The mid-term elections are over and the people have decided that they want their corrupt members of Congress to come back home. In a Bloomberg article today, Rep. Rahm Emanuel states that eight seats flipped due to the corrupt activities of the current, or recently resigned/indicted/plead guilty, occupant. After reviewing the Bloomberg article and the members of Congress tied to congressional scandals it seems that Rahm has presented a lowball number of congressmen sent home. So let’s take a look at these members of Congress who will no longer be wearing the congressional uniform of solid blue suits, American flag lapel pins, and an unfailing arrogance of power.

I am not a target of an investigation and neither is Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. But is Sen. Burns “under investigation”? Is he a “subject” of an investigation? Over the weekend the Washington Post checked the investigatory lingo out and found that despite Burns’ protestations that he is not a “target” of any investigation he is still potentially in deep trouble.

The Post asked Stanley Brand, “a lawyer in Washington with decades of experience in defending prominent officials charged with corruption,” about the importance placed on the terms “target,” “subject,” and “under investigation”:

Is corruption an issue or is it not an issue? The Washington Post puts out yet another article explaining how corruption is not a driving issue in campaigns despite the myriad scandals in Washington. They then trot out Sen. Conrad Burns’ reelection campaign as an example where the Senator’s close ties to Jack Abramoff are not affecting the race. Please! Burns has been hit on ethics issues for almost a year now and you’re telling me that has nothing to do with the recent polls showing him down nine points in the polls.

And you thought it was safe? Today, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and violate federal lobbying laws and to making false statements. Ney, formerly known as the Mayor of Capitol Hill, is the first lawmaker to plead guilty in the ongoing investigation into the activities of uberlobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Please read TPM Muck's Tribute to Bob Ney.) This guilty plea comes one day after the House passed a miniscule earmark reform, a lame replacement for lobbying and ethics reform. Not long ago the Washington Post wrote this, "Some lawmakers and political analysts believe that voters could punish incumbents during the November elections if Congress passes a minimalist ethics bill. The chances of such a backlash could rise, these critics say, if there are more indictments or guilty pleas later this year." Polls are already showing that individual lawmakers involved in the Abramoff scandal are suffering in their chances for reelection.

Today, Sunlight is posting an online poll asking the public if Congress is doing enough to address ethics and lobbying reform in the wake of recent scandals. We've posted one serious question and another one with a touch of humor: do you think it more likely that there would be a live sighting of Elvis before the current congressional leadership showed real leadership on the need for reform? (The poll is viewable here, and bloggers are encouraged to copy the source code and post it on their own sites.)

Why the cynical question? Here's a brief guide to the issue.

• Rep. [sw: William Jefferson] (D-LA) secured a $100,000 bribe for the Vice President of Nigeria to get leverage in dealing with the Nigerian state phone company, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Jefferson received the $100,000 from Lori Mody, the woman who wound up turning on the congressman, and promptly hid $90,000 in his freezer while telling Mody that he had given the money to the Vice President. The money was recovered in an FBI raid of Jefferson's house. The big question here is whether Jefferson was ripping off Mody and is that why she decided to turn him in?
• All eyes are on the congressional race to fill [sw: Duke Cunningham]'s (R-CA) House seat. Cunningham resigned last year and subsequently pled guilty to accepting bribes and was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in prison.
• Another big race will test how Abramoff-related charges are affecting the image of Sen. [sw: Conrad Burns] (R-MT) as he faces a state Sen. Bob Keenan in the Montana Senate Republican primary.
• The Associated Press rewards bad journalism.
• Closing arguments in the David Safavian case will be held next Monday, according to the Associated Press.
• And finally, House Minority Whip [sw: Steny Hoyer] (D-MD) asserted that Jefferson should step down from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. When asked why he gave this reason, "I think the reason is because he sits on a tax-writing committee and he had $90,000 found in his freezer ... I think he's got a tax problem, if nothing else." (CongressDailyPM)
  

Hotline On Call Blog shows that Sen. [sw: Conrad Burns] (R-MT) is burning up the fundraising trail:

Senator Burns Upcoming Events/ June 2006 6/8 Dinner with Senator Burns and Special Guest Senator Lott 6:30 pm-Cocktails, 7:00 pm-Dinner The Caucus Room 401 9th Street, NW, Eisenhower Room $2,000 Per Sponsor/$1,500 Per PAC/ $1,000 Per Person 6/21 Breakfast with Senator Burns and Special Guest Senator Grassley 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Patton Boggs 2550 M Street, N.W. $2,000 Per Host / $1,000 Per PAC / $500 Per Person 6-20 Reception with Senator Burns at the Home of Senator and Mrs. Bill Frist, M.D. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Frist Residence: 2860 Woodland Drive, N.W. $5,000 Per PAC Hosts (4 Tickets) / $2,500 Per PAC Sponsor (2 Tickets) General Tickets: $1,500 PAC and $1,000 Individual 6-29 Breakfast with Senator Burns and Special Guest, Senator Robert Bennett 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM Charlie Palmer’s 101 Constitution Avenue, NW

• Yet another Bush Pioneer pleads guilty, this time in Ohio. Tom Noe, a big Republican fundraiser and coin collector, admitted "that he used friends and colleagues to illegally pour thousands of dollars into the effort to re-elect President Bush," according to the Toledo Blade. Noe joins Jack Abramoff as Bush Pioneers who will be sent to prison. Brent Wilkes, alleged to have bribed Jailed Rep. Duke Cunningham, is also a Bush Pioneer under investigation by the Justice Department. Noe will face up to 30 months in prison.
• According to the New York Times, ethics officials testifying in the trial of David Safavian stated that he "had not told them important facts about his relationship with Abramoff" while he was working at the General Services Administration.
• The San Bernadino Sun reports that San Bernadino County has been asked by federal investigators to turn over "records related to the county's contract with a top D.C. lobbying firm tied to Rep. Jerry Lewis."
• Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) continues to face questions due to his relationship with Jack Abramoff, according to the Associated Press.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) doesn't know when to quit. The Billings Gazette reports that Burns is attending a lobbyist fundraiser at the offices of Patton Boggs despite the fact that the Senator has been under investigation in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

The Patton Boggs fundraiser will be hosted by five lobbyists at the firm, three of whom list one of their specialties as "appropriations" on the firm's Web site. Burns is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. One of the hosts, Kevin O'Neill, has "secured more than $100 million in federal appropriations for his clients," according to the Web site.

"Senator, could you pass me that croissant. And I'll have that $50 million appropriation while you're at it. By the way, here's your $500 check."

The event is $500 per person and $1000 per PAC.

According to Knight Ridder Newspapers, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) inserted one of the largest earmarks into the controversial emergency spending legislation for Katrina and Iraq. Burns' earmark totals $3.9 billion and is meant "to help farmers hurt by any natural disaster, not just last year's hurricanes. The money includes aid to offset the high costs of oil, making agriculture one of the few industries to get energy-related assistance." Meanwhile Tom Coburn's (R-OK) amendment to kill the railroad relocation in Mississippi, derisively labeled the "railroad to nowhere", failed in a 49-48 vote. Some those voting to keep the $700 million railroad relocation earmark in the spending bill "were several of the 35 senators who had pledged earlier in the day to back Bush's veto if he cast it."

UPDATE: NZ Bear at Porkbusters has a roll call of those voting against Coburn's amendment.