prosecutors are readying a case against DeLay's former staffer Tony Rudy

[kpete]

Any plea deal from Jack Abramoff probably would have sunk Tom DeLay -- sunk any chance, that is, that he could reclaim his position as House Majority Leader. But it was the specifics of the Abramoff deal that sealed DeLay's fate.

The documents released last week make clear that prosecutors are readying a case against DeLay's former staffer Tony Rudy. And available evidence suggests they're trying to flip him to get to DeLay himself.

This piece from the Post is actually from yesterday's paper. But in got lost in the shuffle after DeLay announced he was bowing out of the struggle to reclaim the Majority Leader's post. It does a good job laying out what the case against Rudy is and what it may mean for those above him.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/09/AR2006010900952.html

[Mike Nelson]

1. Tony Rudy?

TONY RUDY!

[Tuesday_Morning]

2. more about Staffer A

from the Washpost article:

Rudy, identified as "Staffer A," stands out in particular, because Ney and Volz had been previously identified as targets. Such prominent attention on a "staffer" has led experts on white-collar crime to conclude that the government's 40-member task force on public corruption is seeking Rudy's cooperation, just as it secured the cooperation of Abramoff and another former DeLay aide, Michael Scanlon.

"They're doing it in steps. They go to the staff and roll the staff onto the members," said Stanley M. Brand, a former general counsel to the House, who described DeLay's legal problems as "extreme."

<snip>

The Abramoff plea agreement twice cites "Staffer A" -- identified elsewhere as Rudy -- first in a section on Abramoff's corruption of public officials and then on the fraudulent bilking of a liquor company. The first citation would be of particular concern to DeLay because the events unfolded while Rudy was the majority whip's second-in-command.

[txindy]

3. They're like falling dominos. Debauched, fetid, skanky, evil dominos.

Who inhaled waaaaaaaaaaaay too much insecticide from BugBoy's scepter.

:toast: