Ted Stevens is toast; Hawaii is the Big Kahuna; and K Street says hello and goodbye. Today's news round-up below:

Down the tubes. Sen. Ted Stevens did not become the first convicted felon to win election to the Senate, as was previously thought. After counting all the votes (that's always a good idea), Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich became the first Democrat to win election to the United States Senate in 30 years (the previous Democrat being Mike Gravel). Stevens was the longest serving Republican in Senate history and not only shaped modern Alaska, but helped it to win statehood when he worked in the Eisenhower administration. The Alaska Daily News has an article on "The rise and fall of Sen. Ted Stevens." I suggest you read it.

With Stevens out and Sen. Robert Byrd stepping down as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Hawaii is poised to become the Big Kahuna in Washington. Chief among the reasons that Hawaii is set to high-jump over the competition is that the frail 90 year old Byrd is being replaced as Appropriations Chair by the spry 84 year old Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye. Hawaii already gets its fair share of federal money, including huge sums from earmarks.

With Democrats ascendent in Washington, K Street is kicking their GOP lobbyists to the curb or leaving them lonely in their offices with little to do. Meanwhile, frosh Democratic lawmakers are being introduced to business lobbyists in process not too different from an arranged marriage. Two young calves for a vote on the farm bill. "'Introductions are being made to the business community of key moderates coming into Congress, so we can get an early start building relationships,' one Democratic lobbyist said."

Sometimes congressional seats come fixed with a superstitious quality; a curse, perhaps. North Carolina's Class 3 Senate seat is famous for only electing one-term senators. No senator has served for more than one-term since Sam Ervin retired in 1974. Now, a spooky air covers Florida's 16th congressional district as a sex scandal, unearthed by ABC News, has hit freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney. This marks two elections in a row where the incumbent in Florida's 16th is hit with a sex scandal reported by ABC News just weeks before an election.

During the 2006 elections, ABC News reported that incumbent Rep. Mark Foley was engaged in improper relationships, both on- and off-line, with teenage male congressional pages. Foley resigned his seat immediately. Mahoney's scandal is a bit different from Foley's attempts to sleep with teenagers. Mahoney is accused of paying hush money, to the tune of $121,000, to a former mistress and ex-employee who is suing him for wrongful termination after she was fired soon after their affair went sour. Mahoney is also accused of arranging a $50,000 a year job for the woman with a public affairs firm that his reelection committee pays to do advertisements.

For the guy challenging Mahoney this cycle, watch out, ABC News has their eye on you.

What could be more annoying than tens of billions of taxpayer dollars used to bail out a huge, irresponisble corporation, essentially nationalizing the company? That corporation spending that money to lobby the very government that owns a majority stake in it. And that, children, is the story of AIG as told by AIG spokesman Joseph Norton, "We are not a GSE [government-sponsored entity] and are therefore not restricted. We remain a share-holder owned entity and continue advocacy activities." That is correct, the only problem being that the majority share-holder is the United States government.

Members of Congress are still looking to party for campaign contributions and Party Time is still tracking the fund raising events in Washington. This week we have a Janet Jackson concert, a Browns-Skins game, and a pheasant hunt. I hope that there are no wardrobe malfunctions, Redskins losses, or friends shot in the face at any of these events.

And our friends at Open Congress were profiled on local New York show Brian Lehrer Live. Watch the interview with OC's David Moore: OpenCongress.org with David Moore from Brian Lehrer Live on Vimeo.

If you're a lawmaker, or former CIA official, caught in a corruption investigation there are many different ways to get out of trouble:

