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RawStory http://therawstory.com/ has a synopsis up of a WSJ article, detailing how Emily Miller is the ratfink in the Abramoff business after her fiance, Michael Scanlon, dumped her for a waitress:
"The two had met on Capitol Hill, where they worked as press secretaries to Rep. Tom DeLay, the feared Texas Republican. They got engaged in September 2001 on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., and planned an August 2002 wedding. As the date approached, Mr. Scanlon bought a $4.7 million oceanside mansion and guest house, formerly part of the DuPont estate, in Rehoboth Beach, Del. He furnished it down to the monogrammed towels and presented it to his bride-to-be.
"Then, with the wedding a few months away, he called off the engagement and started dating a 24-year-old waitress.
"Prosecutors came to Ms. Miller to help them build a case that drove her ex-fiancé to plead guilty, according to a person familiar with the situation. Mr. Scanlon's testimony in turn helped force Mr. Abramoff into a guilty plea.
While Mr. Abramoff has become well-known as a symbol of the excesses of Washington influence-peddling, the story of the DeLay aides and their role in the scandal is less-known. People who have spoken to Ms. Miller say that after her breakup she began questioning how Mr. Scanlon could afford a lavish lifestyle while working summers as a beach lifeguard and doing seemingly little work at his public-relations firm. She talked about the beach house he had presented to her, the private jet he flew around in and the $17,000-a-month apartment he rented at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington. Prosecutors would later ask the same questions, and discover Mr. Abramoff's deals with the Indian tribes.... Ah, Emily, such a busy young lady!!! Worked for Tom Delay, tried to prevent Colin Powell from answering a question posed by Timmy the Potato of 'MEET TIM RUSSERT' and a key player in the Florida recount!!! http://mediamatters.org/items/200405190002 Emily J. Miller, described on May 18 by The Washington Post as "the controversial press aide" who "ordered a cameraman to stop filming an interview with" Secretary of State Colin Powell from Jordan on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert on May 16, worked as a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) during the 2000 Florida presidential election recount.
DeLay's office served as "a switchboard of sorts for volunteers looking to sign up" to help oversee or protest the recounts, according to a November 28, 2000, New York Times article. As the Times reported on November 24, 2000, young Republicans "tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections." Responding to Democrats' characterizations of the November 22 protest as "intimidation" by "out-of-state, paid political operatives," as reported in the November 28 Times, Miller defended the protesters' actions: "This was not a threatening band of armed thugs; They were idealistic, enthusiastic young Republicans who felt they were being shut out, that this was an unfair decision ."
However, as the Times reported on November 24, the November 22 demonstration -- by the protesters whom Miller called "idealistic, enthusiastic young Republicans" -- "turned violent ... after the canvassers had decided to close the recount to the public." ....Joe Geller, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, was escorted to safety by the police after a crowd chased him down and accused him of stealing a ballot. Upstairs in the Clark center, several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order.
According to a December 4, 2000, Time magazine article by Tim Padgett, titled "Mob Scene in Miami":
What the world watched was a G.O.P. melee. When Geller walked out of the room with a sample ballot, the crowd accused him of stealing a real one and responded as if he had just nabbed a baby for its organs. Geller says he was pushed by two dozen protesters screaming, "I'm gonna take you down!" Luis Rosero, a Democratic observer, claims he was punched and kicked. Republicans dispute the charges, but video cameras caught scenes of activism that had morphed into menace.
In perhaps further tension with Miller's characterization of the protesters as "idealistic" and "enthusiastic," The New York Times reported on November 28, 2000: "Many of the protesters, who stayed at Hilton hotels and received paid breakfast and lunch, according to Brad Blakeman, a New York lawyer who helped organize them, roamed between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, depending on where the largest crowd was needed on a given day." In addition, the Times reported, " large number of Republican lobbyists, consultants and elected officials also paid for their own trips to Florida."
So, what will be her role in all this? What will her footnote in history say? Mata Hari, a younger Martha Mitchell, or Forrest Gump with a more contemporary sense of style? She should really think about writing a book--she's up to her neck in dirt, she may as well dish it, and make herself some cash. What else, really can she do? Who would hire her at this point??
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