Tom Noe & Abramoff together may bring down Bush & Co

[rrrevolution]

These guys were the money men, delivering the big payoffs, and scamming millions for themselves.

But now the prosecutors have ahold of 'em, and guess who is going to cut a deal? Ans: both of them! The only catch is they have to fully disclose everything they know about others in these rotten transactions, and tell the truth and testify against the others to get the benefit of their respective plea bargains.

If I were Gov Taft I would be plenty worried.
It is hard to fashion a plausible explanation of ignorance as to how he got himself in this position -- and he knows Noe must have made a deal with the prosecutor, and Taft knows what Noe can and will reveal. As long as Noe is alive and well, Taft's prospects are done for.

If I was Noe I would make sure my life insurance premiums were paid up.

Tom Delay is in as much trouble with Abramoff. Delay can manipulate the Repub controlled House to ward off ethics charges, but indictments are a different thing altogether. Delay is bound to know Abramoff will cut a deal -- and the costs of all deals is to bring evidence against and testify against a higher up, in this case Delay.

Abramoff is different in that his money relationships with just about every Repub in Washington means he not only knows who got what in the money game, but also means he knows what the money was ultimately used for and how Repubs are connected in this sordid affair.

I also get the impression he is plenty irritated with the Repubs who tried to publicly "chip him off the ice flow and watch him float away" after all the free meals he gave them at his restaurant, and after all the money deliveries he did for them. So there is no reason for him to hold back what he knows about them if it will help his case.

Delay, in my opinion, is going down hard -- and there are plenty of Repubs who will give him a helping shove out the door as soon as they are convinced he is really gone.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. Is There A Reason For Optimism Here?

Have they bitten off more than they can chew? Are these guys really going to sing against the higher ups? I still can't see any of them turning on each other. I figured they'd go down with the ship before exposing someone powerful like Delay or Taft.

[rrrevolution]

2. Oh yes, you can be sure they are already singing

Taft publicly stated Noe tried to hide the coin fund investment from him. Noe gave him 24 hrs to retract this public statement or he would release proof that was not true -- which Taft refused, and Noe did release docs proving Taft knew about the coin fund years ago.

No love lost there. Noe is looking squarely at serving real prison time. You can bet he is singing .....

Abramoff is in same situation. Delay publicly stated he put distance between him and Abramoff long ago, but Abramoff has the goods to prove that is not true. Abramoff is also facing real prison time, and basically has been "black balled" by all the Repubs he handled money for -- so you can bet he is singing also.

[blue sky at night]

3. stop it your giving me.........

hope. Thanks for your insights. I live in Ohio and would like nothing better than to see the house of cards fall. My freeper brother said, "some people don't trust the stock market, so the coins were a good investment"; too much koolaid and ignorance in the Buckeye.

Taft visits Toledo area, declares scandal won't force him to quit
Noe's lawyer releases ads on coin funds

Gov. Bob Taft made a trip to Pearson Metropark to talk about problems with the emerald ash borer, but he spent part of his time talking about his knowledge of Tom Noe’s coin funds.
THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
By JOSHUA BOAK and JAMES DREW
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

Gov. Bob Taft visited Pearson Metropark yesterday to discuss eradicating the emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle whose larvae have devastated parts of Michigan and northwest Ohio by feeding on the inner bark of ash trees.

Instead, the governor answered questions about the state’s $50 million rare-coin fiasco with Republican fund-raiser Tom Noe.

Convicted last week on four misdemeanor ethics violations and fined $4,000, Mr. Taft reiterated that he will not resign because of the scandal threatening to eat away at his administration’s credibility and future.

“My job is to continue to do the job that I was elected to do over the next 16 months,” he said. “I have one job to do and that is move this state forward as governor.”

While the governor spent the afternoon in Toledo, William Wilkinson, Mr. Noe’s lawyer, released advertisements and artwork to reporters in Columbus showing that his client actually boasted about the state’s coin investment and bragged that their profits humbled a burst stock market.

[rrrevolution]

5. Taft's problem is he is stuck in quicksand with no help in sight

Taft cannot spin the 4 misdemeanor convictions he just pled no contest to on television. He cannot spin the public apology the Court made him issue.

He cannot change the written documentation that has come out showing his knowledge and involvement, nor the written documentation that is sure to come out later.

And worst of all, it is too late for Taft and Noe to "put the money back." Auditors know it is missing, and it is a matter of time before they track it down as to where it went.(Most likely a large chunk went directly into the Bush/Cheney Reelection Campaign).

Stick a fork in Taft, he is done! Just a question of who and how many he takes down with him.

[blue sky at night]

6. next we need to see the tall oak that is Kenneth Blackwell.....

come toppling over and crash to earth. God I hate that guy.

[OzarkDem]

4. Link between investment scandals in Ohio & San Diego

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050823/NEWS24/508230377

San Diego sues consultant used by workers' comp bureau

By JOSHUA BOAK
BLADE STAFF WRITER


In the endless summer that is San Diego, dark clouds have rolled in for Callan Associates, the consultant formerly responsible for selecting investment advisers for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.


The San Diego city attorney alleges in a lawsuit filed yesterday that the San Francisco-based firm relied on a ''pay-to-play system" to choose managers for the city's pension fund, which faces a $1.4 billion shortfall.

As a result of troubled ventures in rare coins and a Bermuda hedge fund, the Ohio bureau fired Callan last month and launched an independent review of each of its 144 investment managers. The bureau had depended on Callan's judgment since 1996.

[wli]

7. Cheney will just order airstrikes...

On whatever jails they're being held in to silence them.