• "Graymail": Under indictment and facing trial for corruption and fraud, K. Dusty Foggo, the former number three at CIA caught in the Duke Cunningham investigation, is threatening to reveal classified information related to terrorism in the trial. Prosecutors claim that Foggo wants to turn the trial into a referendum on the war on terror and portray himself as an anti-terrorism hero. K. Dusty Foggo: "Freedom isn't free, it costs prostitutes for me. And then you get your classified government contracts."
• "Deny": Yesterday, TPM Muckraker reported that the indictment of Kevin Ring included information linking Ring's actions to the office of Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico. Ring is alleged to have provided gifts, including tickets to basketball games, to a staffer in Wilson's office. Wilson, who also received campaign contributions and a hosted fundraiser, issued a strong denial of any involvement in Ring's activities.
• "Challenge": Lawyers for Sen. Ted Stevens have issued a series of challenges and accusations against the government prosecution including a filing on Tuesday stating that the government refuses to turn over certain documents related to VECO CEO Bill Allen's possible relationship with an underaged girl.
• "Wait it out": Republicans are calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove Rep. Charles Rangel from his post as chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means. Pelosi won't budge and instead insists that the House Ethics Committee must first finish their investigation. The call for committee removal seems a bit premature, as I can only remember lawmakers removing themselves, or being removed, after an indictment, guilty plea, or, in the case of Alan Mollohan, when they are the chair of the Ethics Committee. However, I have little faith that the Ethics Committee wil conduct a full investigation by the end of the year.
• Also, CREW released their annual list of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.

• Lawyers allege that Sen. Ted Stevens received additional gifts outside of the over $250,000 in labor and renovations to his chalet. These gifts included a $2,695 massage chair, a $1,000 sled dog, and a $3,200 "hand-designed" stained glass window.
• Rep. Charles Rangel will recommend that the House Ethics Committee look into his personal finances after reports from the New York Post and New York Times revealed that Rangel failed to properly report income from a Dominican vacation home on both his personal financial disclosures and his income taxes.
• However, an Ethics Committee investigation may take time as the committee does not have a chairman at this time following the tragic death of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Rep. Gene Green is the likely temporary replacement, although Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't appoint Green until after a Sept. 10 memorial service for Tubbs Jones.
• The Federal Election Commission will hold a hearing on Sept. 17 on proposed rules for the disclosure of contributions bundled by registered lobbyists.

The Pfizer-General Motors-Northwest Airlines-United-Coors Democratic and Republican conventions are looking for more sponsors; Dodd doesn't understand acronyms; sometimes it's not really disclosure; bad campaign donations; ethics complaints; angry foreigners; and our favorite frozen food fan, William Jefferson. Only the Sunlight Foundation sponsors this news:

The next big moment in the 2008 Presidential election will be the late-summer nominating conventions where a carefully staged and scripted performance will be fueled by large corporate donations despite the reformer images presented by the two nominees. Participants can expect discounted plane tickets, free cars, hot parties, and lobbyists, lobbyists, lobbyists. The inverse of AA, sponsors don't help you with your problem, they make it worse. Both convention organizing committees have released documents to leading corporate fundraisers informing them that certain levels of contributions will lead to access to elected officials. The Republican convention packet explains to donors that they will be able to "connect with influential government officials (cabinet, president, next president)." The Democratic convention produced a "corporate sponsorship package" that gets you into events with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Sen. Ken Salazar, among others. To his credit, Democratic nominee Barack Obama wants to change the corporate funding model for conventions.

Sen. Chris Dodd claims that he did nothing wrong when he received a preferential mortgage from Countrywide Financial because he did not know that the VIP program meant he would be treated with preference. I can't decide if this makes Sen. Chris Dodd totally out of touch or totally in touch with the average American. Sen. Kent Conrad continues to defend his name, stating that he received preferential treatment unknowingly. Conrad has donated the estimated amount of money he saved from the treatment to charity.

Speaking of congressional mortgages and homes, you won't always find them on the personal financial disclosures that lawmakers are required to file. Why? Because lawmakers don't have to list personal residences that don't create rental income. The Politico writes, "They don’t have to disclose loan amounts. They don’t have to disclose loan rates. And they don’t have to disclose mortgage lenders." Sen. John Cornyn, ranking Ethics Committee member, states that he would like to see changes in personal financial disclosure forms.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack is being asked about campaign contributions from Inland Empire businessmen currently under investigation for contributions to state-level California politicians.

CREW files an ethics complaint against "dead-beat congresswoman" Laura Richardson.

