King Goes After Mollohan On His Own Bill

Talk about brazen!

Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa is introducing an amendment to legislation funding the Department of Justice that would set aside $1 million to investigate the very lawmaker charged with marshalling that bill through the House.

King circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter Wednesday asking his colleagues to support his amendment to "dedicate one million dollars to the ongoing FBI investigation of" Rep. Alan B. Mollohan - King avoids naming the West Virginia Democrat directly.

"My amendment makes no assumptions as to guilt or innocence; the details of the investigation are properly left to the FBI," King wrote to colleagues on both sides of the aisle. "I believe an impropriety exists when the man holding the gavel in charge of Justice Appropriations -- the purse strings for the FBI and entire Department of Justice -- is reported to be under investigation by the FBI."

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have both reported on FBI inquiries into Mollohan's lucrative land deals with a former aide-turned-lobbyist and a businessman who has received millions in federal funds earmarked by the congressman.

Let's see what the Rules Committee does with this one.