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Dems Inherit the Duke
Much has been made of the Republicans' gambit of passing the responsibility of several huge spending bills to the Democratic Congress, hoping to gum up the legislative works, but what of all those scandals they're passing along?
At the House Appropriations Committee, the new chairman, Rep. David Obey (D-WI), had no sooner sat down and given his gavel a couple of test whacks before he was handed a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego demanding thousands of documents by January 11th. Even though prosecutors nailed Duke Cunningham, they continue to pursue the hanging threads of the investigation -- namely whether the defense contractors who bribed him had their hooks into other lawmakers and/or staffers. Since Duke's bad acts stretch back to at least 2000, it's a giant headache.
Obey is grumpy about it:
“To ask us to produce that stuff by [Jan. 11] is ridiculous given the fact that we haven’t taken over yet and every record that we’re talking about is a Republican record so I have no idea what the documents are and it’s a Republican problem.... We will try to cooperate, but it’s a Republican problem.”
As Roll Call notes (sub. req.), the subpoenas will likely ignite another legal battle (round one was over the FBI's raid of Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) office, a battle that's still raging) between Congress and the Justice Department, as they wrangle over which documents are constitutionally protected.
Comments (19)
Crust wrote on January 8, 2007 10:53 AM:In a way, it's a perfect situation for Obey. If "every record that we’re talking about is a Republican record" then presumably he's happy to turn them over. All the while, he can grumble about not being given enough time to evaluate the situation properly so it would be churlish to accuse him of being partisan or whatever (not that that will stop the Republicans or for that matter many pundits, but it won't be particularly credible).
Phoenix Woman wrote on January 8, 2007 11:20 AM:Of course this is all about the Republicans trying to monkeywrench the Democrats. This is why Nancy Pelosi isn't going to be treating the GOP minority any better than the GOP treated the Democrats when the GOP held the gavel for twelve years.
dzman49 wrote on January 8, 2007 12:29 PM:When Obey fails to deliver by the Jan 11 deadline, it provides a talking point for executive departments when they drag their feet to honor document requests.
rumpole wrote on January 8, 2007 3:02 PM:Staff that's searching for responsive documents can't be drafting subpoenas of their own and tracking down other acts of waste, fraud and abuse. Still, if the people that bribed Cunningham had their hooks in other folks, that's a legitimate ground of inquiry. Though I doubt that many would share the same kind of hubris that got Cunningham in trouble.
Joseph Bua wrote on January 8, 2007 3:53 PM:I would say to Mr. Obey, "Just go about the task of getting it all in order and document any occasion of not being able to get your hands on what you need."
And if others, Dems included, are involved, who the hell cares. I want anyone on the take out of there.
Darren7160 wrote on January 8, 2007 4:25 PM:Yeppers... forward that sucker to the Repubs with a note saying that it will be closely watched for compliance to the subpeona then make it the first order of business each session until it is done.
I agree with Joseph, if there are any Democrats that are involved, then I want it known. The party that represents my values and let's me down is much worse than the Republican's letting me down... after all, who can expect else from them?
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