Republican Party of Florida Launches Mock Websites

There are some very close Congressional races in Florida for seats that are normally held by Republicans. One is the Feeney v Kosmas race that I've covered quite a bit. Real Clear Politics has that race +1 for Feeney so, in the real world, Kosmas is probably leading.

Another is the rematch between Christine Jennings and Vern Buchanan. This race, FL13, was quite the talk of the 2006 election cycle when it was discovered that there were 18,000 electronic ballot undervotes in the district. The election went to Buchanan by 369 votes. RCP had Buchanan up by 18 at the end of August, but he's been hurt by allegations of contribution pressure from former employees. That race has probably tightened.

To that extent, the Republican Party of Florida has launced two websites - one for Jennings and another for Kosmas - that play off MTV's The Real World. They are getting quite a bit of attention in political blogs in most of the major Florida newspapers political blogs.

I don't think this kind of thing is going to be very effective in changing the dynamics of either race. It's very clear from the actions of the RPOF that they think they're in real danger of losing both of these races - even without an Obama win.If Obama's coattails are big enough, we could actually pick up 4-6 Republican House seats in November but I'm betting we pick up these two no matter what.

There's more: "Republican Party of Florida Launches Mock Websites" >>

I Wish She'd Make This Into An Ad

From Suzanne Kosmas over the Tom Feeney Mea Culpa ad:

"Floridians deserve much more than just a 30 second, politically motivated 'apology' from Tom Feeney on a matter as serious as this one. Feeney has only raised more questions about his unethical behavior, particularly in light of his efforts to shut down a congressional ethics investigation," said Paul Dunn, Kosmas for Congress Campaign Manager.

Fifteen Questions for Feeney:

• Why is Feeney apologizing after claiming he did nothing wrong in the first place?


• When was the last time Tom Feeney spoke with the FBI?


• Is he still cooperating with the FBI's investigation?


• Can Feeney assure voters that their Congressman will not be indicted?


• If indicted, will Feeney resign from Congress?


• Have Tom Feeney's office records been subpoenaed?


• Why did it take Tom Feeney five years to admit a mistake?


• Why did Tom Feeney vote to block a congressional ethics investigation into members of Congress and their ties to Jack Abramoff?


• Why did Tom Feeney claim he did nothing on behalf of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff when official records tell another story?


• Why did Tom Feeney only pay back around $5,000 for the trip when court documents have shown the actual cost was closer to $20,000?


• Why did it take Tom Feeney two years to return the $5,000?


• How can a career politician, former lobbyist and Florida House Speaker like Tom Feeney claim to have made a rookie mistake?


• Why hasn't Tom Feeney apologized for other unethical behavior through out his career?


• If Tom Feeney values honesty and integrity so highly, why did he oppose landmark ethics reform legislation passed by Congress in 2007?


• Why, for four consecutive years, has the non-partisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Feeney as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress?

If you need a reminder, here's the ad and my thoughts on it.

There's more: "I Wish She'd Make This Into An Ad" >>

Tom Feeney's Mea Culpa

Tom Feeney has long been plagued by his affiliation with Jack Abramoff. Now comes word that he'll start running this ad on Tuesday in FL-24 to stave off a tremendous run by Democratic candidate Suzanne Kosmas.



There is no doubt that Feeney is vulnerable. He has been outraised by and has less cash on hand that Suzanne Kosmas. She was an incredibly favored state legislator and has been getting a ground swell of support from local Republican families. But, that's not the weird thing about this ad.

A Feeney advisor had this to say:

Even his own campaign staff admits the move is unconventional. “It’s an unorthodox approach,” said one adviser, who noted the campaign is worried over how it would be received. "This is clearly going to be the focus of the Democrat’s campaign against Tom (Feeney) and it’s something that we felt obligated to get in front of," said the staffer.

I think Feeney should be concerned because, believe it or not, Kosmas is NOT running on this issue. She's running on Feeney's votes against veteran's benefits. Here's a link to her ad. This is the other ad she has been running.

