Dirty Harry Reid: No Comment To AP

I seem to recall a recent news image of Dirty Harry Reid sitting ringside at a Vegas prize fight for which he didn't pay to attend. But this is a far larger sum of money and a more obvious and significant ethics violation.

I say let the hearings begin. Reid sure has had a lot to say about everything lately. Too bad he opted for no comment, now. After all, the crook could have simply invoked the Fifth.

The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown's company without public knowledge, but still collect a seven-figure payoff nearly three years later.

Reid hung up the phone when questioned about the deal during an AP interview last week.

Kent Cooper, who oversaw government disclosure reports for federal candidates for two decades in the Federal Election Commission, said Reid's failure to report the 2001 sale and his ties to Brown's company violated Senate rules.

"This is very, very clear," Cooper said. "Whether you make a profit or a loss you've got to put that transaction down so the public, voters, can see exactly what kind of money is moving to or from a member of Congress."

"It is especially disconcerting when you have a member of the leadership, of either party, not putting in the effort to make sure this is a complete and accurate report," said Cooper. "That says something to other members. It says something to the Ethics Committee."

Other parts of the deal _ such as the informal handling of property taxes _ raise questions about possible gifts or income reportable to Congress and the IRS, ethics experts said.

Stanley Brand, former Democratic chief counsel of the House, said Reid should have disclosed the 2001 sale and that his omission fits a larger culture in Congress where lawmakers aren't following or enforcing their own rules.

Comments

[Geek, Esq.]

The only story here is the failure to report this to the Senate. The rest of the details are unremarkable to this kind of land deal.

Zzzzzz.

[Ali]

Previous poster. I love the hypocrisy of the Culture of Corruption bloviators.

Funny, it sure applied to republicans.

Wait till he brings up JA again... I have enough to send him into assisted living... and Pelosi too.

[Geek, Esq.]

This was a perfectly legal land deal. The only thing he did wrong was failing to disclose that he transferred his legal interest to an LLC of which he also was an owner.

The AP's characterizatin is highly misleading.

[jpe]

It's a pass-through entity, so the economic effect of the transfer is nil. Reid deserves a slap on the wrist for being sloppy about filing forms, but unless more comes out of this (if, say, Reid engaged in quid pro quo to arrange the sale in the first place or to get the zoning switched), that's about it.

[SLAYER]

http://democraps.youarelame.com/

JUST ANOTHER TYPICAL DEMOCRAP !!!LMAO ROTF...

[DaveS]

A quid pro quo, like this one?
http://www.noagenda.org/2006/08/reid_coyote_springs_valley.php

[SLAYER]

http://harry.youarelame.com/

TURN UP YOUR SOUND AND ENJOY !