AP out with exclusive: Reid got $1M in land sale

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.

In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews.

The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in other prior organized crime investigations. He's never been charged with wrongdoing — except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court.

Land deeds obtained by The Associated Press during a review of Reid's business dealings show:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061011/ap_on_go_co/reid_land_windfall_1

his ass should be grass. We should not make excuses for people who are doing something wrong because we are better than the Republicans who do the same damn thing all the time.

At any rate, having finished reading the article, this seems a clear violation of the letter of the rules, even though the important parts were disclosed (i.e. Reid sold land he owned and ultimately received $1.1m for it). Given the housing boom in America in the intervening years, there's little reason to doubt that this was a result of selling at inflated market prices.

Dems have to be held to a higher standard. We could use a new leader in the senate anyway, Reid is flaccid, indecisive and poor at communications.

haven't you screwed the pooch on ancient land deal scandals tho?

Of course Reid should face any penalities required for this sort of indiscretion. The last Repoublican caugfht like this got...nothing. Maybe Reid can escape the death penalty.

One thing for sure: NO PAGES WERE HARMED IN THE TRANSFER OF THIS PROPERTY

so who cares?

... but no cigar. A five-year-old shady real estate transaction will never capture the MSM audience like FoleyGate.

“America is a nation without a distinct criminal class...with the possible exception of Congress." - Mark Twain