Reid under investigation. Umm, maybe not.......................
The Justice Department is not focusing on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as part of an investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a source close to the probe said Wednesday in challenging a published report.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the Justice Department is leading the investigation, which includes other agencies.
"But the Justice Department does not have a list of lawmakers who are being investigated," the source said.
The Washington Times reported Wednesday that Reid is on a "first tier" of five lawmakers who are the focus of a Justice Department probe of Abramoff.
The newspaper attributed its information to an unnamed source who is working with the Justice Department.
The other lawmakers mentioned included Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Reps. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., and Bob Ney, R-Ohio.
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Stanley Brand, a Washington, D.C., attorney who has represented former Reps. Tony Coelho, D-Calif., Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., and Joseph McDade, R-Pa., in criminal cases, said he does not doubt Democrats will be reviewed by the Justice Department.
"But this story doesn't ring true," Brand said.
The Justice Department "doesn't go around creating first and second tiers" for its investigations, Brand said.
Brand said the story also lacks credibility because it doesn't mention former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, "who already is the subject of two indictments."
"Thirdly, the allegation that people took campaign contributions alone as a basis of prosecution, whether they are Democratic or Republican, I think is far-fetched," Brand said.
reviewjournal.com
Imagine my surprise. The Washington Times got it wrong. What next? Rush, Fox News, Drudge and NewsMax will be discovered to have wrong information too? |