That's because the district has a huge and disproportionate amount of active and retired military in the district as likely voters. She is pounding him on this with ads running on multiple stations at various times - including the evening news shows which have great viewership.

I doubt the Abramoff scandal even caused a ripple with this voting group and now Feeney is REMINDING them of something wrong or even introducing them to it. Nothwithstanding the lies in the ad, it strikes a very good contrite cord. He's sorry after all, so what he says must be true.

I think the ad might be a bad idea. There's quite a bit of cynisism in the general public right now, especially for Republicans. A lot of people will be asking exactly WHY Feeney feels he has to apologize for something if his opponent is not mentioning it. Some people might think it must be something really bad (and it is).

Why introduce something like this when it hasn't come up, especially in a week when McCain is getting pounded by Obama for his ties to lobbyists. Especially when everyone is telling us lobbyists are the ties that squeezed the life out of Wall Street?

Suzanne Kosmas might have just gotten the gift of the election and I hope she responds with an ad that tackles the facts and shows Feeney's contritness for just more of the same, tired Republican BS.

There's more: "Tom Feeney's Mea Culpa" >>

In FL-24, Kosmas Outraises Feeney - AGAIN!

As I wrote in February, Suzanne Kosmas is the real deal in the FL-24 race against Tom Feeney. The evidence continues to pour in.

Fundraising reports for the 1st quarter are out and the news is anything but good for Feeney. Kosmas raised just over $302,000 to Feeney's about $197,000. In just six months, Kosmas has also overtaken Feeney in cash on hand - $581,000 to $549,000. That's quite amazing.

It's true that Kosmas is a DCCC candidate and she is receiving campaign money from a lot of outsiders ($71,500 in PAC money), but she is still the only viable Democrat in the race. And, it's looking like she may be a real threat to rid Florida of Tom Feeney.

The other Democratic candidate, Clint Curtis, an apparent favorite of many readers here, continues to do poorly in the fundraising race. He raised only $4,300 this cycle and has just over that in cash on hand. I don't think there's any way he can be competitive.

There's a Democratic fundraiser here next month that I'll be attending. Kosmas and Curtis were both slated to appear but Curtis has now pulled out. I don't know the reasons behind that but it certainly seems that Kosmas is considered not only viable, but a possible frontrunner in the district race.

Feeney's campaign put on its game face.

A Feeney spokeswoman downplayed the fundraising difference and said he is "not focused on the campaign right now." In fact, Feeney collected about $60,000 more in the first three months of 2008 than he did in 2006.

"Every two years, special-interest groups try to come in and intimidate Tom Feeney, only to be disappointed," spokeswoman Pepper Pennington said.

That seems a bit of a reach to me. And, there's a lot of whispering going on in Republican backrooms.

There's more: "In FL-24, Kosmas Outraises Feeney - AGAIN!" >>

A Sure Sign

Who is in the most danger in two of Central Florida's most hotly contested races?

In FL-8, Ric Keller is facing a primary challenge after backing out of his self-imposed term limitation promise. He's leading the fundraising in the primary with almost $183,00 this quarter and a whopping $617,000 on hand. His Democratic opponents are doing almost as well.

Mike Smith raised $120,000 in the quarter and has $271,000 on hand while Charlie Stuart - Keller's opponent in a close race in 2006 - raised $117,000 and has $266,000 on hand. This will be a hard-fought primary with both candidates getting a lot of airplay leading to some good familiarity in the General Election.

I've already discussed the fundraising in the Feeney-Kosmas-Curtis race. One thing I'll say that Clint Curtis has going for him is the loyalty of his supporters. They are like Ron Paul's ardent admirers - one bad word and they let you know about it.

A lot of people don't want this race to be about money. I wish it weren't a political reality but it is. For a minute, let's take money out of it and look at the action on the ground.

