A New DOJ Investigation is On-Going Around Players Surrounding Ron Paul Inc./Rand Paul

Lee Stranahan wrote in December 2013:

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been writing, tweeting, and talking about #Staffergate; a sweeping scandal that involves dirty, illegal and just plain wrong political shenanigans by key staffers of top name Republican politicians like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rand Paul Rep. Michele Bachmann, & former Rep. Ron Paul.

The #Staffergate scandal is being moved along by law enforcement interest that’s resulted in recent FBI raids as well as a continuing Office of Congressional Ethics investigation against Bachmann. ..

Now add another ambitious GOP contender to the #Staffergate scandal roster: Texas Rep. Steve Stockman, who recently announced his primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn.

 The #staffergate connection is Danny Ferguson, whose LinkedIn resume lists him as “Media Strategist/Senior Adviser at Congressman Steve Stockman” as well as Campaign Manager for Stockman’s 2012 House run.

Ferguson is currently ensnared is allegations of campaign wrongdoing in Montana. It’s a story whose bizarre details–including boxes of documents found in a “meth house” in Colorado–have attracted both national media attention and the FBI. It also ties directly to other key players in #Staffergate.

The story is significant not just because of the impact on Rep. Steve Stockman for having a close advisor involved in alleged political malfeasance but because it also appears to indicate a multi-state, multi-election pattern of illegal campaign behavior by a top conservative political activism group, The National Right to Work Committee.

 Ron Paul Inc. and the Rand Paul operations are simply packed with The National Right to Work Committee former employees. In fact, it is not difficult to argue that Ron Paul Inc.and Rand Paul operations are in many ways popular fronts for NRWC, whose players' active advocacy positions go well beyond right to works issues.

Which makes this latest news very interesting. National Journal reports,

Rep. Steve Stockman and two of his congressional aides on Wednesday notified the House they each have each been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury conducting a criminal investigation...

Stockman, along with staffers Donny Ferguson and Prentice Leblanc, each notified the House on Thursday of receiving subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

And this is not going to make the NRWC crowd comfortable in their seats. It looks like Ferguson is co-operating with the government. From Roll Call:

The staffers cooperating with the probe are: Donny Ferguson, a senior advisor and communications director; Kristine Brakstad Nichols, executive assistant and scheduler; and Printus LeBlanc, a legislative assistant. All three said in their notice to the speaker that they have “determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the precedents and of the privileges of the House.”

-RW