The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, also known as S. 1, or the ethics and lobbying reform bill, is not everything we had hoped it to be. And it's nowhere near what we'd like it to be despite its lofty title and low number.

That's all right.

If the Senate gives its approval to S. 1 this week, as it's expected to do, Congress will finally have produced tighter ethics and lobbying rules after being dragged through the mud of the Abramoff, Foley, Ney and Cunningham scandals of years past. And we'll soon be reminded of why we went to this trouble, when Rep. William Jefferson, D-LA, goes to trial.

If you're contemplating donating to a political campaign, you'd probably be more comfortable giving to a candidate who wasn't under investigation by the FBI, right?

Then these numbers probably aren't a big surprise.

Meanwhile, his Democratic challenger raised $193,238 this quarter.  Doolittle may also face a primary challenger, which will mean he'll need even more money.

So what do you think?  Even if Doolittle isn't prosecuted before the next election, will his legal problems keep him from fundraising enough to stay competitive?

No, it's not John Doolittle.  Yet.

In the angle of the Abramoff story concerning the Interior Department, Jared Carpenter has pleaded guilty to tax evasion.  Carpenter was the vice-president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), a non-profit started by now-imprisoned Italia Federici and former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.  CREA received large donations from Abramoff, his cronies, and their clients, at the same time he was lobbying the Interior Department on tribal gaming issues.

Here's an interesting AP article I almost missed, laying out the strange position Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) finds himself in.

You know about the one the FBI is actively investigating him for - $5000/month from Jack Abramoff to Julie Doolittle for questionable consulting work while the gentleman from California was ushering Abramoff's pet issues and projects through Congress.

And then there's the other scandal, the bribery case that's already landed ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) in prison:

Good news for Abramoff, bad news for Tom DeLay and John Doolittle?  From The Hill:

In addition to Abramoff and close friend Michael Scanlon, the court has also delayed sentencing hearings for Tony Rudy and Neil Volz.  What might this mean?  Well, if prosecutors are continuing to gather information from the key players in the Abramoff scandal, it may strengthen their investigations and potential charges of players not yet under indictment, such as DeLay and Rep. Doolittle.  And the willingness of the court to continue to postpone sentencing indicates that the information they are receiving from these men is valuable.  DeLay and Doolittle can't be feeling very safe right now.

As we mentioned last week, former Karl Rove assistant and Jack Abramoff aide Susan Ralston is angling for immunity from the House Committee on Overight and Government Reform.  It now appears that she is definitely willing to testify, and indeed does have information of interest...but first she wants that immunity.

Ralston was Abramoff's executive assistant until 2001, when she went to work for Rove on Abramoff's recommendation.  More than half of the contacts between Team Abramoff and the White House were made through her.  I can't wait to hear what she has to say.

Go ahead and get familiar with the name Susan Ralston - Robert Novak seems to believe she may soon cause some problems for Karl Rove.

You see, Susan Ralston used to be an assistant to Jack Abramoff, and in 2001 he recommended her for the position of executive assistant to Karl Rove.  She got the job and became Rove's gatekeeper - a very sensitive position, to be sure.  And now she's requesting immunity before Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-CA) Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Novak implies she may be seeking immunity for her own protection, and that she very well may not have the incriminating information Waxman is seeking.  He may be right...but the situation definitely bears watching.