Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Hastert wrestling with FBI probe: UPDATED!

Not "the coach?"

Yep, the one-time wrestling coach.

I really don't know what to make of this story. It could be a big "to-do" over nothing, but Illinois' most prominent Republican, Dennis Hasert, is facing news that no one wants to deal with, ever.

From ABC 7 Chicago:

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation. According to ABC News, the FBI wants to determine the Illinois congressman's role in an ongoing public corruption probe. That's the topic of this intelligence report.

The Indian casino case has been under investigation by federal authorities for months, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert has been connected to the case for as long as it's been underway.

Nearly three dozen members of Congress, including Hastert and leaders from both parties, pressed the government to reject a Louisiana Indian casino while at the same time they were collecting large donations from rival tribes and their lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Many intervened with letters to interior secretary Gale Norton within days of receiving money from tribes represented by Abramoff or using the lobbyist's restaurant for fundraising, according to an Associated Press review of campaign records, IRS records and congressional correspondence.

The congressman from Plano has a lot of explaino to do. If he doesn't want to talk, he could hire "Native American" Ward Churchill to be his spokesman.

UPDATE 9:30PM CST: Well, ABC is retracting the story.

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