I was at a meeting with a group of local Republicans, City Commissioners and other supporters planning a community event. For obvious reasons, we normally don't discuss politics but a discussion ensued over Kosmas being in the race and whether she can beat Curtis in the primary.

The real buzz at this meeting was the seeming acceptance that Tom Feeney will not be re-elected if that happens. Many have abandoned what they feel is a sinking ship but are loathe to pool their efforts to help Keller get re-elected. They may turn to his primary opponent, Todd Long, who I think is far too conservative to get elected in an almost 50-50 district.

FL-7 is John Mica and he's safe. Rep. Dave Weldon (FL-15) is not running but I doubt the district will go blue unless a strong candidate jumps in. A telling sign will be the winner of the special election next week to fill disgraced state representative Bob Allen's seat. If it goes blue, this is a race that will draw Republican supporters from other districts to shore up the red candidate.

Overall, though, there is a rising drumbeat among Republicans that Central Florida will be 2 & 2 with Feeney and Keller out. That's a sure sign they are both in real danger.

There's more: "A Sure Sign" >>

Feeney Loses Fundraising War - and maybe more.

I recently wrote that Suzanne Kosmas apparently outraised Tom Feeney in Congressional District FL-24. That might have been the understatement of the year.

Feeney raised $329,631 in the third quarter and declared it a record - the highest quarter he has ever had. Maybe the Abramoff scandal is catching up, maybe Republican are just "so last year." I don't know.

What I do know is that Kosmas raised more than DOUBLE the amount Feeney did in the last quarter: $359,790 to Feeney's $153,499. More importantly, of the $770,000 or so that Feeney has raised thus far, he only has $454,625 on hand. Kosmas had $336,949 and she has only been in the race for THREE months!

I know some readers of this site want Clint Curtis to be the Democratic candidate. It's just not meant to be. Clint is the "uncle who saw the UFO" in Florida politics. True or not, his Feeney-vote rigging story just seems too bizarre for the mainstream and it reflects in his fundraising - $20,769 this quarter. That's not even 6% of Kosmas's fundraising power for that quarter.

In my mind, this is about electing Democrats. Like Kosmas or not, if you really want us to succeed in Washington, staying home on Election Day is not an option. We may not all like our Presidential nominee, whoever that may be, but come November, I'm voting for the one with a (D) by their name.

Think about it. The real deal in this race is Kosmas. She blew away Feeney's fundraising record and, come March, she'll overtake his cash on hand too.

Wake up, folks. FL-24 is in play and I could be in FantasyLand by the end of the year.

There's more: "Feeney Loses Fundraising War - and maybe more." >>

In Other Florida News

I'll let the pundits continue the Rudy death watch in Florida as poll after poll puts Romney ahead. That's pretty stunning considering that Rudy was second only to Hillary in fundraising in Florida.

Meanwhile, we missed this. Romney's main man in the sunshine state, Tom Feeney, probably has the fight of his congressional career on this hands. His new opponent has revved up the fundraising machine and I may be living in Fantasyland come November.

For the third quarter, Feeney announced that he had raised the most money EVER in his career - $324,000. Rumor has it that he raised only half that in the last quarter.

Last week, we got the news that Suzanne Kosmas broke Feeney's own record in the last quarter by raising over $350,000. This, when she only entered the race in October.

We can hope.

As an aside, the Republican plot to disenfranchise Democratic voters by moving up the primary so Florida was stripped of its delegates by the DNC appears to have failed.

In Orange County, 45 percent of early voters so far are Democrats and 42 percent are Republican. ...

For absentee votes, 46 percent are from Democrats, 44 percent from Republicans.

Even in Florida, there are times those dirty tricks don't work.

There's more: "In Other Florida News" >>

It's Bye, Bye Keller Time

I know it's Presidential Campaign season so writing about lowly Congressional District races is not very sexy. With 18 House Republicans set to leave in the 2008 cycle, we will have a lot of fresh faces and the DCCC is working hard to target the ones where we have a better than average chance to win. Here in Central Florida, we have not one, but two nationally targeted races.

