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Embattled Ohio lawmaker drops out of race
Ney dogged by lobbying scandal probe involving Abramoff

By Mark Preston
CNN Washington Bureau
Monday, August 7, 2006;

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Embattled U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, announced Monday that he would retire at the close of the 109th Congress, abandoning a bid to win a seventh term to the House of Representatives in November.

The GOP nominee will face off against Democrat Zack Space, an attorney.

washingtonpost.com


Rep. Bob Ney Will Not Seek Reelection

By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 7, 2006; 8:50 AM

Rep. Robert W. Ney, the six-term Republican congressman from central Ohio implicated in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, announced this morning that that he will not seek re-election.

"After much consideration and thought I have decided today to no longer seek re-election in Ohio's 18th Congressional District," Ney said in a statement posted on his campaign Website.

Ney has been identified as the accused but so far unindicted "Congressman A" in Abramoff's plea agreement.

Ney has been under investigation by federal authorities in Florida and the District for actions that helped Abramoff and two partners buy a Fort Lauderdale-based casino cruise line. The deal that Ney promoted in the Congressional Record hinged on the Abramoff group's creation of a counterfeit $23 million wire transfer.

Neil G. Volz, 35, a Ney confidant who spent seven years on the congressman's staff, joined Abramoff and three of his other former associates in agreeing to cooperate with the government and testify against Ney in the unfolding public corruption scandal on Capitol Hill.

Ney, one of half a dozen lawmakers under scrutiny because of ties to Abramoff, has been forced to give up his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee.

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