Probe Sought of Alleged Medicare Bribery

[Guest guest]

>

> Probe Sought of Alleged Medicare Bribery

> Thu Dec 4, 7:49 PM ET

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> WASHINGTON - The Justice Department

>

(<http://us.rd./DailyNews/manual/*http://search.news./sear

ch/news?p=%22Justice%20Department%22 & c= & n=20 & yn=c & c=news & cs=nw>news

> -

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<http://us.rd./DailyNews/manual/*http://dir./Government/U_

S__Government/Executive_Branch/Departments_and_Agencies/Department_of_Justic

e__DOJ_/>web

> sites) said Thursday it would review complaints from political watchdog

> groups that Republican House

>

> Smith voted against the bill despite what he described as threats against

> his son, Brad Smith, who is running for the House seat his father is

> vacating next year.

>

> Nick Smith said his own party's leaders offered money for his son's

> campaign if he voted for the bill and that they threatened to support

other

> GOP candidates for the seat if the congressman voted against the

legislation.

>

> " Bribes and special deals were offered to convince members to vote yes, "

> Smith wrote in a Nov. 23 newspaper column.

>

> Mark Glaze of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center said if the

allegations

> are true, House members violated a federal law against bribing public

> officials.

>

> The law allows people to verbally persuade lawmakers, Glaze said, but

> doesn't allow them to offer something of value to change a vote. His group

> filed a complaint Wednesday, as did a separate group, Citizens for

> Responsibility and Ethics, which has Democratic ties.

>

> Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said the complaints were

received

> and will be reviewed, which is normal procedure.

>

> At a news conference Thursday, Acting Deputy Attorney General James Comey

> said that he wasn't familiar with the Smith allegation but that " obviously

> whenever we get a request to investigate, we read it carefully and make an

> evaluation " on whether to launch an investigation.

>

> House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office has denied threats were made.

>

> ___

>

> On the Net:

>

> Campaign Legal Center:

>

<http://us.rd./dailynews/ap/ap_on_go_co/storytext/SIG=a47vgf/*http:

//www.campaignlegalcenter.org/>http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/

>

>

> Rep. Nick Smith:

>

<http://us.rd./dailynews/ap/ap_on_go_co/storytext/SIG=a2r2ha/*http:

//www.house.gov/nicksmith/>http://www.house.gov/nicksmith/

>

>

>

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & u=/ap/20031205/ap_on_go_co/congr

ess_bribe_allegation_1

>