11/04/2007

Democrats in Pennsylvania in Trouble?

It looks as if Pennsylvania state politicians used state money to pay legislative aides to work on campaigns. Apparently, both parties are involved, but everything that I read indicates that it is much more of a problem for the Democrats. While the media has shown very little interest in this so far, this scandal may be the one thing that keeps the Democrats from taking complete control of the Pennsylvania state government.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg obtained a letter from House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, a Democrat from western Pennsylvania, telling recipients to keep quiet about the "extraordinary" bonuses because not everyone got one.

"I have seen in our internal investigations no evidence that behavior was illegal," DeWeese told The Associated Press. "But that's not for me to decide. That's for the attorney general and his team."

The investigation seems to have everyone in Pennsylvania's State Capitol holding their breath as witnesses are being dragged before the grand jury and both parties in the House have been hit with subpoenas.

In August, investigators seized 20 boxes of records from the House Democratic research office, touching off a separation-of-powers legal battle. On Thursday, a petition by the House Democrats seeking to block access to the records was denied by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. . . . .

Labels: