Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Love Bites

Seems that the origin of Michael Scanlon's (and in turn Jack Abramoff's, et al) downfall has somewhat mundane origins.

Scanlon was implicated in the Abramoff scandal by his former thirtysomething fiancee, Emily J. Miller, whom he met in the late 1990s while working as communications director for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), three former associates who worked with Scanlon at DeLay’s office said. Colleagues say Miller went to the FBI after Scanlon broke off their engagement and announced his intention to marry another woman.

....

Miller was DeLay’s young press secretary and as communications director, Scanlon was her boss. The two began a secretive office romance and Scanlon eventually proposed marriage, associates say.

In 2003, Miller left DeLay’s office to work at the State Department. Scanlon departed too, partnering with now-indicted conservative lobbyist Jack Abramoff in lobbying for an array of Indian tribes. As Scanlon’s star rose, troubles between the couple mushroomed.


Awww. Isn't that sweet. Another tawdry little office romance gone bad. When will people ever learn? Lest one think I'm engaging in cheap "You go, girl!" horseshit, let me dispel that notion. Miller was the press flack for the Bug Man. She was Tom DeLay's Scott McClellan, the political equivalent of mopping up random spunk off the floor of a porno arcade (if they still exist).

So she strikes me as something of a vindictive little bitch, but considering who she dropped a dime on, it's still fucking funny.

In May 2004, Miller found herself at the center of attention when—while live on air—she ordered a cameraman for NBC’s Meet the Press to stop filming Colin Powell. A copy of the transcript shows Miller, who also used to work as an NBC staffer, as a brusque press aide. Powell eventually ordered that the interview continue and asked Miller to step aside.

What many people didn’t realize at the time, however, is that during the Powell interview Miller was upset because her fiancee, Michael Scanlon, had broken off their engagement, two of Miller’s former State Department co-workers said. While still engaged to Miller, Scanlon had started an affair with a manicurist and broke up with Miller because he planned to marry the other woman, three of Scanlon’s former associates at DeLay’s office said. They added that the two had numerous public arguments.


Oh, well I guess that just gives Miss Thang the right to push around the camera-proles, doesn't it?

But Miller had something on Scanlon. He confided in her all of his dealings with Abramoff, former colleagues said. She saw his emails and knew the intimate details of his lobbying work—work which is now the center of a criminal fraud investigation. After the breakup, Miller went to the FBI and told them everything about Scanlon’s dealings with Abramoff, her coworkers added.

In turning him in, she became the agency’s star witness against her former lover. Scanlon pled guilty in November and is cooperating with prosecutors; Abramoff reached a plea agreement today.

Scanlon's former colleagues did not speak warmly of him, saying he was not a very likable person because of the way he treated others, and that he later became flamboyant with his newfound wealth.


Sounds like Scanlon and Miller would have been a good match. Gosh, I really hope she finds true love soon. After all, someone who's willing to send someone to prison for infidelity is really just someone who still believes in love, right? Like Snoop Dogg always says, never let yo hizzos know yo bizzos. Fo shizzle mah nizzle.

Okay, the end result is certainly worth it, as without Miller's little vindictive tantrum, the enormous (and growing) Abramoff scandal might never have gotten this much sunlight. And maybe that's the real story -- that once again, pure chance does the intrepid media's job for them.

[via Common Times.]

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