter. The National Enquirer has been claiming this story for almost a year now, despite the repeated denials from Edwards. Edwards still claims that he is not the father of Rielle Hunter’s daughter.
What’s really a shame, I think, is that this will distract from the election. The media loves scandals, so this will probably be the dominant story for the next week or so. Hopefully they will tire of it by the time the conventions come around so we can get back to the much more important task of choosing our next president.
by Nick on August 7, 2008
John McCain has a problem on his hands. His campaign manager Rick Davis was a well known, prominent lobbyist. McCain apparently thought that there wouldn’t be a problem having this lobbyist in charge of his campaign. Turns out he was wrong.
Rick Davis lobbied on behalf of the German owned shipping company DHL in its efforts to buy Airborne Express five years ago. Because of Davis’ fine work, the deal succeeded. Airborne Express is based in Wilmington, Ohio. But now DHL wants to move operations out of Ohio and to Kentucky, which will result in the loss of more than 8,000 jobs in Ohio.
So John McCain has quite the problem. The man responsible for more than 8,000 lost jobs in the most crucial of swing states is his campaign manager.
McCain is scrambling to address the problem:
In Wilmington on Thursday, McCain promised to hold congressional hearings and send a letter to the CEO of DHL’s parent company, Deutsche Post AG, asking him to meet with the affected workers.
“I’m deeply troubled by the specter of job loss confronting the town of Wilmington and this entire area, nine counties,” said McCain. “My concerns are being reinforced in my meeting today with those facing the most personal consequences.”
Jobs are a critical issue in economically-struggling Ohio, a swing state that awarded George W. Bush the 2004 election. Wilmington, located in the southwest part of the state, is traditionally a Republican stronghold.
Perhaps it won’t be such a “Republican stronghold” this year.
by Nick on July 30, 2008
ABC News points out that Congressman Don Young (R - AK) is under investigation for dealings with Veco, the same company that Senator Ted Stevens got in trouble for dealing with. Young has also been tied (though not charged) to Jack Abramoff; a former staffer plead guilty in relation to the Abramoff scandal.
The Alaska GOP is not looking so good these days.
by Nick on July 29, 2008
It’s not the crime that gets you, it’s the coverup. Looks like that holds true for Ted Stevens. The indictment is for seven counts of false statements.
Lesson: when you commit a crime, do not lie about it if telling that lie is breaking the law as well. Remember, “you have the right to remain silent.”
Here’s the press release from DOJ:
WASHINGTON – United States Senator Theodore F. Stevens of Alaska was charged today in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia with seven counts of making false statements related to Stevens’ financial disclosure forms, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced.
The seven-count indictment charges Sen. Stevens, the former chairperson of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, with engaging in a nearly eight-year scheme to conceal his receipt of more than $250,000 in things of value from VECO Corporation, formerly a multi-national oil services company based in Alaska, and Bill J. Allen, the Chief Executive Officer of VECO at the time. According to the indictment, Stevens concealed these things of value from his publicly filed United States Senate financial disclosure forms. The things of value that Stevens allegedly received included: substantial home improvements to property Stevens owns in Girdwood, Alaska; automobile exchanges in which Stevens received new vehicles worth far more than the used vehicles Stevens provided in exchange; and household goods. The indictment also alleges that Sen. Stevens, during the same time that he was concealing his continuing receipt of these things of value from VECO and Allen, received solicitations for official actions from Allen and other VECO employees, and that Sen. Stevens used his position and office on behalf of VECO during that same time period.
[click to continue...]
by Nick on July 29, 2008
From the NYTimes:
Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received. They arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project.
…
Republicans on Capitol Hill were already jittery over a lobbying and influence-peddling scandal related to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is now in prison. Mr. Stevens’s troubles are not linked to that affair. Instead, they stem from his ties to an oil executive whose company won millions of dollars in federal contracts with the help of Mr. Stevens, whose home in Alaska was almost doubled in size in the renovation project.
Just what the GOP needed, a reminder of how corrupt they are. This will hurt the Republicans far beyond Alaska. As if people needed another reason not to vote Republican this year…
by Nick on July 29, 2008
With Ted Stevens under indictment, things look good for Mark Begich. Kos has some information on how the race will be affected:
Update IIIby kos:
Adam B has found the relevant statute:
AS 15.25.110. Filling Vacancies By Party Petition.
If a candidate of a political party nominated at the primary election dies, withdraws, resigns, becomes disqualified from holding the office for which the candidate is nominated, or is certified as being incapacitated in the manner prescribed by this section after the primary election and 48 days or more before the general election, the vacancy may be filled by party petition. The central committee of any political party or any party district committee may certify as being incapacitated any candidate nominated by their respective party by presenting to the director a sworn statement made by a panel of three licensed physicians, not more than two of whom may be of the same political party, that the candidate is physically or mentally incapacitated to an extent that would in the panel’s judgment prevent the candidate from active service during the term of office if elected. The director shall place the name of the person nominated by party petition on the general election ballot. The name of a candidate disqualified under this section may not appear on the general election ballot.
In other words, the party can replace Stevens if he withdraws within 48 days of the general election. That would be sometime mid-September. Only problem for the GOP — they’ve got no one clean in the state. The Palin abuse-of-power scandal looms even larger today.
Update IV: The 48-days date is September 17. Now looking into whether Stevens can be replaced by his party without his consent. It seems that would be hard to impossible, but much depends on what state law and GOP party bylaws say. Note that no replacement can happen before the primary since there isn’t a nominee. In theory, one of Stevens’ primary opponents might win, but the anti-Stevens vote is split among 2-3 candidates, and none of them are high profile.
Obviously if Stevens stays in this race moves to Strong Democratic. Even with a Stevens withdrawal though I think Begich is highly likely to win this race now. Alaska is not a big state, and it seems pretty much every Republican there is tied to one scandal or another these days.
by Nick on July 29, 2008
Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has been indicted:
Sen. Ted Stevens from Alaska, the longest serving U.S. Republican senator ever, was indicted on seven counts related to his holding of public office, a federal law enforcement official said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Justice Department has scheduled a news conference for 1:20 p.m. to make an announcement “regarding a significant criminal matter.” The official said the news conference would announce the criminal charges against Stevens that have been returned by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C.
Plenty more on this to come.
by Nick on July 23, 2008
Posted By: Nick
Bob Novak hit a guy with his car in Washington this morning. He apparently didn’t even know he hit the guy:
“I didn’t know I hit him,” Novak told Politico. Novak said he was a block away from 18th and K St. NW, where the accident happened, when a bicyclist stopped him and said, “You hit someone.” He said he was cited for failing to yield the right of way.
Seriously? How do you not notice hitting someone with your car? Well turns out Novak’s driving is on par with his attitude as a whole:
Novak, 77, has earned a reputation around the capital as an aggressive driver, easily identified in his convertible sports car.
Brilliant.
by Nick on July 10, 2008
Posted By: Nick
Why is the gayness of a Republican man directly proportional to the extent of his anti-gay rhetoric? It’s a mystery that may never be solved. But here’s today’s Anti-Gay Republican gay scandal!
via Wonkette: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Sure this is still not confirmed… but we all know it’s true.
