Roll Call: Probe widens, compliance could "shut down" 3 House committees

[Rose Siding]

Hookergate: If Feds' Requests Are Any Clue, This is Big
By Justin Rood - May 15, 2006, 8:51 AM
Federal prosecutors working the Cunningham case have requested so much information from Congress, three committees might have to "shut down" to comply, Roll Call's John Bresnahan reports.

U.S. Attorneys want boxloads of documents from the House Armed Services, Intelligence, and Appropriations committees, Bresnahan writes. They also want to interview at least nine current or former staffers.

It's clear from the requests that "the corruption probe that began with Cunningham has now clearly moved beyond the actions taken by the imprisoned former lawmaker to other Members," sources tell Roll Call, which notes recent stories naming Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), appropriations committee chairman, as another target of the feds.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000648.php


Justice Signals Wider Probe
Panels Asked to Cooperate By John Bresnahan
Roll Call Staff
May 15, 2006

Federal prosecutors are seeking to interview at least nine current or former staffers on the House Intelligence, Appropriations and Armed Services committees as they widen their probe into the bribery scheme involving former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), according to House officials.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/51_122/news/13329-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. This is good news in a sort of strange

way

[boobooday]

2. By all means . . . WIDEN the PROBE

Bring it all out in the light of day.

[Kagemusha]

3. So what's Congress gonna do, simply say no?

Argue separation of powers like Bush would?

No snark here. I really would like to know; Congress is not in the habit of being shut down by a federal prosecution, and does have legitimate business of the People to.. ... ... that it should be conducting.

[0007]

4. "How to fuck up a government in less than five years"

....and as the dollars falls, America sings "Goodnight Irene"

Goodnight Irene, goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I take a few notions
I want to jump overboard in a river and drown

One night I got married
Now me and my wife settled down
Now me and my wife are parting
I want to jump overboard in a river and drown

[PATRICK]

5. Sounds like highly productive gridlock

even better than the Clinton era. Like the ecology healing itself under Ice Age glaciers.

[OregonBlue]

6. Shut down house intelligence committee? Do we want that right now

given the spying investigation going on? Would this be just too convenient for the Admin?

[Rose Siding]

7. Maybe it's a scare tactic? -Recently, the House made rule changes

to provide for continuity of govt in the event that a number of members became.....unavailable, let's say. I don't see why that wouldn't kick in this case.

There's a bit written about it here, but the details are sketchy-

http://www.rules.house.gov/archives/mass_incap.htm

[central scrutinizer]

9. no, it would be inconvenient

If they were in session, they could do a "full investigation" that would exonerate the White House, and then retroactively legalize everything Bushco has done.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. It's not like they are investigating wrongdoing at the Intel agencies

nor does it seem that they take their oversight rolls seriously.
So shutting them down won't hurt much.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. Why do I feel like a pyromaniac at a wildly burning arson site?

[MH1]

10. We are probably better off

if those committees can't do any work for awhile.

What do they really do, when they actually do anything?

Armed Services - new and creative ways to take benefits away from veterans

Intelligence - let's not even go there - it's pretty much an oxymoron anyway

Appropriations - pork-bloated budget bills with riders to allow drilling in ANWR and block 99% of offshore wind projects.


(ok I may be technically incorrect on the last one, but you get the idea).

[electropop]

12. Far better to shut down Congress than let it continue to run amok.

When everything they do is bad, better to shut 'em off.

[ArbustoBuster]

13. As the old maxim states, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Rip the lid off all the corruption and show it to the world so we can destroy the careers of those who are destroying our country.

[McCamy Taylor]

14. Sounds like they are trying to scare Congress into NOT investigating NSA.

[annabanana]

15. wowowowowowowow

This is juicy. I don't even care if a few dirty dems go down in flames.... I know that it will sink more pub ships...