The Daily Background

Washington Post writes:

A former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) pleaded guilty to conspiracy today and promised to aid a wide-ranging federal investigation into corrupt lobbying practices.

Tony C. Rudy, who served as deputy chief of staff to DeLay, the former House majority leader, before joining the lobbying team of Jack Abramoff, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Washington as part of a deal in which prosecutors agreed not to pursue other possible charges against him or his wife, who had received payments arranged by Abramoff. Rudy was charged with conspiracy to corrupt public officials and defraud clients, as well as violating a one-year lobbying ban for former government employees, according to a criminal information filed today.
[…]
According to papers filed today, Rudy will provide key corroborating information regarding the case prosecutors are building against Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who was taken by Abramoff on a lavish trip to Scotland in 2002. Rudy admitted to prosecutors that he offered Ney the junket, telling Ney’s chief of staff by e-mail on May 24, 2002, that the trip would involve golf, “drinking and smoking cubans.”

Well, well, well. Although there are no known direct information about DeLay that has been publicly released, no. wait. DeLay is referred to as “Representative #2, this brings the investigation (as Washington Post notes) one step closer to the Hammer himself. Besides, this is great news regarding Ney. That bastard needs to go. Full article here.

Filed under: Abramoff Scandal, Z-TDB Blog