Scandal Consuming Donovan. Other Six Bills on Donovan/Nassi List Remain a Mystery. Leaders Silent As Scandal Splatters Legislature.
Sinking Democratic 5th Congressional District candidate Christopher Donovan still has not released a crucial piece of information in his possession. He’s keeping secret Joshua Nassi’s list of seven bills that were of particular interest to the former campaign manager. One of the bills was the roll-your-own cigarette legislation that the campaign allegedly used to raise tens of thousands of dollars. Donovan and his campaign lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Stanley Twardy, refuse to let the public see the list. It might shed some light on how Donovan used his formidable power as Speaker of the House to determine the course of legislation this year.
If no contributors to Donovan’s campaign are associated with the bills on the secret list, the Meriden Democrat will bolster his claim to be an enemy of the special influences he condemns in public but solicits in private.
Information released by federal investigators ought to alarm legislative leaders for many reasons. The scandal has reached the legislators through the nefarious work of “Legislative Aide #1.” That’s the high-ranking aide who was helping Nassi shape events on behalf of the RYO tobacco contributors to the campaign. The messages between Nassi and “Legislative Aide #1″ are deadly to the those two and Donovan. As lethal may be the substance behind the reference to other discussions of other legislative strategies by the conspirators. Why is “Legislative Aide #1″ still on the public payroll?
Where are our leaders? Corruption has been revealed as possession an important seat at the table in the legislature. There is mostly silence from Democrats and Republicans. Republicans ought to be alarmed by the curiously restrained response of House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero (R-Brown Rudnick). Scandal is a time of testing. Leaders disappear while others emerge. This is an hour of opportunity for both Republicans and Democrats to champion the public interest while eschewing narrow partisan considerations.
Who will act?