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Congressman Pleads Guilty but Won’t Resign Now
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/u...&en=ab5f8c8551fb1197&ei=5094&partner=homepage
By PHILIP SHENON
Published: October 14, 2006
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 — Representative Bob Ney, the first member of Congress to confess to crimes in dealings with the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges Friday but said he would not immediately resign.
Mr. Ney, Republican of Ohio, announced last month that he intended to plead guilty, admitting that in return for official acts, he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from Mr. Abramoff that included lavish trips, meals and tickets to concerts and sporting events. He faces a prison term of more than two years.
But what had not been expected at Friday’s court hearing was Mr. Ney’s disclosure that he intended to remain in Congress for now. The announcement appeared to surprise and infuriate House Republican leaders, who are trying to tamp down other scandals that are threatening to damage the party in next month’s Congressional elections.
After learning that Mr. Ney would not step down immediately and would continue to draw his $165,200-a-year salary, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders said they would move to expel him as soon as Congress returns next month for a postelection session.
“Bob Ney must be punished for the criminal actions he has acknowledged,” they said in a statement. “He betrayed his oath of office and violated the trust of those he represented in the House. There is no place for him in this Congress.”
The White House joined in calling for Mr. Ney to resign immediately. “What Congressman Ney did is not a reflection of the Republican Party,” said Tony Snow, the White House spokesman. “It’s a reflection of Congressman Ney, and he ought to step down.”
Mark H. Tuohey, a lawyer for Mr. Ney, said during the hearing, at the Federal District Court in Washington, that the congressman would resign “in the next few weeks” but wanted to remain for now “to make sure his staff is taken care of” and to deal with constituent issues.
Congressional rules do not require the immediate departure of a member convicted of a crime. So unless his House colleagues act to expel him, Mr. Ney, who announced in August that he would not seek re-election, could choose to serve until his term ends in early January.
Mr. Ney, 52, appeared contrite but calm in his court appearance. Asked by Judge Ellen S. Huvelle for his plea to charges of criminal conspiracy and making false statements, he replied, “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”
He said in a statement issued after the hearing that “I accept responsibility for my actions and am prepared to face the consequences of what I have done.”
In announcing last month that he had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors, Mr. Ney said he was an alcoholic and was seeking treatment at an outpatient medical center. Asked by Judge Huvelle on Friday whether he was currently under any medical treatment, he replied, “Right now, alcohol, last 30 days.”
The congressman is to be sentenced on Jan. 19. Under the plea agreement he could face 10 years’ imprisonment, but prosecutors have said they will ask Judge Huvelle to limit the sentence to 27 months, and she is expected to agree. His lawyers said Friday that they would ask that he be placed in a prison with an alcoholism treatment program.
Mr. Abramoff, a former Republican fund-raiser who pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiring to corrupt public officials, including Mr. Ney, is to begin a prison sentence of nearly six years next month.
In two weeks, David H. Safavian, a former Bush administration official, is to go before a federal judge here to receive a prison sentence for his conviction on charges of lying about his relationship to Mr. Abramoff, including the circumstances of a 2002 golfing trip to Scotland that was arranged by Mr. Abramoff for Mr. Ney, Mr. Safavian and others.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/u...&en=ab5f8c8551fb1197&ei=5094&partner=homepage
By PHILIP SHENON
Published: October 14, 2006
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 — Representative Bob Ney, the first member of Congress to confess to crimes in dealings with the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges Friday but said he would not immediately resign.
Mr. Ney, Republican of Ohio, announced last month that he intended to plead guilty, admitting that in return for official acts, he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from Mr. Abramoff that included lavish trips, meals and tickets to concerts and sporting events. He faces a prison term of more than two years.
But what had not been expected at Friday’s court hearing was Mr. Ney’s disclosure that he intended to remain in Congress for now. The announcement appeared to surprise and infuriate House Republican leaders, who are trying to tamp down other scandals that are threatening to damage the party in next month’s Congressional elections.
After learning that Mr. Ney would not step down immediately and would continue to draw his $165,200-a-year salary, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders said they would move to expel him as soon as Congress returns next month for a postelection session.
“Bob Ney must be punished for the criminal actions he has acknowledged,” they said in a statement. “He betrayed his oath of office and violated the trust of those he represented in the House. There is no place for him in this Congress.”
The White House joined in calling for Mr. Ney to resign immediately. “What Congressman Ney did is not a reflection of the Republican Party,” said Tony Snow, the White House spokesman. “It’s a reflection of Congressman Ney, and he ought to step down.”
Mark H. Tuohey, a lawyer for Mr. Ney, said during the hearing, at the Federal District Court in Washington, that the congressman would resign “in the next few weeks” but wanted to remain for now “to make sure his staff is taken care of” and to deal with constituent issues.
Congressional rules do not require the immediate departure of a member convicted of a crime. So unless his House colleagues act to expel him, Mr. Ney, who announced in August that he would not seek re-election, could choose to serve until his term ends in early January.
Mr. Ney, 52, appeared contrite but calm in his court appearance. Asked by Judge Ellen S. Huvelle for his plea to charges of criminal conspiracy and making false statements, he replied, “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”
He said in a statement issued after the hearing that “I accept responsibility for my actions and am prepared to face the consequences of what I have done.”
In announcing last month that he had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors, Mr. Ney said he was an alcoholic and was seeking treatment at an outpatient medical center. Asked by Judge Huvelle on Friday whether he was currently under any medical treatment, he replied, “Right now, alcohol, last 30 days.”
The congressman is to be sentenced on Jan. 19. Under the plea agreement he could face 10 years’ imprisonment, but prosecutors have said they will ask Judge Huvelle to limit the sentence to 27 months, and she is expected to agree. His lawyers said Friday that they would ask that he be placed in a prison with an alcoholism treatment program.
Mr. Abramoff, a former Republican fund-raiser who pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiring to corrupt public officials, including Mr. Ney, is to begin a prison sentence of nearly six years next month.
In two weeks, David H. Safavian, a former Bush administration official, is to go before a federal judge here to receive a prison sentence for his conviction on charges of lying about his relationship to Mr. Abramoff, including the circumstances of a 2002 golfing trip to Scotland that was arranged by Mr. Abramoff for Mr. Ney, Mr. Safavian and others.