I've gone through what I consider the vulnerabilities of both Ric Keller and Tom Feeney. Keller's real danger is the primary but his opponents, although well-known, are not nearly as effective in fundraising. His likely Democratic opponent and a rematch would be Charlie Stuart who is outraising everyone in the race including Keller.

Feeney's opponent is a somewhat well-known state politician with at least a little baggage. The strategy here is to link Feeney, not to Bush who still comes out on top in the heavy military district, but to Abramoff. In fact, only polls indicating Feeney-Abramoff ties give the Democratic challenger, Susan Kosmos any chance at all and Feeney still has a 9 point lead.

This month, however, it has become perfectly clear that Ric Keller is on the chopping block.

More after the jump...

In the November issue, Harper's does a real take-down of Keller and I suspect the timing is intended to expose a vulnerability that lawyer Todd Long might not have gone after without it:

It seems that every time a member of Congress divorces his spouse, has an affair, consorts with a prostitute, or exchanges racy emails with a teenage page, the media brings out charges of hypocrisy and trumpets the betrayal of the “family values” platform. However, many of the accused didn’t actually run on “family values”–they just happen to be Republicans, and that’s good enough for a press too lazy to do its homework. That’s why it’s so refreshing to uncover a true, unreconstructed, all-American family values hypocrite–Congressman Ric Keller of Florida.

Out of all the Republican "Family Values" guys they could have taken on - think Larry Craig and Bathroom Follies, Mark Foley and Frolicking Pages, Bob Allen and Big Black Man in Bathroom Stall or Dave Vitter and The Merry Madams - they pick a guy who had an affair with a campaign worker and then married her. In the grand scheme of Family Values, this seems a little like picking a daisy because the roses have thorns.

Harper's is apparently offended because Keller used his wife as part of his initial campaign. Huh? Doesn't every politician these days trot out the dutiful spouse? Is it because they can once again impeach Jim Dobson's judgement in backing political candidates:

According to the Orlando Weekly, Dobson “ran radio spots for Keller and campaign literature quoted him saying that Keller was ‘the obvious choice for those who care about the biblical values upon which our nation was founded.’”

The timing is suspicious but the results could be devastating. Keller's response was ridiculous.

"Regrettably, one out of two marriages in this country end in divorce, and my first marriage didn’t work out. My first wife and I split in 2002. I remarried years later in 2005. I’m happily married with a new daughter and another little girl on the way. Any rumor or innuendo that there’s anything more to it is false and a cheap political stunt. "

As the article in Harper's notes:

I spoke with four people, each of whom would only speak with me on condition of anonymity, and each of whom told me that Keller’s relationship with the staffer began while he was still married.

The chronology is damning. Beyond the issue of an affair is whether Keller used his office to reward a sexual relationship and, since married, used his office to reward his new wife.

In the world of negative campaign ads, some 527 is sure to have a field day with this in the primary making it very difficult. One way or the other, however, I think it's "Bye, Bye Keller" time.

There's more: "It's Bye, Bye Keller Time" >>

Only in Fantasyland Will Feeney Be Defeated

Central Florida papers are all abuzz this morning with the news that a Democratic "heavyweight" has entered the Congressional race against Rep. Tom Feeney (FL-24).

[Suzanne] Kosmas, 63, is a real estate business owner who is involved in numerous community groups and served in the Florida House from 1996 to 2004, when term limits prevented her from running again.

She's also considered the first legitimate challenger to Feeney, whom Democratic insiders see as vulnerable because of criticism targeting him as one of the "most corrupt" members of Congress.

I've written before about Feeney's corruptness, his association with Jack Abramoff and the golf trip as well as a possible investigation and his legal defense fund. But listen carefully:

Not even in the House of the Mouse - the ultimate fantasyland - will Tom Feeney go down to defeat. Well, there is one way...

