Griles Sentenced in Lobby Probe

Time.com ^ | June 26, 2007 | Matt Apuzzo

[MurryMom]

WASHINGTON) — The Interior Department's former No. 2 official was sentenced to 10 months in prison Tuesday for lying to senators in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, the highest administration official sentenced in the probe.

J. Steven Griles, who was the department's deputy secretary, had pleaded guilty to obstructing justice.

Griles admitted to lying to Senate investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, the central figure in a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and officials in the Bush administration.

Griles had asked to be spared prison time. Under his plea deal with prosecutors, the Justice Department recommended he serve five months in prison and five months in a halfway house or under house arrest. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle decided he should spend the full sentence in prison.

"Even now you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct," Huvelle told Griles.

[MurryMom]

Memo to self: If I ever appear before a federal judge, be certain to appear sufficiently contrite that the judge does not tack an extra 5 months onto my prison sentence.

[YOUGOTIT]

Why are all the left-wing anti-american Democrat Senators and Congressmen who dealt with this lobbyist not on trial? OH, I know they are Democrats and only Republicans will be tried.

[ilsalund]

Knew Griles when he worked at Interior under the Reagan Administration. For a pubby, he was sleazy then and from the looks of today, he hasn’t changed. He just got caught. He didn’t really get what he deserved.

[MurryMom]

When Abramoff pulled off his schemes, all of the committee chairs in Congress and nearly all political appointees in the Bush administration were Republicans. If the Democrats had been in power, Abramoff's bribery schemes would have had zero chance of success.

Please remember that during 8 years of the Clinton-Gore administration, no similar bribery scheme was ever proven in spite of many nonsensical allegations of bribery and other dishonesty brought up the the Republican noise machine. Expecting Democrats to be indicted ala the Abramoff affair ignores every lesson that recent history teaches us.

[Liberty Valance]

"during 8 years of the Clinton-Gore administration, no similar bribery scheme was ever proven in spite of many nonsensical allegations of bribery and other dishonesty brought up the[by] the Republican noise machine."

LOL - and Billy Jeff wears that impeachment thingy on his chest like a badge of honor i'm sure.
Democrats: Pure as the driven snow. ;o)

[YOUGOTIT]

“If the Democrats had been in power, Abramoff’s bribery schemes would have had zero chance of success. “

Lets see: Abramoff gave Kennedy several thousand, he gave Reid Several thousand and several other anti-American Democrats several thousand. The Democrats have accepted bribes for as long as I have been alive, just as they have bought votes and voted dead people in every election they have said they won. A Democrat is just the same as a NAZI or a Communist both are the same in my book. So as they take over and install their dictatorship I hope you are happy when they surrender to al-Qaeda.

[Mr. Silverback]

Please remember that during 8 years of the Clinton-Gore administration, no similar bribery scheme was ever proven in spite of many nonsensical allegations of bribery and other dishonesty brought up the the Republican noise machine.

Yeah, and Jack Kennedy was never proven in court to be an adulterer. Heck, nobody ever proved Nixon was a criminal, either.