Foreign companies that own U.S.-based subsidiaries are fighting back against proposed transparency reforms by Sen. Chuck Schumer to close loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The federal grant at the center of the indictment of family members of Rep. William Jefferson began as an earmark inserted at the last minute into an appropriations bill. In an unsurprising turn of events, no lawmaker has taken credit for the earmark.

Wealth disparity in Congress as lawmakers disclosure their finances; KBR can't decide if it's "Support the Troops" or "All for the Ca$h;" McCain's soft-money cash cow is called what again; and William Jefferson starts to pay back a loan to businessman who is currently a government witness against him. If you work for the Army, don't do your job, it could get you fired. This is today's news:

Yesterday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill disclosed their personal finances to the public highlighting recent news stories and controversies. At least a dozen lawmakers report loans from Countrywide on their personal financial disclosure forms. Last year, nine lawmakers reported loans from the mortgage giant currently embroiled in a Justice Department probe and a congressional influence scandal. There is no implication of wrongdoing on their part. Tardiness consistently plagues the financial disclosure process. This year, sixty-six lawmakers in the House failed to disclose on time. Meanwhile, the economic downturn hit some lawmaker finances hard. Both Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel lost millions of dollars as the market dropped. Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, however, both grew their personal fortunes. (Check out previous personal finance data at Fortune 535 or Open Secrets.)

An Army contracting officer reports that he was fired in 2004 for refusing to approve $1 billion in questionable charges from KBR, the defense contractor providing food and housing for Army troops in Iraq. The inspector general for Iraq reconstruction reported last year that KBR was using improper procedures and failed to keep appropriate records. When the officer told KBR that he would withhold payment the contractor replied that if they were not paid for the questionable charges they would "reduce payments to subcontractors, which in turn would cut back on services." It's nice to know that our contractors use our countries soldiers as a chit in a game to make more loot.

A non-profit headed by allies and former staffers of Sen. John McCain repeatedly accepted large soft money contributions from corporations with business before the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired at the time. The Reform Institute (that's the actual name) pushed issues like campaign finance reform and largely mirrored the efforts of McCain.

Rep. William Jefferson is finally paying back a loan to a businessman who is currently a government witness against the embattled New Orleans lawmaker. No word on the temperature of the money used to pay back the loan.

Sen. Kent Conrad's mea culpa; 2008 Beijing Olympics received a helping hand from the Hammer; and Rep. James Clyburn's family friendly earmarks.

Kent Conrad sought to assuage critics as more information was revealed about preferential loans he and Sen. Chris Dodd received from Countrywide Financial. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Conrad, after receiving Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's phone number from ex-Veep vetter Jim Johnson, called Mozilo to directly ask for a loan. How could you not expect preferential treatment when your loan officer is the CEO? In response to the continued criticism and coverage, Conrad declared that he would refinance his loan and donate the estimated amount he saved - $10,500 - to Habitat for Humanity. Conrad has also called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate both his and Sen. Dodd's mortgages.

In 2001, Tom DeLay was at the height of power in Republican politics, cutting deals with energy interests, Jack Abramoff, and countless others. DeLay also happened to work with a major Republican contributor in his dealings with the popular conservative bugaboo of 2001: China. During court proceedings into Republican contributor Sheldon Adelson's bid to build casinos in Macau, the billionaire casino mogul revealed that he personally called up then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay to ask him to kill a House measure opposing the awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing as it would help him secure Chinese support for his business venture. DeLay, a cosponsor of the anti-Beijing resolution, consulted with other Republican leaders before telling Adelson he needn't worry about the measure. Days before the International Olympic Committee was to vote on the host city for the 2008 Olympics, the measure disappeared from the House agenda. Adelson subsequently won support from the Chinese government, which intervened to help his bid in Macau at least twice, and Beijing won the 2008 Olympics.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina is found to be earmarking money to projects that employ at least four of his family members and to other projects run by or employing former staffers.

