Ney quits, ‘seven weeks too late’
Convicted congressman infuriates Ohio Republicans
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Jack Torry and James Nash
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Just four days before southeastern Ohio voters pick his successor and three months before he is sentenced to prison, Rep. Bob Ney yesterday resigned the congressional seat he has held since 1995.

Ney sent a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., saying, "Having completed all outstanding work in my congressional office, I now hereby resign from the United States House of Representatives effective close of business on Friday, Nov. 3, 2006."

Ney’s decision to resign on the eve of the election infuriated Ohio Republicans who have urged him for months to step down. Ney, R-Heath, who pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges last month, was facing certain expulsion when the House returned next week.

By waiting as long as possible to resign, Ney collected his regular congressional salary through yesterday. But he exits by delivering another political blow to state Sen. Joy Padgett, of Coshocton, the Republican candidate seeking his seat against Democrat Zack Space.

"It’s about damn time," said Robert T. Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. Bennett grumbled that by waiting until yesterday, Ney gave "no consideration at all" to the state GOP and the House Republican leadership.

"He did not do the right thing. He should have stepped down a long time ago."

Padgett issued a statement declaring that Ney’s "resignation from Congress has come seven weeks too late. I called on Mr. Ney to resign the day he admitted guilt, and I remain disappointed that he chose not to do so."

Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, issued a brief statement: "Well, it’s about time."

Ney’s announcement caps a week of bad news for Padgett. On Tuesday, House Republicans pulled back on television advertising on Padgett’s behalf to focus on more-competitive races. Later in the week, a Reuters poll found that Space had a sizeable lead on Padgett.

Her campaign has been punching away at Space, pointing to years when he missed elections during his 20s. Yesterday, Padgett’s campaign unearthed records that show that Space’s law office failed to file routine business reports with the Ohio secretary of state’s office in 2003 and 2004. Space minimized the issue, pointing out that it never jeopardized his ability to practice law.

The back-and-forth between Padgett and Space at least partially shifted attention away from Space’s signature theme, political corruption in Washington. Ney’s announcement puts that theme back in headlines just days before the election.

Angela Guyadeen, spokeswoman for Space, said the Dover law director would emphasize his anti-corruption message regardless of Ney.

"It’s not just Ney," she said. "Washington is broken and the message for change has been resonating throughout the district."

The seat will remain vacant until the winner of the Padgett-Space race takes office in January. Legal analysts say it is unlikely that the federal courts would order the state to hold a special election to select someone to complete his term, which would have ended in January.

The 6 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2004 that Gov. Bob Taft violated the U.S. Constitution when he refused to call a special election in 2002 to fill the last five months of the seat held by Rep. James Traficant, D-Poland. The House expelled Traficant that year after his conviction by a federal jury on 10 felony counts.

But the court concluded "that there may be instances where the time remaining in the congressional term" is so short that the governor would not be required to call a new election.

Ney faces a prison sentence of as long as 27 months when he is sentenced Jan. 19. He is the first congressman to be legally ensnared in a scandal involving former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In a plea agreement between Ney and prosecutors, Ney admitted accepting thousands of dollars in expensive trips from Abramoff and Syrian-born businessman Fouad al-Zayat. In return, according to the agreement, Ney promised legislative and governmental favors to both Abramoff and al-Zayat. There apparently was no business link of any kind between Abramoff and al-Zayat.

According to the agreement, Ney twice in 2003 flew to London to meet al-Zayat, known in London gambling circles as the "Fat Man." Al-Zayat supplied Ney and at least one unnamed Ney staff member with thousands of dollars in gambling chips, which allowed Ney to bring more than $50,000 back to the United States. The agreement said that Ney accepted three free trips from Abramoff, including an August 2002 golfing trip to Scotland on a private jet.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/11/04/20061104-A1-01.html


Appears to be a popular pose among Republicans!!!