So a little know political blog called the Strata Sphere has caused Senator Harry Reid a great deal of trouble. Apparently the Strata posted some info on some shady land deals by the Senator. Then one of the site’s visitors (someone familar with Nevada’s court documentation of land titles) posted pages and pages of Reid’s deals. We’re not talking speculation here – actually court documentation of land transfers. A bit hard to refute.
Well then old Rush Limbaugh caught wind of it and brought it to national attention on his radio show. With that, the cat was officially out of the bag and Reid is now busy ammending his ethics disclosure to Congress regarding the land deal to "ensur[e] all facts come to light."
Reid decides to amend ethics reports
…The deal began in 1998 when Reid bought undeveloped residential property on Las Vegas’ booming outskirts for about $400,000. Reid bought one lot outright, and a second parcel jointly with Brown. One of the sellers was a developer who was benefiting from a government land swap that Reid supported. The seller never talked to Reid.
In 2001, Reid sold the land for the same price to a limited liability corporation created by Brown. The senator didn’t disclose the sale on his annual public ethics report or tell Congress he had any stake in Brown’s company. He continued to report to Congress that he personally owned the land.
After getting local officials to rezone the property for a shopping center, Brown’s company sold the land in 2004 to other developers and Reid took $1.1 million of the proceeds, nearly tripling the senator’s investment. Reid reported it to Congress as a personal land sale.
The complex dealings allowed Reid to transfer ownership, legal liability and some tax consequences to Brown’s company without public knowledge, but still collect the payoff three years later.
Hey, isn’t this the guy that’s always complaining about a "culture of corruption"? Seems like he would feel right at home in such a culture…
UPDATE: Now Reid has added to his disclosure update. Apparently he used campaign money for christmas gifts/tips.? The "oversight" is being corrected by paying back the campaign with his personal money.? I wonder what corrects will occur next week?
