Free Republic

The last person to know that Sen. Max Baucus wanted a divorce may have been his wife of 25 years. It appears that Wanda Baucus was in the dark even as a member of Baucus' staff -- Melodee Hanes, the woman who is now his live-in girlfriend -- was plotting out the senator's life without a wife. Hanes, Baucus' former state director, reportedly met at least twice with the Montana Democrat's divorce attorney eight months before the senator and his wife separated. That revelation, reported by Lee Newspapers on Thursday, adds a twist of intrigue to a story that broke...

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama told the American people in a national speech in September that "my" health care plan would not include taxpayer funding of abortion. Obama broke that pledge once by lobbying members of the House to support a pro-abortion funding bill and he did it again this weekend in the Senate. Obama met with Senate Democrats in a closed door session on Sunday and told them to support the Harry Reid-sponsored bill that includes massive abortion funding and could force insurance companies to cover abortions with taxpayer's premiums.Although the media wasn't allowed into the...

What would a “state director” have to do with overseas Senate junkets? It apparently helps if the state director is dating the Senator who takes the junket. The Hill reports that Melodee Hanes, Max Baucus’ girlfriend and his state director, traveled with Baucus on taxpayer funds to the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam in 2008, just before Baucus nominated her to be a US Attorney (via Libertarian Republican): Former U.S. attorney nominee Melodee Hanes traveled abroad with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and six other staff members twice at the end of 2008, both times as a member of the lawmaker’s...

MIDI - I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS - 2nd version) I caught Maxie doing Melodee in the staffer's office late one night He had a lot of fun...oh, that old sonofagun But now the story's out there and the facts have come to light Yes, I caught Maxie doing Melodee...he had such a big smile on his face Because he is a Democrat, well, this stuff is old hat I saw Maxie doing Melodee I caught Maxie doing Melodee...then she's nominated for the job But take this to the bank...she's not shared with Barney Frank There isn't a...

Republican senators put Democratic leaders on notice Monday that they'll expand the chamber's abortion battles to appropriations bills. 35 GOP senators, led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to notify him that they would not allow FY2010 Financial Services and State/Foreign Operations appropriations bills to move forward in the Senate unless subsidies for coverage of abortion services are eliminated from the bills. "We have grave concerns regarding the exclusion of longstanding funding limitations on abortion in the various appropriations bills that are currently before Congress," the senators said. "We cannot, in good conscience, allow these...

Former U.S. attorney nominee Melodee Hanes traveled abroad with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and six other staff members twice at the end of 2008, both times as a member of the lawmaker's office. Those two trips -- to the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam -- occurred while Hanes was serving in an official capacity as the state director for the Montana Democrat, but before Baucus recommended her for an attorney position she later turned down. Joining Baucus on both stops, which featured discussions about international trade and education opportunities, were William Dauster, a staff director for the Senate Finance Committee;...

Not bad, for a home office staffer....

Look who's at the health care negotiating table -- Tom Daschle. The former Senate Democratic leader's nomination as health and human services secretary was derailed over a back taxes flap earlier this year. But that's not stopping Daschle, a close ally of President Barack Obama, from playing a significant role in Capitol Hill health care talks -- much as he'd be doing if he'd actually gotten the job. The outsized role is unusual for someone who's an adviser to lobbying firms, especially given Obama's campaign vow to change business as usual in Washington. Daschle was in a strategy meeting earlier...

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., issued a statement Saturday regarding the revelation that he had nominated his girlfriend for the job of top federal prosecutor in Montana. Baucus disputed reports that he was having an affair with Melodee Hanes, saying he and Hanes were both separated from their spouses when their relationship began

“She was recommended for the [U.S. attorney] position because of a very close and personal relationship with Max Baucus and she withdrew because of a very close and personal relationship with Max Baucus,” Thomas Bennett, the ex-husband of Hanes, told Main Justice

Republicans seized on revelations that Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) nominated his girlfriend to a U.S. attorney position, calling for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele called for an official investigation into Baucus, who allegedly flagged Justice Department lawyer Melodee Hanes for a U.S. attorney nomination while engaging in a romantic relationship with her. Hanes eventually withdrew her name from consideration. "Today's report that Senator Max Baucus used his Senate office to advance a taxpayer funded appointment for his staff-member girlfriend raises a whole host of ethical questions," Steele said in a statement. "This issue...

We're guessing the Baucus Plan is toast now. ----- AP: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was romantically involved with his current girlfriend when he recommended her for U.S. attorney, a spokesman said. The Montana Democrat and his former state office director Melodee Hanes began their relationship in the summer of 2008, after Baucus separated from his wife, Ty Matsdorf told The Associated Press late Friday. Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. attorney post in Montana in March. But she later withdrew, saying she had been presented with other opportunities she couldn't pass up. Don't miss: Everything you need to...

The chairman of Comcast endorsed the Senate health care bill in a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama, saying, "We cannot allow perfection to stand in the way of critically needed and very good legislation." "While there has been much controversy and debate over hundreds of provisions and alternatives, it is my view that the current legislation pending in the Senate provides a workable framework for this country to take an important step toward enhancing health care accessibility, promoting operational efficiencies and technological innovation, and reducing the cost of health care and the federal deficit," CEO and Chairman Brian Roberts...

Max Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, recommended that the White House nominate his girlfriend as a U.S. attorney in Montana, his office announced late Friday night. Earlier this year, Baucus recommended that the White House consider Melodee Hanes and two other names for the U.S. attorney post – at the same time that the senator was carrying on a romantic relationship with Hanes, who had been his state director. Baucus was separated with his wife at the time when the two began their involvement, according to a source familiar with the situation, and now the two are...

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says the Montana Democrat was in a romantic relationship with the woman he nominated for U.S. attorney. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was already involved with his girlfriend and former staffer when he recommended her earlier this year to become the next U.S. attorney for Montana, a spokesman said. The Montana Democrat and his former state office director Melodee Hanes began their relationship in the summer of 2008, after Baucus separated from his wife, Ty Matsdorf told The Associated Press late Friday. Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. attorney post in...

So Senator Baucus is nominating his girlfriend for U.S. Attorney jobs, while she was on his staff: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30228.html While Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson is holding hearings to get money from the credit card industry (according to his own former staffer): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120402256.html?hpid=topnews

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ office confirmed late Friday night that the Montana Democrat was carrying on an extramarital affair with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, when he nominated her to be U.S. attorney in Montana. According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, formally separated in April. The Senator has since divorced his wife. Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year. Hanes, who is divorced and now lives with Baucus in the...

From the Senate Republicans’ Web site: SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “Just for a second — health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it’s $2.5 Trillion, depending on where you start…” (Sen. Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/2/09) This is, of course, what opponents of the various Democratic bills have been pointing out all along: Starting the new taxes a few years before the benefits begin is the only way these bills get a cost estimate of “just” $1...

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' approval rating is taking a dip following a high profile push for health care reform. A survey released Monday shows that just 44 percent approve of the job performance ... That is down from two years ago when the same Montana State University-Billings poll showed Baucus with a 64 percent approval rating. The poll also found that a vast majority support the hunting of wolves in the state — and that most oppose any effort to legalize marijuana in the state.