There he goes!

Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) campaign manager has proudly announced that his boss has confirmed he is not a "target" of the Abramoff investigation.

As we've learned from previous scandal figures, that can only mean one thing: the investigators are making progress.

"The Department of Justice told Sen. Burns' counsel that no, in fact, he is not the target," Burns' spokesman said yesterday afternoon. The comments came after Time Magazine reported that a source "close to the investigation" said that Burns was getting "particular scrutiny" in the wake of Rep. Bob Ney's (R-OH) guilty plea.

It's a statement finely tuned to sound like Burns has been exonerated. But of course, it doesn't really mean anything except that prosecutors won't be knocking down his door tomorrow. As the Great Falls Tribune noted:

"Target" is a specific term indicating that a prosecutor or grand jury likely has evidence linking someone to a crime.

In other words, the Feds ain't got the goods. Yet.

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What do Sens. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Bill Frist (R-TN) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) have in common? (Hint: they're frequent subjects on TPMmuckraker.)

The three men are the most corrupt senators in Congress, according to a new list of the most corrupt lawmakers in Washington.

It's the second year now that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its list of 20 muckiest senators and congresspeople.

Although the group names the trio as "most corrupt," it doesn't rank the 17 House members they finger.

The group also identified five "members to watch" -- that is, folks with muck in their past that could be a harbinger of muck to come.

The list, in no particular order, is after the jump.

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