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Countrywide is on your side; OMG!, Congress is still earmarking; and the Waxman committee officially approves of the White House-Abramoff report. The power's out in D.C., but we still have news:

Sen. Barack Obama's VP vetter Jim Johnson resigned his post after it was revealed that he received favorable loans from Countrywide while he served as the head of home loan giant Fannie Mae. The Countrywide scandal spread to the United States Senate today as it was revealed that Sens. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee, received the same favorable loans from Countrywide. Dodd and Conrad were listed as "Friends of Angelo," after Countrywide's CEO Angelo Mozilo, and "received better deals than those available to ordinary borrowers." It is unclear whether Dodd and Conrad were aware of the special treatment as "Friends of Angelo," "weren’t told exactly how many points were waived on their loans," unless they asked. Both Senators deny knowledge of their special treatment. Also receiving favorable loans were former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, former UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

One year after seriously cutting back on earmarking, Congress is indulging in an election year pork roast. My personal favorite earmark listed in the article: an indoor small-arms range in Connecticut. (When will they subsidize arms ranges like this one.) The biggest increase in earmarks appears to be in the Defense Appropriations. The House authorization bill alone increased earmarks by 29% from last year's bill.

By a voice vote, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved their report on the ties between the White House and Jack Abramoff. Chairman Henry Waxman said, "We haven’t always agreed on the significance of the facts we have learned, but we have agreed that we should report the facts fairly and accurately to Congress and the public."

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Follow up on Curt Weldon's Russian ties and the Pentagon contracts he tried to secure, a "dead beat congresswoman," one Pennsylvania lawmaker gets sick of earmark criticism, and, yes, this is the Summer of Abramoff 4 (I know, more sequels; don't the investigators at the FBI have any new ideas). This is your congressional news:

Former Rep. Curt Weldon's dalliances with Putin-linked entities and Russian mobsters are back in the news as the federal investigation into the ex-congressman's activities heats up. Sharon Weinberger and Nathan Hodges, writing at Wired's Danger Room, show that Weldon facilitated a contract with Putin-linked IEG and the Pentagon for an "anti-missile project." That contract was ultimately scuttled by Doug Feith.

Senators Chuck Schumer and Claire McCaskill introduced a bill today to close loopholes allowing lobbyists for foreign clients to avoid disclosure.

Recent developments in the Jack Abramoff investigation are centering on ex-Rep. John Sweeney. Roll Call reports that the Sweeney investigation may have spun off of the Abramoff investigation as federal agents began to look at dealings involving spouses of members of Congress. Sweeney's ex-wife was paid by the lobbying firm that was raided the other day by the FBI and is a central focus of the investigation.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is conducting a hearing today into their recently released report on White House ties to Jack Abramoff.

Monday is release day for lawmaker's personal financial disclosures. It is likely to be another embarrassing event for Rep. Laura Richardson, as she has been the focus of negative media attention for the foreclosure on her house, which was not listed on her previous personal financial disclosures, and her efforts to regain her house after seizure.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over the campaign finance filings of Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

And, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle doesn't want his "monument to me" anymore. Doyle wants the Doyle Center for Manufacturing Technology, created in 2003 by an earmark secured by, you guessed it, Mike Doyle, to be renamed. It turns out that the congressman is sick of being the punchline in attacks against the earmarking practice.

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Today's news from Capitol Hill includes the never ending Jack Abramoff investigation, congressional staff still running for K Street, and the growing effects of transparency on the lobbying profession:

Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff will finally face sentencing this September for his role in bribing members of Congress, executive branch officials, and staffers while bilking Indian tribes for millions of dollars. This doesn't mean the investigation is slowing down, in fact, expect more indictments and targets to emerge this summer. What's important: "federal investigators appear to have 'moved beyond Abramoff ... they are into a whole other layer of people who could supply them with more information even than he could.'"

The Abramoff investigation spreads, as noted above, as a New York lobbying firm is raided by the FBI. The FBI is investigating former congressman John Sweeney's ties to the convicted lobbyist.

A Roll Call investigation finds that 60 out of 100 senior congressional staff have gone through the revolving door in the past year.

Alabama Rep. Artur Davis earmarked funds to two community colleges that paid the salary of one of his district aides.

Lobbyists are peeved that the Bush administration is putting the kibosh on last-minute rule-making, the pot o' gold at the end of rainbow for regulatory lobbyists.

And, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act is already forcing lobbyists to rethink their behavior. Why? One word: Transparency.

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