"Records: Lobbyist Paid for Ireland Trip"

WASHINGTON (AP) - Aides to Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they are reviewing a 2003 trip to Ireland to determine if a lobbyist paid for it - as congressional records indicate.

If the records are accurate, the trip by Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma and Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, Harold Rogers of Kentucky and Clay Shaw of Florida violated ethics rules that bar lobbying firms from paying for trips taken by members of Congress.

"If there was a problem with the paperwork we'll fix it promptly," said Chris Matthews, a spokesman for Smith.

"We are trying to obtain documentation of who paid so we can go back and review this with the ethics committee," said Ed McDonald, Coble's chief of staff.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050505/D89T2H300.html

"If there was a problem with the paperwork we'll fix it promptly," said Chris Matthews, a spokesman for Smith.

We know how Republicans fix their paperwork problems:
shred, shred, shred, shred, shrrrrrrrrrr . . . . .

:shrug: