The JackOff Scandal - It ain't over yet. 2.0

Abramoff Scandal Yields More
Charges

By James V. Grimaldi

Washington Post

Saturday, February 21, 2009; Page A02

A former legislative aide to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) was accused yesterday of accepting more than $25,000 worth of meals and event tickets from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for helping his clients.

Ann M. Copland, 52, was charged in U.S. District Court in Washington with one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud. The charge came in a criminal information, a document typically filed by prosecutors when a defendant has agreed to plead guilty. . .

. . . Court documents filed yesterday and last month contain e-mails between Copland and the Abramoff team, including with lobbyist and former legislative staffer Todd Boulanger, who has pleaded guilty in the influence-peddling case. Copland had been dubbed "Staffer E" in papers filed with Boulanger's plea.

The Abramoff scandal is like the gift that keeps on giving . . . and such special gifts too - indictments, criminal charges, guilty pleas, and usually . . . convictions. This lady Ms. Copland has possibly been very naughty - exchanging $25-Large in free meals and event tickets for "'inserting, protecting, removing' items in spending bills" certainly bears the appearance of impropriety, no? And certainly members of Congress and their aides must avoid the appearance of impropriety!

OH THE APPEARANCE! The appearance! The appearance of impropriety! It's unthinkable! It's unkthunkable! IT'S DESPICABLE! IT'S DESPUCTABLE! Why I think I'm catching the vapors. Meh! Doahh-hooooooghghghwhwhwhwhwhwhw!! It's the ague, the ague of impropriety!

What's going to happen when Staffer E passes finally down to Staffers XY and Z? Staffer A1? Congressman 24-A86 in the case? Staffer 1.41-B x 10(10th)?