Tom Feeney R-(FL) - as crooked as they come.

[warbly]

''Rep. Feeney (R-FL) traveled to Scotland – apparently to play golf – from August 9-14, 2003. Rep. Feeney initially claimed that the cost of the trip was paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, but the Center denied paying for the trip. As a result, Rep. Feeney now claims to have discovered recently that the $5,643 bill was actually paid by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Rep. Feeney claims he was "misled" and "lied to" about who actually paid for the trip.''

Beyond DeLay.org

This is just one recent example of a pattern of crooked behavior by Rep. Feeney.

''Reps. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) and John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) have been meeting with 30 House Republicans over the past few weeks to coordinate a more aggressive strategy to defend Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), according to a Republican source familiar with the meetings.''

The Hill

He had this meeting to show fealty to DeLay when he still had his power, I suppose, but since hasn't done much to defend DeLay. He knows which way the wind is blowing, and wouldn't really stick his neck out for a doomed old friend like Tom DeLay.
Feeney has a knack for staying in the shadows, despite his occasional outrageous rhetorical outbursts. Hat tip to Brad Blog for turning on a light.

Flashback Florida 2000. Then state Representative Tom Feeney:

''Feeney, as House speaker, pushed to have the Legislature name Bush electors and ensure his election regardless of how the recount turned out. Lawmakers dropped the matter when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recount with Bush ahead. A reporter overheard Feeney call Gore's concession speech ``evil'' and deride the then-vice president as ``a loser'' while watching him speak on television at a Tallahassee restaurant.''

USA Today

Feeney was poised and ready to have the Florida legislature appoint Bush's electors if the counting of the ballots did not go his way.
``I stood tall to ensure that George W. Bush would be the first President of the new Millennium.'' - Tom Feeney

yeah, thanks Tom.
Since when was it a state legislator's job to ensure the outcome of elections anyway?

I guess since 2000, when the GOP became the GOFP, at the drop of a hat.
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power." Benito Mussolini

Enter Clinton Curtis, a programmer at a major Florida State IT contractor, who resigned after witnessing Feeney and the officers of the company engage in a slew of illegal practices from bid rigging to vote rigging.
Clinton was asked to write an invisible program that would switch votes on electronic voting machines without a trace.

''One would think that the United States Congress would be working for greater transparency in our elections. And, indeed, Congressman Rush Holt and Senator Hillary Clinton have introduced bills into the House and Senate that would call for that. But, inexplicably, Republicans in the House and Senate have blocked them from coming to a vote.

At the same time, computer programmer Clinton Curtis charged, in a sworn affidavit before a U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee investigation in Ohio, that Republican Congressman Tom Feeney of Florida participated in hiring Curtis to write "undetectable" (when compiled) voting-machine-rigging software.''

Common Dreams

''"We're not going to dignify Clint Curtis' ridiculous allegations with a comment," says Shannon Conklin, Feeney's press secretary. Asked about Curtis' other charges involving Feeney, Yang, and FDOT, Conklin noted that the state ethics commission "addressed the matter and cleared Congressman Feeney."''
''Curtis' past involvement with Feeney, however, lends some legitimacy to the vote-rigging charge. In 2002, after leaving Yang Enterprises, Curtis told state officials that Feeney greased political wheels for Yang Enterprises to be awarded an $8 million Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) technology contract, for which Yang then allegedly overbilled the state. Despite a state Commission on Ethics investigation that cleared Feeney of wrongdoing, a Daytona Beach newspaper subsequently found e-mails showing that Feeney had indeed arranged a meeting between Yang and state officials.''

New Times

Curtis is a credible witness. Feeney has never addressed Curtis' very specific allegations, except to mutter something about "UFO's" a while back.
Yang Enterprises, the contractor involved, quickly dismissed the allegations, but scrubbed their website of names and dates connected to Curtis' sworn affadavit, and suddenly put a large God Bless America near the top of their webpage.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson, 1775

Clinton Curtis sworn affadavit is here.
A transcript of his testimony to the House is here.
Brad Freidman was essential in bringing Curtis' testimony into the public view, and has the most comprehensive roundup here.

[peekaloo]

1. Yep. Another cockroach that needs to be forced into the sunlight

and squashed!

Welcome warbly! :hi:

[Peregrine]

4. He was unopposed last time and I expect him to be

unopposed this time. In FL, if a candidate is unopposed, there is no election for the seat the person is given the seat. No write-ins, nothing.

[Ino]

2. Clinton Curtis video

Here's a video of Clinton Curtis' testimony. It's an interesting listen -- much of what he said was followed by gasps and murmurs from the audience.

http://www.iwilltryit.com/fixed1.htm

[ProSense]

3. More links

Snip...

Only impacting criminals?

And they're not done. President Bush last week endorsed a proposal by Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., which would allow the Justice Department to expand the use of "administrative subpoenas," gathering up books, papers, documents and electronic data, free of frustrating judicial supervision or the need to make a case before any grand jury -- whereupon the subjects of such subpoenas would be barred from telling anyone but their own lawyers about them ... guaranteeing we won't even know how much of this is going on.

The administration also wants to remove the right to be freed on bond of those accused -- not convicted, mind you, merely accused -- of anything the government calls "terrorism."


http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Sep-21-Sun-2003/opinion/22167264.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Feeney

http://www.dccc.org/houseofscandal/members/TomFeeneyFL-24.html

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/100105/ew5.htm?date=100105&story=ew5.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR2005060501223_pf.html

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS01/509290349/1006

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl24_feeney/DelayAttack.html

http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/16/41c2fdb042ea1

http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/23/41cc6e71c7147


A Feeney article declaring the attacks on DeLay partisan:

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/feeney200410081044.asp

[warbly]

12. great links

"the Tom DeLay I know is the strongest, clearest, and most principled conservative leader in Washington."

— Representative Tom Feeney is a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Florida."

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Thanks Warbly.

I think Feeney is a Delay waiting to happen. I don't feel very comfortable with him at all.

[warbly]

11. no problem

it was actually bradblog.com who made the point a couple days ago that Feeney has been allowed to hide long enough.
Whether he can be brought down I dunno, but I at least want to hear him address Curtis' sworn statements.

[Kahuna]

6. Please oh please let Feeney go down. And please take Katherine..

Harris with him.

[Independent_Liberal]

7. Yeah, I hope they both get indicted!

That would be sweet!

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Good ol' Tom Hooters Girl Feeney

A major Florida slimeball.

[greiner3]

9. He's probably in a district that will give him a 70% vote;

Of confidence in November. Sick people!

[Stevepol]

10. wouldn't it be great if he copped a plea by turning on ........

THE VOTING MACHINES!!

He's up to his armpits in alligators in this electronic voting machine swamp. Cdn't be happening to a more worthy guy.