A former Republican Congressman who worked closely with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) during the last decade has attacked Bohner as a “lazy” lawmaker who is more interested in “golf, women, cigarettes, fun, and alcohol” than policy or legislating.
Granted, that former Congressman is Bob Ney, the Ohioan who was the Chair of House Administration before resigning from Congress in 2006 in disgrace and spending 17 months in jail after “admitting that he traded political favors for pricey gifts and campaign donations arranged by notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”
In his new book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill, Ney, according to the National Journal, writes that Boehner is “a bit lazy” and “was a chain-smoking, relentless wine drinker who was more interested in the high life – golf, women, cigarettes, fun, and alcohol.”
Ney claims Boehner played golf “non-stop” and his outings were “paid for by lobbyists.”
“If the Justice Department were ever to make John produce receipts for his addiction to golf just for the years from 1995 to 2004, he would be hard-pressed to comply,” he writes. “John got away with more than any other member on the Hill.”
Ney claims that Boehner told him that if he resigned from Congress Boehner would help raise money for his legal bills and get him a job “comparable to what you are making.”
He said he stepped aside because of Boehner’s promise, and Boehner double-crossed him.
A spokesman for Boehner said that Ney was, “a convicted felon with a history of failing to tell the truth making a lot of baseless accusations to try and sell” and called his allegations in the book simply “sad.”
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