Hastert downplays past ties to Traficant

Sunday, August 13, 2006 And to think that when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives, James A. Traficant Jr. invited expulsion from the Democratic caucus by voting to retain Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert as speaker. Traficant was rewarded for that vote in January 2001 with a standing ovation from Republicans in the House and national headlines in newspapers and television network news programs. He also was rewarded with a $26.8 million grant for a convocation center/sports arena in downtown Youngstown — facilitated by Hastert. Indeed, Traficant let it be known that without the speaker's direct involvement, the money would never have been included in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's spending bill. But that was then. Now, Traficant is a disgraced ex-congressman serving an eight-year sentence in the federal penitentiary, and Hastert is leader of the majority party in the House facing the very real possibility that Republicans could lose control to the Democrats. Congressional race That prospect brought the Illinois Republican to Columbiana County recently to tout the candidacy of state Rep. Chuck Blasdel of East Liverpool in the hotly contested battle for the 6th Congressional District seat being vacated by Democrat Ted Strickland. Strickland of Lisbon is his party's nominee for governor in the November general election. Blasdel must overcome the financial prowess of Democrat Charles Wilson, a millionaire businessman, and the fact that Strickland enjoys a 20 percent lead over GOP gubernatorial nominee J. Kenneth Blackwell in the latest mail-in poll conducted by the Columbus Dispatch. That lead could reflect a statewide trend that would bode well for all Democratic candidates. Hence, the Republican Party is pulling out all the stops and sending in political heavyweights to not only help Blasdel raise money, but to attract press attention to the race. Hastert's visit did just that. It was inevitable, however, that the speaker's conversation with reporters would touch on the issue of Traficant. When he was in Congress, the former sheriff of Mahoning County enjoyed strong support from Columbiana County, which was in his district. Asked about Traficant, who was convicted of 12 federal counts, including racketeering, bribery and tax evasion, the speaker was quoted as saying, "Jim was a character. ... We always looked at him as an unusual guy. He was on the other side. Sometimes he had some maverick votes. That's all we knew about him." Message to Traficant: Don't count on Hastert to go to bat for you should you seek a commutation of your sentence or a presidential pardon. Disingenuous The comments, "Sometimes he had some maverick votes," and "That's all we knew about him," are disingenuous in the extreme. The speaker knew a lot more about Traficant than he was willing to admit in his conversation with reporters. Why? Because any expression of friendship, support or sympathy would put Traficant in the middle of the congressional race. That, in turn, would force Blasdel to distance himself from the speaker and to repudiate Traficant. But despite his understated description of the congressman-turned-prisoner, Hastert had more than a casual relationship with him. On Jan. 5, 2001, when Traficant was thrown out of the House Democratic caucus after 16 years, John Feehery, a spokesman for Speaker Hastert, made the following comment: "If Mr. Traficant needs help, I'm sure the speaker would be willing to help him." Feehery was referring to the fact that the Democrats had refused to give the Mahoning Valley's congressman a committee assignment and that the majority Republicans were willing to consider a request from him. Face-to-face meetings Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is now majority leader, said that Hastert and Traficant had at least two meetings and "they clearly have something they were working on." And Reps. Ralph Regula and Deborah Pryce, Ohio Republicans who were part of the leadership group that made recommendations on committee assignments, said at the time that putting Traficant on a committee was the speaker's call. That is why Hastert's recent comments about Traficant suggest he is distancing himself from the man who stuck his neck out for him. The reason for this? Political expediency. Or is it fear?