Former Aide to Rep. Istook (R-OK) charged in Abramoff-related crime
The fallout from the Abramoff public corruption crime spree continues. Another former Hill staffer has been charged with an Abramoff-related crime:
A one-time chief of staff to former Oklahoma Rep. Ernest Istook has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the House as part of the Jack Abramoff scandal.
John Albaugh is accused of accepting meals, sports and concert tickets, and other perks from lobbyists in exchange for official favors, according to charges outlined in a criminal information filed in federal court on Friday.
Such documents are normally entered as part of a plea deal. Albaugh was expected to appear at a court hearing Monday afternoon.
Albaugh served eight years as top aide for Istook, who left Congress to run for governor of Oklahoma in 2006. Istook lost and is now a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington.
Istook, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Abramoff and his associates. Referred to as "Representative 4" in court documents, he also used the lobbyist's skybox tickets for concerts. He later donated the campaign money to charity and paid for the seats.
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Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
On behalf of myself and every good American, I can't thank you enough Melanie Sloan for your tireless efforts in exposing and seeing that justice is done to hypocritical scum like this that plagues our country. Yes it's on both sides, but it's mostly on the right, and for some reason the right seems to tolerate offenders who are caught in the act.
Thank you especially for keeping the focus on the trash that is Ralph Reed, who would otherwise float to the surface again.
Thank you. We don't say it enough, but many of us continue to deeply value your service to America.