LaTourette Named in Abramoff-Related Criminal Trial

Hat tip to Al Franken show guest Melanie Sloan and the crew at CREW.

Today in the trial of former White House procurement officer David Savavian, the star witness was Neil Volz, Bob Ney's former chief of staff who has pled guilty to felony corruption. From the stand, Volz named names of members of Congress that he "received assistance from" when he worked for Abramoff. The list includes Ney, but also Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rep. Don Young (R-AK), and Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH).

LaTourette's involvement with Volz over renovations to the Old Post Office in Washington is old news. It's not clear from the wire story whether La T. got anything in return from Volz. La T claims he wrote letters in support of Volz's position because he agreed with it. Still, as Sloan pointed out, it's not a good day when your name is mentioned from the stand in a criminal trial. The drum beat on the lefty blogosphere is starting.

No reaction so far from La T's November opponent Lew Katz.