absolute power

[theknife]

it's something less than a surprise that, less than one year after winning the trifecta of American politics (control of the White House, the Senate, and the House Of Representatives), the GOP leadership of all three are enmeshed in criminal investigations.

first we have Bill Frist, Republican Senate Majority leader, apparently engaging in the same activities that sent Martha Stewart to jail:

The federal government broadened its inquiry Friday into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's sale of stock in the giant hospital chain that his family founded.

The company, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA, and Frist's office said Friday that investigators from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York had requested documents related to the sale, which occurred shortly before the stock price plunged.

meanwhile, in the White House, Karl Rove, Andrew Card and the rest of senior staff have more to think about than just the Valerie Plame grand jury. the indictment of lobbyist Jack Abramoff has segued into the first arrest of a ex-White House official (ex as in "quit Friday, arrested Monday"):

WASHINGTON -- The arrest of a former White House official marks a new phase in the investigation of Jack Abramoff in which authorities are seeking to extract information about the high-powered Republican lobbyist.

David Safavian was arrested Monday and charged with making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation relating to a 2002 golf outing to Scotland with Abramoff; former Christian Coalition executive Ralph Reed; US Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio; and others.

Safavian is the first person to face charges arising out of the investigation of Abramoff, a major Republican fund-raiser with close ties to GOP leaders in Congress.

the Abramoff indictment is now raising questions about his relationship with Karl Rove as well:

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove on behalf of a large, Bermuda-based corporation that wanted to avoid incurring some taxes and continue receiving federal contracts, according to a written statement by President Bush's nominee to be deputy attorney general.

Timothy E. Flanigan, general counsel for conglomerate Tyco International Ltd., said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that Abramoff's lobbying firm initially boasted that Abramoff could help Tyco fend off a special liability tax because he "had good relationships with members of Congress," including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

but that's not Delay's only nagging legal problem:

A grand jury in Texas indicted yesterday a state political action committee organized by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for accepting $120,000 in allegedly illegal corporate campaign contributions shortly before and after the 2002 elections that helped Republicans cement their control of the House of Representatives.

it's worth noting that, unlike the Clinton years, these are not congressional investigations by the opposition party. the assorted and often overlapping probes are just good old-fashioned investigations by the SEC and state/federal prosecutors and grand juries. as always, absolute power corrupts absolutely.