Notes (and questions) on a developing scandal

The Capitol was buzzing today with speculation about which legislative leaders may be involved in reported FBI investigation.

• Connecting the dots. Because the reports clearly identify "prestigious committee assignments" as being allegedly for sale, most of the conversations have focused on the majority's leadership that possessed the power to assign members to committees.
   
• Are the investigators interested in systematic corruption?  Or specific actions around the already-publicized greasing of legislation, like school vouchers or Jetton's village law?  In the Spring of 2008, House members hotly debate a proposal for tax credits that would divert state funds to private schools.  Some Republicans were accused at the time of accepting contributions from school-choice supporter Rex Sinquefield in exchange for their support of the program.

  In September 2007, House Speaker Rod Jetton was personally responsible for legislation to allow developers to create new government units called "villages", and was publicly questioned about the money that flowed to allow its passage.

• Where was Pratt ?  Republican Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt was conspicuously absent on Tuesday.  His absence, plus his documented record of the ol' switchero --  opposing school vouchers, cashing dozens of pro-voucher checks, and then supporting vouchers -- was not lost on multiple sources in the Capitol.
   
• Speaker Richard was "unaware" of the investigation. This is the least surprising news story of the week.
   
• A campaign email from LeVota? Seriously? That was the reaction to yesterday's AP story featuring an email from Minority Leader Paul Levota as a point of inquiry. LeVota's email asked for $50-$250, but had mismatched letterhead and mailing addresses for campaign checks -- and had nothing to do with any government actions. This is supposed to be the offense that prompted an FBI investigation involving dozens of interviews, spanning multiple years?