馬英九特別費案 and Pelosi/Murtha

2006/11/14 21:51 東森新聞記者倪鴻祥／台北報導

還不知道這樣的情況有甚麼效果 ... 我希望這個案子最後會讓馬無法參選。重點在於讓一個本土黨在贏，讓中國國民黨在哭累了。如果中國國民黨三次連續地輸，他們才會本土化。

台北市政府秘書長李述德14日晚間臨時對外說明，最近清查馬英九市長特別費單據核銷過程，發現其中一名已調職的前承辦科員取巧，拿金額較大的本人及他人發 票，代替原先零星發票，核銷市長特別費，時間長達3年6個月，貪圖省事核銷總金額約80萬元；該名前承辦員已函送檢調單位偵辦。 ...
由於台灣高檢署承辦檢察官侯寬仁上午才傳喚馬英九出庭應訊，市府秘書長李述德卻在晚間臨時召開記者會說明，市府的說明是否能證明馬英九未涉報假帳的行為，檢方需深入追查；不過，馬英九市長特別費問題，將引發藍綠陣營大攻防。

On a related note, there's a good Washington Post article on Pelosi backing Murtha for House majority leader, and the rather shocked reaction some people have:

By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 14, 2006; Page A01

Pelosi (D-Calif.) directly intervened in the heated contest between Murtha (D-Pa.) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) on Sunday by circulating a letter to Democratic lawmakers. The letter voiced her support for Murtha and put her prestige on the line in a closely fought leadership battle. Some Democratic lawmakers and watchdog groups say they are baffled that Pelosi would go out of her way to back Murtha's candidacy after pledging to make the new 110th Congress the most ethical and corruption-free in history.

Murtha, a longtime senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, has battled accusations over the years that he has traded federal spending for campaign contributions, that he has abused his post as ranking party member on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, and that he has stood in the way of ethics investigations. Those charges come on top of Murtha's involvement 26 years ago in the FBI's Abscam bribery sting.

The article goes on to mention a lot of specifics, such as contracts that were given to a company that happened to be one of Marta's biggest contributors and happened to employ his brother as a consultant. It also mentions Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington or CREW, a Democratic-leaning group that was shocked by Pelosi's decision.

I just want the Dems to do a good job here, so I hope they don't humiliate themselves in anyway.