Piling on Katherine Harris' Train Wreck

"I honestly believe that if she's indicted, she will continue to run. At this point I don't know what she could be thinking."

-- Jamie Miller, former campaign manager for Katherine Harris, Aug. 3, 2006

With a month left in the Florida primary campaign, even Republican friends have begun to pile on the train wreck that is Katherine Harris' campaign for U.S. Senate. Keith Epstein of the Tampa Tribune reported yesterday:

U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris received a grand jury subpoena from federal investigators and concealed the fact from top campaign advisers hired to help her deflect negative publicity, her former campaign manager has disclosed.

"Yes, there was a subpoena. She didn't tell us," said Glenn Hodas, Harris' third and most recent campaign manager. He said he learned of it in June while reviewing invoices from powerhouse Washington lawyer Benjamin J. Ginsberg and confronted his boss.

"Finding out about the subpoena caused me to wonder about what was going on and what else I didn't know, but I don't want to comment any further on what appears to be a pending investigation," said Hodas, reached by telephone Tuesday.

The subpoena was issued in connection with an F.B.I. investigation into illegal payments including a $35,000 'campaign donation' and a '$2,000 dinner' with Harris paid for by convicted felon Mitchell Wade, who made a career of bribing members of Congress.

Over the last five and a half years, bribing U.S. congressmen and supplying them with prostitutes has become a pretty easy way to make a living. But the field has become so crowded, some congressmen have taken to handing out a price list showing how much they'd take for what kind of corrupt services.

You need a scorecard to keep track of all the Republican crooks these days. Luckily, Wayne Madsen provides one, for free.

In response to the latest disclosure, Harris first issued a statement suggesting the F.B.I. was part of "a conspiracy to derail her candidacy," according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. When other reporters tried to contact her for confirmation, Harris lamely claimed the cell phone connection was bad.

Meanwhile, the latest polls show Harris losing more ground. Even long-time political friends like state Republican Party Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan are deserting her.

Amplification Dept.
Four more Harris staffers have crawled away from the wreckage.