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Dept. of Justice closes Kolbe inquiry |
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By Susan Crabtree
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Posted: 06/08/07 07:25 PM [ET] |
Finding no wrongdoing, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has ended its inquiry into former Rep. Jim Kolbe’s (R-Ariz.) relationships with House pages, according to statements from Kolbe and his lawyers.
Kolbe and his attorneys, Reginald Brown and Brent Gurney of the D.C.-based WilmerHale law firm, said DoJ informed them Tuesday afternoon that it had completed its preliminary inquiry into the matter and declined to investigate the matter further.
“Congressman Kolbe cooperated with the inquiry, which was led by career prosecutors and conducted in a thorough and professional manner,” his lawyers said. “He is gratified that the inquiry has concluded with no finding of wrongdoing. Jim also appreciates the strong support of friends and the citizens of his district, who never broke faith with him throughout this distinguished political career.”
The Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs referred questions about the investigation to the U.S. attorney for Arizona, Daniel Knass, whose spokesman, Wyn Hornbuckle, declined to comment.
Prosecutors started looking into Kolbe’s relationships with pages after hearing about a camping trip he took to the Grand Canyon with two former pages and others in 1996. News reports about the trip appeared days after revelations about former Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) inappropriate communications with House pages erupted just weeks before the November elections last year.
Foley resigned over the issue last fall. Kolbe already had announced his retirement months before the news reports about the camping trip.
“When allegations involving me first appeared I said I was confident that with appropriate due process it would be demonstrated that they had no basis and that I acted appropriately,” Kolbe said in a statement. “Yesterday’s action by the Justice Department is powerful evidence that the allegations of wrongdoing were unfounded. I am thankful for the Department’s objective review of this matter, and glad to have finally put this issue to rest.”
Kolbe went on to become a fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a consultant at Kissinger McLarty Associates.
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