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Wednesday, April 06, 2005

End Times

The Moose suggests that rodents in Sugar Land should beware - the Bug Man may soon be returning.

This piece in today's Washington Post reporting on a DeLay trip to Russia, that was paid for by a shadowy group, buries the lead in the final few paragraphs. What is interesting in this story is that a prominent member of the Republican Washington establishment speaks on the record divulging information that can be harmful to the once dreaded House Majority Leader.

After detailing the links between a firm with ties to the Russian security establishment and the sponsorship of DeLay's junket, the story continues,

"Steve Biegun, who was then a senior Russia expert for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later served as executive secretary to the National Security Council during President Bush's first term, said he deliberately blocked a meeting that Nevskaya sought with Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), then the committee chairman.

"They were a client of the lobbying firm Preston Gates," said Biegun, who is now a Ford Motor Co. vice president for international governmental affairs. "I made some calls . . . and got enough warning signs" to ensure that Helms avoided dealing with the firm. Biegun said the information he obtained from his sources was "nothing that would stand up in court" but he worried that in this period, "a lot of unsavory figures from Russia were buying their way into meetings and getting their pictures taken, to put on the wall back in Moscow."

For you Kremlinologists, what is fascinating about the quote is that it is from a highly respected denizen of K Street and a former prominent staffer in both the Bush Administration and Capitol Hill. The Rove fix likely is in.

Tom DeLay should consult with Trent Lott, immediately.
-- Posted at 9:46 AM | Link to this post | Email this post