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First it was Cunningham.... Then it was DeLay.... Now its Republican Representative Bob Ney:

Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to his dealings with the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, lawyers and others with knowledge of the investigation said Thursday.

A guilty plea would make Mr. Ney, a six-term congressman, the first member of Congress to admit to criminal charges in the Abramoff investigation, which has focused on the actions of several current and former Republican lawmakers who had been close to the former lobbyist.

I will say this again - I don't expect the Abramoff investigation to play much of a role this fall. For all the attention bloggers, including myself, hve given it over the past year and a half, the actual investigation is still very much underway. Abramoff himself has yet to be sentenced because he is continuing to cooperate, and my guess is that when the details about Ney come out, we'll learn that he too is willing to talk. This is a Republican scandal that has very deep roots, and we're still in the early days of learning who was involved.

Anyone who doubts that should remember the way Speaker of the House Denny Hastert reacted to the FBI raid on corrupt Democratic Congressman Jefferson's office. Hastert immediately rushed to his defense, and nary a word was heard from anyone on his side of the aisle. Were it not for the precedent that case set, Hastert and Rove would have been all over that one. That they actually came to the man's defense tells you something very, VERY important.