I followed Kosmas for a few years when she was in the Florida House. She's not a bull in a china shop but rather a reasoned and seasoned politician. She was a leader in the fight to keep Katherine Harris from setting a deadline to certify the 2000 election, which would have kept Bush out of the White House. And, she was fairly effective in a Republican-dominated government at getting her issues out. Another words, a very credible candidate.

But, in Florida, that's rarely the end of the story. In this instance, it's all about the district and 2002. That's when the Florida legislature redrew Congressional districts. It turned the Central Florida landscape from purple to bright red. Feeney's district picked up new pockets of Republicans to fend off the only Democratic stronghold - Volusia County. It decidedly tipped the scales in heavily in favor of Republicans.

The District features the firmly Republican East Seminole County. It includes Cape Canaveral, home to NASA, Harris and Boeing with workers beholden to defense contracts. It also features Patrick Air Force base. Republicans outnumber all others (except Motor Voters) by 20%. These are people who walk into the voting booth with a Republican scorecard and vote the straight party line.

A glimmer of hope that a Democrat might have in this District is Feeney's indictment in an Abramoff-related crime. Even that doesn't appear to be a sure thing:

WASHINGTON -- The smell of scandal doesn't seem to have affected U.S. Rep. Tom Feeny's ability to raise campaign funds.

The Oviedo Republican announced today that he raised more money in the last three months -- $324,000 -- than any other quarter in his three-term congressional career.

The same report indicates that Feeney raised $33,000 for his legal defense fund during the same period. Let's face it - that's an awful lot of $$ for someone who's been getting nothing but bad press in the three major newspapers that cover his District.

One final hope is that a Republican contender will enter the race. Any Republican can win in this District. Given the choice between a corruption-smeared incumbents or a fresh face, Republican voters in the primary could kick Feeney to the wayside. If that happens, Feeney will be gone but the District will still be red.

There's more: "Only in Fantasyland Will Feeney Be Defeated" >>

Feeney Lawyers Up

As I mentioned briefly yesterday, Republican congressman Tom Feeney (FL-24) has set up a legal defense fund to pay for his ongoing legal fees. Feeney has been implicated in the Abramoff scandal, due in large part to a golf junket to Scotland in 2003. I've discussed the details of it here, here and here.

A story in the Orlando Sentinel details the fund set up. Here's what Feeney had to say:

"Department of Justice lawyers and our lawyers have been speaking. We will cooperate," the Oviedo Republican said Friday in a brief interview. He again denied that he is the target of a federal probe.

When asked why he established the fund, Feeney said he was being cautious and that money raised through the account would be used to "demonstrate conclusively that I always have acted with honesty and integrity."

And even though the reporter didn't ask the obvious, Leonard Joseph, the executive director of the Florida Democratic Party did:

If he didn't do anything wrong and isn't the target of an FBI investigation, as he claims, why would he set up a legal-expense fund?"

Here's another question. How do you incur over $23,000 in legal bills in two months if you're not under investigation? That's what his office is reporting he spent in February and March.

The article continues the comparison between Feeney's golf trip and under-reporting to the same activity that got Bob Ney in hot water. I think this is just about right.

Abramoff organized a similar Scotland golfing trip in 2002 for former Rep. Bob
Ney, an Ohio Republican convicted last year for accepting favors from Abramoff
in exchange for congressional action.

It's sad that Feeney continues to underestimate the entire population of the US. We can add 2+2. Let's do the math.

Jack Abramoff + FBI investigation + Golf Junket + Legal Fees = Indictment

It may take a while but, based on other Abramoff indictment time lines, Feeney's indictment seems about two months away.

There's more: "Feeney Lawyers Up" >>

Feeney has a blog

This is just too rich and rife with material not to do a short post. Congressman Feeney - he of the Abramoff lobbying scandal - has started a blog on his congressional website.

It's pretty clear that the posts are about him and not by him. And, it's definitely clear that the comments are moderated and "bad" stuff is weeded out. I tried to post and I guess I'm in violation of his policy:

All points of view are welcome on the Representative Tom Feeney's Blog, provided
they are respectful and professional. Abusive, inappropriate, or vulgar language, and personal attacks are prohibited and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the poster.

