New York Times Gives Nancy Pelosi Some Sage Advice About Murtha

An edtiorial which appears in today's New York Times advises Nancy Pelosi to investigate Rep. John Murtha and his shenanigans with the PMA lobbyist group.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi should listen to the wise Democrats who are pushing for an ethics inquiry into the far-too-cozy relationship between lawmakers and the PMA Group of superlobbyists.

The Justice Department is investigating whether PMA used illegal straw donors to lard the campaign kitties of cooperative lawmakers. The firm — which shut itself down after being raided by federal agents — fed and fed richly off the defense appropriations subcommittee led by Representative John Murtha, the House baron of Pentagon spending.

Beyond the criminal investigation, the House needs to look into any violations of its own ethics rules. And the Democrats need to deliver on their party’s ethics promises — and more and more of them know it. As Representative Ron Kind told The Hill newspaper, “As long as this is not dealt with in the right manner, it’s just going to be a cloud hanging over us.”

Justice Department Wants Republican Senator Ted Stevens Verdict Overturned Due To Its Mistake

According to CNN the Justice Deparment wants the guilty verdict against former Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska set aside. The article cites the request amid charges by an FBI agent of prosecutorial misconduct. Evidently there was an interview of the contractor that was withheld by the government from the defense. The contractor valued the services provided to Stevens much less than he testified to during the trial.

Stevens lost a re-election bid in November to Democrat Mark Begich, who had been Anchorage's mayor. I wonder whether the FBI agent was a Democrat.