This was passed along to me as an ‘interesting threat,’ and I agree:
Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett said Thursday that he’d ask Rep. Bob Ney to resign from Congress if he were indicted on felony charges.
Bennett stressed that Ney, R-Heath, has not been charged with any crime and that the party backs him for re-election.
However, if the Justice Department investigation of former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff leads to a Ney indictment, that would change.
“If he’s indicted for a felony, we would ask him to step aside until the matter is cleared up,” Bennett said in a phone interview with The Enquirer.
Ney, who was traveling in Ohio this week, called The Enquirer to repudiate Bennett’s comments.
“No party boss tells my constituents what to do,” Ney said. “They will decide this thing.”
Abramoff and his associate, Michael Scanlon, have pleaded guilty in federal court to using campaign contributions and gifts – such as a golf trip to Scotland in 2002 – in exchange for official favors from Ney.
Ney has said he did not do anything improper or illegal and is cooperating with investigators, who have subpoenaed him for documents.
Asked if Ney planned to step down if Bennett urged him to do so, Ney said: “I would say if he asked me to step down that he’d better look in the mirror because glass houses break easily.”
I m not sure of what to make of it, but it sure sounds like Ney has got something on the entire Ohio power structure.
Rob
I don’t think there is any other way to take this than a threat.
VidaLoca
Good. I hope it all comes out in his plea agreement.
srv
“I’ve done nothing improper or illegal, but screw with me and I’ll take you down with me”.
Party of Corruption rulebook.
Pooh
Standard bullyboy tactics. I’m glad my country runs like a middle-school locker room.
Geek, Esq.
Scary to think there’s more corruption than the Taft and Ney stories.
The Ohio GOP really could implode.
Paul Wartenberg
Is there anything left of the Ohio GOP power structure? I thought they’ve all been in hiding over the Coingate affair…
Paul Wartenberg
Damn. *Now* I know why today’s politics reminds me of the 7th grade. It would explain *so much*…
Angry Engineer
I suspect it’s run that way because 95% of our representatives would be far more comfortable snapping towels at each other than they would be having an honest and constructive conversation about where this country needs to go.
Ney’s comments are just one more piece of evidence that Ohio’s got some seriously crooked politics going on.
AlanDownunder
Ah Ohio.
Jcricket
Combine Abramoff with Coingate and other scandals one can only hope that the entire Ohio GOP goes down. Few bad apples my ass.
demimondian
Now that you mention it, it does make me think of _Harry Potter and the Halls of Justice_ (or whatever its name was.)
Blue Shark
…Yeah…He knows who rigged the re(s)election.
…No wonder they are shittin’