April 11, 2005
Howard Fineman of Newsweek and Imus talk about the recent controversy surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
Howard Fineman: " I figured that Tom DeLay was probably cooked when they announced over the weekend that the Republicans and his supporters, would be holding a big tribute dinner for him on May 12th and tickets are available now. Generally, when they start having tribute dinners for you while a federal grand jury is meeting, that's not a good sign. "
Imus: "Well, Congressman Christopher Shays from Connecticut.. does he have any power?"
Howard Fineman: "No. He's not significant in this context, Rick Santorum is. Santorum wants to run for President. He wants to win re-election in Pennsylvania, and he's recognized that in Pennsylvania, where allies of the Democrats are running ads against DeLay, that that could have an affect, so that's important. It will continue, we have a periscope that Mike Isikoff did this week about how Delay's former good buddy, this big time lobbyist, Jack Abramoff..."
Imus: "The guy who ripped off the Indians..."
Howard Fineman: "The guy who ripped off the Indians, allegedly, big time is sitting in a restaurant around here in Washington, and is quoted by a good friend of his as saying that DeLay knew everything, that he knew all the details. DeLay's basic defense is, 'I took these trips from these worthwhile foundations. I did not know anything about where the money came from for the trips, etcetera and etcetera. What Abramoff supposedly told a good buddy of his is that that's baloney. DeLay knew it all. What always happens in these situations is that people around the powerful figure get mixed up with the grand jury, and begin thinking how do I avoid prosecution and or jail time, and the answer is, you rat on a higher up. That is potentially the situation that Delay is now in."
***.....John D. Podesta, head of the liberal Center for American Progress and a White House and congressional staff veteran since the 1970s, said "one-party control" by Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue "changes the dynamic substantially" in political scandals.
"You just don't have anyone in power in Congress who will issue a subpoena," forcing truthful testimony, he said, chiding legislators to restore a sense "that there's things that they just won't tolerate, whether it's done by Republicans or Democrats."
Given the majority leader's problems, Podesta said, in some not exactly friendly advice, "if I was advising DeLay, I don't know that 'getting it all out' is a particularly useful strategy for him." ***
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44997-2005Apr11.html