The Abramoff Saga: The Worst Hill Scandal in Our Lifetime?

• By Norman Ornstein
• Roll Call Contributing Writer
• Oct. 19, 2005, Midnight

Stories of rot and corruption involving Congress just keep coming. The latest was the double dose of Jack Abramoff in The Washington Post. Tuesday’s story, detailing the multiple connections between Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and Abramoff, portrayed Ney in an extraordinarily bad light, including a recap of the water he carried to help Abramoff negotiate his purchase of gambling boats in Florida (a story that now includes a gangland-style murder), plus new light shed on a questionable contract for wireless service in the House, overseen by Ney as House Administration chairman, to a company that hired Abramoff as a lobbyist for a fat fee. At a minimum, this cries out for a full bore ethics investigation.