I guess my comment about being "tarred and feathered with the Abramoff scandal" was too much of a personal attack. Do you think I'm banned already. Here's a sample of acceptable comments:

Thank you for being a man of principal and justice for America. We appreciate your "America First positions" and need your continued voice in Congress. Thank you for standing up when I know it would be much easier to go along. Never forget--the President and Senate didn't hire you and they sure can't fire you!!

These are especially rich:

"I first want to say thank you for looking after the people and not your own interest to be in Washington. I would appreciate it if you could pass on this message to your colleagues in Washington. I will not vote, and will talk seriously, to many of my family members and friends that live in the states of Congressman, Republicans, who only care to be in Washington for their careers and not the safety and freedom of the American people. If they care more to buddy up to anyone that is looking out for their votes, they will be voted out. "

(my emphasis added) And another:

"You are a breath of fresh air............thanks for representing the people...........we have truly become a government of special interests............"

Reading the comments, I felt like I was participating in some alternate universe where Feeney didn't take an Abramoff-paid golf trip to Scotland that he underreported the cost on and didn't write a letter on Jack's client's behalf on another matter.

Where in the world do these people live? Oops - I forgot. I'm in Florida.

There's more: "Feeney has a blog" >>

How Quickly He Forgets

Nope, Tom Feeney never wrote a letter for Jack Abramoff. Just for one of his clients.

WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Feeney insists he never helped convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but in 2003 Feeney was among several lawmakers who wrote to the Energy Department opposing changes to a federal program that also were being fought by an Abramoff client.

It was just a few months later that Feeney, just like Nye, was rewarded with the trip to Scotland. He's going down.

Need more - see here, here , here and here.

Does Feeney survive? I don't think so and I'm pretty sure we're going to see a US Attorney scandal expansion here too.

There's more: "How Quickly He Forgets" >>

Feeney and Ney Went Up the Hill to Carry Abramoff's Water

Ney fell down and broke his crown.
Feeney came tumbling after.

Today, the Orlando Sentinel ran a story that uncovers Feeney's ties to Jack Abramoff's slush fund. We now know that the Scotland golf trip cost $150,226.32, about $18,750 more than Feeney reported.

ThinkProgress compares the Feeney trip to convicted felon, former Congressman Bob Ney, right down to Abramoff's instruction to underreport the trip and to show it being paid by the National Center for Public Policy Research, same group as Feeney's. And, they include this little tid bit from the Sentinel story:

Feeney has declined to answer detailed questions this week about how he
determined his $5,643 share of the trip’s expenses.

Fortunately, the St. Petersburg Times has discovered exactly how Feeney's office determine what to report, as I outlined in an earlier post.

But an e-mail obtained by the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday shows that
Abramoff's office sent specific instructions on how to report the trip expenses to a handful of people, including Feeney's congressional assistant.

The e-mail from Holly Bowers, Abramoff's then-assistant, instructs
recipients to say a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public
Policy Research, paid for the trip at a cost of $5,643 per person.

As I highlighted, Feeney's office specifically outlined how to report the trip which, by the way, was not reported until December 29, a full four months after the trip occurred.

The hits just keep on coming. Florida Today, another of Feeney's hometown newspapers, has also been asked by the FBI for a tape of an interview Feeney conducted with the Editorial board of the paper. This is in addition to the requests to the St. Petersburg Times and Orlando Sentinel.

Feeney says the FBI says he is not a target of the investigation but it's getting harder and harder to believe that. He's just lying way too much.

• Feeney denies having a relationship with Abramoff. Abramoff was on the golf trip with Feeney and eight others, one who has already plead guilty for doing exactly what Feeney did. Feeney has visited Abramoff's restaurant and picked up a $2,000 tab on at least twice.
• Feeney didn't know Abramoff paid for the trip. The email from Abramoff's office speaks for itself. It makes it clear that 1)there was a relationship developed enough so that Feeney's office would take instructions on how to fill out a required reporting form and 2) that Feeney's office knew that Abramoff paid for the trip.

