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Apologetic Ney says return to D.C. unlikely after jail sentence |
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By Jackie Kucinich
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Posted: 03/05/07 08:10 PM [ET] |
Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) is not likely to seek a position as a lobbyist after he completes his 30-month prison term, and he will probably not even return to Washington, D.C.
In a candid interview with The Hill on Feb. 28, the evening before he reported to a federal prison in West Virginia, Ney said he is very inclined to rule Washington out for the future.
“Not lobbying — let me stress that,” said Ney. “My family’s in Ohio, and that would tend to be where I want to be.”
Ney spoke about how his family, his staff and his outlook on life have been affected by his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal that led to his quick descent from power over the past six months.
The strain of the past year was audible in Ney’s voice as he described the financial and emotional stress that hit him and his family.
“It’s so difficult,” he said. “We have had things that were said and done that were not pleasant.”
But he noted that his daughter’s school had reached out to her, and he described his son’s coworkers as “extremely supportive.”
“We spent some really decent time together here recently. I didn’t have the 17-hour days on the campaign trail, so I had more time,” he said, referring to his decision not to seek reelection last August.
As he reflected on Will Heaton, his former chief of staff who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy on Feb. 26, Ney said that he believed that Heaton’s predecessor, Neil Volz, pushed him to commit those crimes. Volz has also pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.
Said Ney: “I wish the best for [Heaton]. He’s a good person. Frankly, Neil Volz is not.”
Ney said he thinks Volz “pushed” Heaton and “instigated a ton of this for his own paycheck.”
Despite his belief that Volz was dishonest with him and Heaton, Ney acknowledged that the blame fell squarely on his own shoulders. He said he was ready to begin to pay for the crimes he committed.
But he also said he was determined to not let the next two years define him, and he expressed interest in continuing to serve the public after his release.
“To be a more positive person, I hope to use the experience I’m going to go through, to carry it through for the rest of my life,” he said. “By my nature, I want to do something … trying to help people. No matter whatever anyone thinks of me, I spent 26 years as my colleagues do … I don’t want to take this as the darkest experience and have it somehow mentally affect me.”
He added, “I want this to be spiritual for me. When things get down and out, it either revives your faith or it maybe takes your faith away. In my case, it revives it.”
Ney appeared to have come full circle since he defiantly denied any wrongdoing last May, when he vowed at a House GOP gathering to fight any federal indictment. Following that speech, the Republicans present, including then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), gave him a standing ovation.
Several months later, Ney admitted he accepted thousands of dollars of gifts from lobbyists in exchange for legislative favors, and he formally confessed his wrongdoings in November. On Jan. 19, he became the first lawmaker sentenced for involvement in the scandal surrounding Abramoff.
“I take responsibility, and I already said I apologized; [it’s] time to move on with it,” he said. “Incarceration is a traumatic thing. But due to family and friends, [I am] able to enter this in a lot better frame of mind than I ever thought I could … I never thought I’d be having this kind of conversation.”
Ney concluded by praising his former constituents as “hard-working, struggling people who haven’t had it easy.”
“So many have [approached] me and have said, ‘Best of luck’ and ‘I’m praying for you.’ They are just some of the best people on earth.” |
