Inside the Beltway. . . and Out

Another one bites the dust.

Neil Volz, former Chief of Staff to Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, today pleaded guilty to conspiring with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff to commit fraud by giving and taking bribes.

Rep. Ney was identified as "Representative #1" in Jack Abramoff's plea documents, which outlined how Abramoff provided "Representative #1" with things of value in return for official acts.

One of the things-of-value in question is a lavish golfing trip to Scotland for Ney, David Safavian (the White House aide who faces trial for lying about his relationship with Abramoff) and former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed (who is now running for Lt. Governor of Georgia).

Ney's official report to Congress listed a purpose of the trip as a "speech to Scottish Parliamentarians" but the Washington Post notes there is no record of Ney's speech in the Scottish Parliament's register of official visits. Plus, the Post points out, at the time of Ney's trip, the Scottish Parliament was out for its August recess.

Ney lost his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee because of this unfolding scandal, but he won the Republican primary a few weeks ago.

As more and more bad news keeps coming out about him, he may at some point just call it quits.