And, he sounds just like Ney did about this time.

Ney:

I am absolutely outraged by the dishonest and duplicitous words and actions of Jack Abramoff."

He has said his actions benefiting Abramoff had nothing to do with the favors he received. He said he was misled by Abramoff and his associates.

I, like these Indian tribes and other members of Congress, was duped by Jack Abramoff."

Ney has said he was misled by Abramoff about who paid for the trip. "In April, 2002, I was approached by Mr. Abramoff, who I believed to be a respected member of the community, and asked to go on a trip to Scotland which Mr. Abramoff said would help support a charitable organization, that he founded, through meetings he organized with Scottish Parliament officials."

Feeney:

Feeney has said he did no favors for Abramoff in exchange for the trip.

In a 2005 Orlando Sentinel story, Feeney, an Oviedo Republican, said he was misled about who paid for the Scotland visit. In January of this year, he used stronger language, saying he was "duped and lied to" about what he thought was a fact-finding trip with Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

There's more: "Feeney and Ney Went Up the Hill to Carry Abramoff's Water" >>

Uh oh!

The noose is tightening around Tom Feeney. Remember that he strongly denied any relationship with Jack Abramoff and firmly denied that anyone knew the Scotland golf trip was tied to Abramoff. Well, once again, it turns out that was a lie:

But an e-mail obtained by the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday shows that Abramoff's office sent specific instructions on how to report the trip expenses to a handful of people, including Feeney's congressional assistant.

The e-mail from Holly Bowers, Abramoff's then-assistant, instructs recipients to say a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, paid for the trip at a cost of $5,643 per person.

The email was sent to Feeney's Executive Assistant as well as to Mark Zachares, the guy who just plead guilty to this conspiracy.

Oops! Wonder what Feeney will say now.

There's more: "Uh oh!" >>

The Missing Bullet Points

In a review of the documents from the US Attorney scandal, I find the Plan the most interesting. It is laid out "Step 1, Step 2" and so on. I've posted a copy of the Kyle Sampson email with the plan below:



I included this because what is becoming increasingly important in this scandal are the people whose names were whited out of Step 1. In the preciseness of responding to the request, information was provided only on the eight known attorneys. If Ryan and Cummins were part of step 1, they would be on this list because their names were included in the request.

Note - they are NOT on the list yet there are still three names missing. This is a question we should all be asking: Who were the other three US Attorneys included in Step 1?

I know there are three missing and that one is not Cummins because in a September 13 email from Sampson to Harriet Miers, Cummins was identified as a "USA in the Process of Being Pushed Out.

Under "USA's We Now Should Consider Pushing Out, the six - Charlton, Lam, Chiara, Bogden, and McKay - are identified. There are three whited out lines. Once again, if Ryan were on that list, his name would have appeared.

Based on prior actions where a USA is removed to impede an investigation, it makes sense that US Attorney Paul Perez in charge of the Middle District in Florida might be one of the missing. His is the District covering the Tom Feeney investigation.

I don't know for sure but the three missing names are a question Congress should be asking. Why aren't they?

There's more: "The Missing Bullet Points" >>

Feeney owes another $14,360

Remember the Scotland trip arranged by Abramoff that Tom Feeney went on? The one where they all played golf twice a day? Feeney reported that the cost was $5,640 and, after the Ethics committee said to, he paid it back. Turns out it was all a lie and the trip actually cost about $20,000 per person:

Zachares pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted in documents, among other things, that the travel report he filed upon returning from Scotland was filled with lies that were coordinated by Abramoff.

Zachares had said the trip was paid for by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that it had cost $5,643 and that the purpose was fact finding. All three were lies, according to the documents.

