Stan Quoted in Cleveland P-D on Rudy Plea

Stanley Brand, a Washington lawyer who has defended numerous members of Congress in corruption cases, said guilty pleas by Rudy, Abramoff and former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon typify the way the Justice Department pursues such charges.

"They try to convict people who are lower down in the chain of command to gain their cooperation against higher-ups," said Brand, adding that Ney and DeLay, Republican of Texas, appear to be targets. A grand jury has subpoenaed documents and testimony from Ney's office.

Brand said Ney has been "a goner" since Abramoff's guilty plea identified him as a bribe recipient. Brand, whose clients included former Reps. Dan Rostenkowski, Tony Coelho and Joe McDade, says it often takes years to investigate a congressman.

"The government does not typically name people in an existing indictment and then walk away from them," Brand said. "You have to assume at some point that they are going to charge him. It is just a question of when."

Link