The indictments keep coming

Horace Cooper is among other things --

a Senior Fellow in Law and Regulation at the Institute for Liberty

Incidentally, P O'Neill is a Senior Fellow at the Dublin Institute for Culture and Knowledge. And therefore alarmed that such a title for a blogger is no bar to a federal indictment --

The indictment alleges that from approximately December 2001 to May 2005, while he worked at VOA and then at the Department of Labor, Cooper conspired with Jack A. Abramoff, a former Washington, D.C., lobbyist, and others, to defraud the United States of his honest services and of its right to have federal executive branch business conducted without improper influence. The indictment also alleges that Cooper, Abramoff and others conspired to give and receive things of value to influence or reward Cooper for official acts as a federal executive branch employee.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that during this time, Cooper solicited and received from Abramoff and his colleagues thousands of dollars worth of tickets to sporting events and concerts; that Cooper and his companions allegedly received free or discounted meals and drinks on dozens of occasions at a restaurant controlled by Abramoff; and that Cooper, at Abramoff’s invitation and expense, allegedly hosted a Super Bowl party for his friends at another restaurant Abramoff controlled. The indictment also alleges that Cooper, rewarded and influenced by the tickets and meals solicited and received from Abramoff and his associates, agreed to use his official positions at VOA and the Department of Labor to advance Abramoff’s interests and those of his clients. In addition, the indictment alleges that from approximately 1998 to 2000, Cooper received from Abramoff and his colleagues thousands of dollars worth of tickets to concerts and sporting events while Cooper was serving as a Congressional staffer.

There are also a bunch of obstruction of justice charges, but as we learned during the Valerie Plame saga, obstruction of justice is not a crime if there was no underlying crime so he might be OK on that one.

Note: Cooper held key mid-level positions under George Bush, including at Voice of America, and he was Dick Armey's staff lawyer when Armey was one of the senior Republicans in the House of Representatives. Armey's current outfit, FreedomWorks, is orchestrating the angry white guy rallies at the Congressional healthcare meetings. It's a small world.