Feeney, 48, an Orlando-area Republican who has been contacted by the FBI as part of the Abramoff investigation, reported precisely the same details in his travel report on the Scotland trip.

When will they learn that the cover-up is almost always worse than the crime?

There's more: "Feeney owes another $14,360" >>

In light of this

TPMuckraker is reporting that Renzi's office contacted ousted US Attorney Paul Charleton about an investigation into the Congressman just one month before Charleton was fired. Of course, Renzi's offices were finally raided by the FBI last week.

I'm getting more certain that it's no coincidence that US Attorney Paul Perez, Middle District Florida, resigned in March 2007. His office would be in charge of the investigation into Tom Feeney.

There's more: "In light of this" >>

Feeney's Former Chief of Staff Resigns

It's heating up in the Feeney camp.

Earlier this year, Jason Roe, Feeney's Chief of Staff, left to go work on Mitt Romney's campaign as its Chief. Feeney came out big for Romney and things were going well until Monday's story in the St. Petersburg Times and Orlando Sentinel that Feeney was under FBI investigation.

Then, yesterday, this:

Jason Roe, who functioned as the campaign's top daily operating officer, told
campaign officials today that he planned to leave.

"Jason informed the campaign on Tuesday that he decided to resign, citing familial obligations," said Matt Rhoades, Romney's communications director, in a prepared statement. "We understood and accepted what must have been a hard decision."

I'm betting that it's more related to this. It's a bad sign when your former top man drops out.

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As the Abramoff Cookie Crumbles, So Does Feeney

Tom Feeney, waiting to be unveiled as the corrupt Delay crony, has finally gotten some decent attention for his dealings with Jack Abramoff.

As you may recall, Feeney was on the famous Scotland golf trip that cost Abramoff a cool $160,000. Just as the Dems took control of Congress, he agreed to pay back his $5,640 portion of the trip. He said he didn't know that Abramoff had paid for it.

Now, the FBI has requested information from reporters at both the St. Petersburg Times and the Orlando Sentinel. A Sentinel columnist, Scott Maxwell, shared this in his blog today:

It's not every day the FBI comes asking for my notes and records. But an agent did so just last week -- wanting whatever I could give him about Tom Feeney and Jack Abramoff. He wanted e-mail, maybe notes as well, from as far back as two years ago.

You might want to read the whole thing as it has a pretty good run-down of how Feeney's then Chief of Staff, Jason Roe, handled it. Of course, he apologized to the lobbyist, not to the constituents.

Tom Feeney was a Delay man. When Delay went down and his ARMPAC money was returned by many Republican recipients, Feeney, a $10,000 man, held on to his. Maybe he knew he'd need it for legal fees.

But I wonder if this story doesn't have a US Attorney angle tied to it. Earlier, I posted on Senator Nelson's request for information on why Paul Perez, the US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida - Feeney's district, had resigned in March 2007.

The angle had to do with a letter that several of the purged attorneys had signed and Perez was among them. But the timing, especially now, makes me wonder if the US Attorney scandal hasn't claimed another. Here's what Perez had to say about his leaving:

As U.S. Attorney, “you serve at the pleasure of the President, but you know you don’t get appointed for life,” Perez told the Tampa Tribune. “I wanted to make sure I left on my own terms.” Perez is taking a job as chief compliance officer at Fidelity National Financial, a big publicly traded insurance outfit based in Jacksonville.

My emphasis added. Does it sound like Perez thought he was on the block? Did his office have anything going on Feeney/Abramoff at the time? By the way - compliance officer???

I don't know if something is here, but we have another US District with a corruption inquiry where the US Attorney in charge of the District resigned. It smells.

UPDATE: I called the US Attorney's Office in Orlando to ask if they were a part of the investigation into Feeney or whether the FBI was initiating it on its own. They indicated that it could be either but that it would be inappropriate to comment. But, they did want to know whether I had any relevant paperwork or information.

There's more: "As the Abramoff Cookie Crumbles, So Does Feeney" >>