Nevada

Feds Circle Campaign Contribution Case Rife With Allegations Of Embezzling, Murder Threats

Jillian Rayfield | February 13, 2012, 2:57PM

Federal investigators have reportedly been handing down subpoenas in the case of a Nevada political operative who allegedly made illegal campaign contributions to politicians like Sen. Harry Reid, and who is also embroiled in a heated legal battle with former business partners that involves accusations about everything from murder threats to jewel thefts.

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Personhood

Nevada Judge Rejects Personhood Petition For Being Too Vague

Jillian Rayfield | December 22, 2011, 1:16PM

Anti-abortion demonstrators in Washington, DC.

A judge in Nevada is smacking down "personhood" advocates left and right.

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Health Care Reform

Nevada Lawyer Says Health Care Reform Violates His Freedom Of Religion

Ryan J. Reilly | September 8, 2010, 9:41AM

Joel Hansen -- the Nevada conservative using some unique arguments in his suit challenging the new health care law -- told TPMMuckraker that his argument that health care reform imposed a form of slavery on the nation might not be his strongest argument, but it was a valid one.

"I think it is involuntary servitude, if they force you to buy a product," Hansen said. But, he noted, "It's not the same thing as the African-American slaves were under."

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Joel Hansen

Nevada Man Sues Over Health Care, Calls 'Socialistic' Law 'Involuntary Servitude'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 6, 2010, 9:08AM

In what he dubbed the crowning achievement of his life's work, Nevada Independent American Party attorney general candidate Joel Hansen filed last week what he said is the most comprehensive lawsuit against the health care law signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year.

Unlike separate suits filed by Virginia and a joint suit by several states that Hansen contends are too focused on the 10th Amendment, Hansen's suit alleges the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates a plethora of amendments: the First, the Third through Fifth, the Ninth, 10th and 13th.

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John Ensign

Read Ensign's Legal Defense Fundraising Letter

Rachel Slajda | August 13, 2010, 5:04PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) has begun soliciting contributions for his legal defense fund.

Ensign established the fund in June and then took the unusual step of registering it as a political organization.

In the letter, he writes, "As I am sure you are aware, I admitted last year to making the worst mistake of my life."

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John Ensign

Ensign Registers Legal Defense Fund As Political Org

Rachel Slajda | August 3, 2010, 5:53PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Roll Call reports today that Sen. John Ensign has registered his legal defense fund as a 527 political organization.

A 527 is tax-exempt, but Ensign must report contributions to the IRS.

As Roll Call notes, it's an unusual move:

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John Ensign

Ensign Staffers Allowed To Testify Before Grand Jury

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 5:20PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Staffers for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) are expected to testify before a grand jury on their boss's sex-and-lobbying scandal.

The Senate this week approved a resolution allowing the staffers to speak to the grand jury. Senate employees are normally prohibited from testifying outside of Congress.

Ensign's staff has reportedly already been speaking to the Senate ethics committee, and Ensign's campaign is paying for several of their related legal bills.

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John Ensign

Ensign Is Paying Staffers' Legal Bills

Rachel Slajda | July 16, 2010, 9:18AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is paying the legal bills of some of his staff as they face questioning over Ensign's sex-and-lobbying scandal.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports today that the payments to law firms are listed on Ensign's campaign's latest FEC reports. Questioned about the payments, Ensign's spokeswoman confirmed that they were for staff members.

"Senator Ensign's campaign is paying for the legal bills accrued by staff as a result of cooperating with the ongoing ethics investigation," spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper told the Review-Journal.

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Nevada

In The NV Desert, A Duel Between Sheriff And D.A.

Rachel Slajda | July 6, 2010, 11:04AM

Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett

The Wall Street Journal tells the tale of a feud in the deserts of Nevada, where a sheriff recently arrested the district attorney on charges that he misused public funds, prompting the D.A. to arrest one of the sheriff's deputies, creating an intractable boondoggle for the poor desert county where they live.

The Nye County feud has been going on for years. It came to a head in May, when the sheriff, Tony De Meo, had a deputy arrest the D.A., Robert Beckett. De Meo alleges that Beckett is illegally using money his office collects from a bad check program to fund his wife's cheerleading squad. No charges have been filed, as Beckett refuses to file charges against himself.

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John Ensign

Report: Staffers Tell Ethics Panel Ensign Knew He Was Breaking Lobbying Ban

Rachel Slajda | June 23, 2010, 9:47AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Hill reports that staffers for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) have told the Senate Ethics Committee that their boss knew he was breaking a one-year lobbying ban when he helped a former staffer set himself up as a lobbyist.

In depositions to the committee, Ensign's staffers said several aides openly discussed helping to get lobbying gigs for former staffer Doug Hampton, after Ensign had an affair with Hampton's wife. The aides also discussed that such help apparently violated a one-year ban on Congressional staffers moving to K Street, sources close to the investigation told The Hill.

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Nevada

NV State Candidate Accused Of Bribing Rape Victim's Sister

Rachel Slajda | May 28, 2010, 2:02PM

State Sen. Dennis Nolan and challenger Elizabeth Halseth

In the Nevada state senate's ninth district race, the Republican primary is getting brutal, with allegations of bribery, defending child rapists and insanity.

The back story: The incumbent, state Sen. Dennis Nolan, in 2008 testified as a character witness in defense of his friend, Gordon Lawes. Lawes was on trial for raping his 16-year-old sister-in-law. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Now, Nolan's primary challenger, Elizabeth Halseth, is using that testimony against him. She ran radio ads all last week in which the victim's father accuses Nolan of "defending child rapists."

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