Sweeney: Stake though the heart?

Wednesday's story in the Albany Times-Union on John Sweeney's unreported junket to Saipan/CNMI, haven for sweatshops, could be the coup de grace for Congressman Kick-Ass. http://timesunion.com/...

ALBANY -- U.S. Rep. John Sweeney may have violated congressional ethics rules by failing to reveal who paid for a trip he took to a Pacific island with a lobbyist hired by convicted Washington influence peddler Jack Abramoff.

In January 2001, Sweeney traveled 8,000 miles to deliver a speech to the Saipan Chamber of Commerce in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory infamous for its garment sweatshops and prostitution trade. He traveled with Tony Rudy, who had just left the staff of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to work for Abramoff.

   

This is the header of the Times-Union story:

  Sweeney trip in question
Visit to U.S. territory with Jack Abramoff associate possibly broke rules

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau

First published: Wednesday, October 18, 2006

and more of the story:

     
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce says it paid for Sweeney's visit, but Sweeney never reported any privately funded travel as House rules require. Those rules prohibit lobbyist-paid travel....Under House rules, U.S. government-paid travel, including travel financed by the island commonwealth, does not need to be disclosed. However, this week the Marianas government disputed Sweeney's assertion, saying it did not pay for the trip.

The Times-Union story continues at considerable length, with more juicy details on Sweeney and Abramoff's so-far separate efforts on behalf of the CNMI sweatshop racket.  

By a happy coincidence or excellent rapid response, a labor rally yesterday highlighted the same issue:

Contact: Prairie Wells 518-588-9825
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
LABOR RESPONDS TO SWEENEY TIES TO ABRAMOFF
(October 18th, 2006) Albany- Labor Leaders from the Capital District gathered in front of the Leo O'Brien Federal Building today to call on Congressman John Sweeney to address his connection to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, sweat shops and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Mike Keenan, president of the Troy Area Labor Council and Vice President of the Capital District Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO stated that "Although the AFL-CIO is concerned about the issue of non-compliance in terms of ethics, we are equally concerned by the fact that our Representative has been associating with and acting as an agent for a convicted lobbyist working to continue the CNMI's use of the `Made in the USA' label. Our district has lost much of it's manufacturing base over the last 20 years, and the loss of family-sustaining jobs that were created by manufacturing has never been made up for by any other industry....

Sweeney has previously been reported to be under federal investigation. But speculation has focussed on the fact that he hired his wife as a fundraiser, so that 10% of contributions go directly into their household for the personal use of the Sweeneys.  She had no previous experience fundraising, but managed to gross several hundred thousand and take home several tens of thousands of bucks.  Not bad for a beginner.

Nb: The new Majority Watch poll cited by Kos,
http://www.dailykos.com/...
which has Dem challenger Kirsten Gillibrand up 54-41, was taken BEFORE this story broke in the MSM.  (It has been blogged here for a few days.)  Even if this poll is too optimistic, Gillibrand has been gaining steadily throughout the campaign.

Sweeney of course has been saturating the airwaves with mud.
Gillibrand has been fighting back.  Help is welcome.

http://www.gillibrand2006.com/...