Pre-Vote Leaks Rankle GOP
Roll Call Staff
For House Republicans, it seems that every week brings a new report about a GOP lawmaker under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged corruption. And with the elections just 12 days away, Republicans are crying foul, complaining bitterly that the negative press spurred by the public disclosure of those criminal probes could help cost them their House majority.
Within just the past two weeks, Reps. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) and Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) have faced unwanted headlines blaring the fact that they are under scrutiny by federal prosecutors and the FBI. Both lawmakers have publicly denied any wrongdoing, but Weldon, who was already mired in a tough re-election campaign, has had to deal with the added problem of FBI raids on his daughter’s home, as well as the office of a longtime political ally. Federal agents also searched the Florida offices of a Russian energy company that did business with Karen Weldon’s lobbying firm.
Renzi is being probed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Phoenix for involvement in an Oct. 2005 land sale that helped net his former business partner more than $4 million, according to The Associated Press. The New York Times also reported that DOJ officials are looking into a 2003 bill Renzi introduced that indirectly benefited the company where his father worked.
While a Justice Department run by Republican appointees who were nominated by a conservative Republican president would normally get the benefit of the doubt from GOP lawmakers and staffers, some party insiders are privately wondering whether “rogue elements” within the department — and more specifically the Public Integrity Unit, where corruption cases are handled — are trying to tip the election to Democrats by leaking news of these investigations so late in the cycle.
“It would seem that the Public Integrity Unit of the Justice Department is running wild,” maintained a top Republican political operative, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity. “They’re trying to have some effect” on the midterm elections.
A House GOP leadership aide suggested that “rogue elements” within DOJ’s bureaucracy are “working for a Democratic victory” on Nov. 7.
“Of course, we all want to root out corruption at all levels of government,” said the aide, who said he was “afraid to speak publicly” since it may spur more leaks about Republican lawmakers. “At the same time, when word of Congressional investigations are continually thrown out in the media late in the cycle, then it smacks of a campaign against Republicans.”
Another senior GOP staffer speculated that it was “residual anger” from Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill.) public criticism of the June 20 FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) office that is feeding the “campaign” against House Republicans.
“I think there are people within the Justice Department who are angry with Hastert and the [GOP] leadership” over the Congressional response to the Jefferson raid. “This is all payback, that’s all.”
This source also pointed to the fact that “someone in the Justice Department or FBI” leaked a story to ABC News shortly after Hastert criticized the Jefferson search suggesting that Hastert himself was under investigation by the Justice Department. DOJ officials quickly released a statement calling the ABC story wrong.
Democrats have not escaped unscathed from the recent Justice Department revelations, although the political fallout for the minority party has been much less severe, at least so far.
In addition to Jefferson’s situation, Time magazine reported this week that Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, urged officials from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to lobby House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last year to allow Harman to retain the top Democratic spot on the panel. The FBI began an investigation into whether Harman promised AIPAC she would help the group deal with its own Justice Department investigation. Both Harman and AIPAC deny the allegation and the investigation appears to have stalled out months ago.
But with the revelations seeming to hit a new Republican target almost weekly, senior Justice Department officials suddenly have found themselves barraged with questions about the leaks, although they strongly deny any suggestion that the department is meddling in political contests.
“What I can say with great confidence is that the men and women in the Department of Justice and all of its investigative agencies do not take political considerations into play when it comes to discharging their duty,” said Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty at a news conference last week.
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The intelligence community faces challenges daily. No example is more emblematic of the problems faced than the so-called underwear bomber of 2009. As threats emerge, the hunt for “persons of interest” must occur in a more reliable and efficient manner because the consequences of inaction can be catastrophic. Read Full Article
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