Another Republican Congressman Is In Trouble

Rep. Gary Miller [R-California] coasted to victory unopposed last November in the heavily Republican 42nd District. He will be returning to the U.S. House of Representatives for his fifth term as a congressman.

But now it looks like the people of California's 42nd District may be sending a corrupt politician back to Washington. Four of Miller's ex-aides are saying that Miller used his government position for personal gain, and they have e-mails, handwritten notes and letters on Miller's congressional letterhead to prove it.

One of the former aides said, "There was never a clear line in the office between what was congressional business and what was just business. The expectation was that you would do both."

Here are some of the things he is accused of doing:

* While Miller was asking the Monrovia City Council to purchase 165 acres from him for $12 million, he asked his aides to find a way to place one of the councilmen on the National Park System Advisory Board. He ignored his staff when they told him this would look like bribery, and told them the sooner they could get it done the better. The City Council bought the land, and the councilman in question voted for the purchase.

* Miller routinely had his staff handle his personal errands such as helping his kids with their schoolwork, searching for rock concert tickets, sending flowers to friends and family, helping his son enroll in college, and checking on his stock prices. This is a clear violation of federal law. Gary Ruskin, director of the Congressional Accountability Project, said, "We taxpayers trust that our members of Congress will not turn their staff into butlers. That's not what they're paid for. It's a misuse of funds and an abuse of power."

* Miller allocated funds for street improvements near a development he co-owned, and in the same bill, he closed down an airport used by private pilots and emergency medical personnel. This opened the land up for development by the Lewis Operating Corporation, one of Miller's largest contributors.

* Lewis Operating Corp. also helped Miller hide $10 million in real estate profits from capital gains taxes. A complaint has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service over this one by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

* Miller has collected $25,000 a year in each of the last three elections, by using his own real estate office as his campaign headquarters. This is another violation of federal law, since no real campaign activity took place there.

You'd think after the troubles of DeLay, Cunningham, Ney, and Abramoff, the Republicans would pull back a little from the corruption. But not this guy. Miller must think he's bulletproof. Either that, or he's been playing fast and loose with the rules so long he doesn't know how to be honest anymore.

How do the Republicans keep coming up with these losers?