CHRIS SHAYS News:

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"But as McCain greets two breakfast-eating business partners, one from Stamford [Connecticut] and the other from Bridgeport [Connecticut], the topic turns to the presidential race. The two men tell the senator they support [Republican] President George W. Bush, and to that end, McCain says, "(Osama) Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?".... " ... "The two men, who requested anonymity, nod their heads in agreement. Later, while riding with Shays on an RV to a rally at the Stamford Government Center, McCain further explains, "(The video) is helpful to President Bush because it puts the focus on the war on terrorism.""

Karl Rove - Christopher Shays - Government - Money - Political - Media - Marketing - Employees - Hatch Act - Law - 2004 Election - 2006 Election - Connecticut - "How Rove Directed Federal Assets for GOP Gains: [Republican President] Bush Adviser's Effort to Promote the President and His Allies Was Unprecedented in Its Reach." ... "Thirteen months before President Bush was reelected [in the 2004 election], chief strategist Karl Rove summoned political appointees from around the government to the Old Executive Office Building. The subject of the Oct. 1, 2003, meeting was "asset deployment," and the message was clear:" ... "The staging of official announcements, high-visibility trips and declarations of federal grants had to be carefully coordinated with the White House political affairs office to ensure the maximum promotion of Bush's reelection agenda and the Republicans in Congress who supported him, according to documents and some of those involved in the effort." ... ""The White House determines which members need visits," said an internal e-mail about the previously undisclosed Rove "deployment" team, "and where we need to be strategically placing our assets."" ... "Under Rove's direction, this highly coordinated effort to leverage the government for political marketing started as soon as Bush took office in 2001 and continued through last year's congressional elections [2006 election], when it played out in its most quintessential form in the coastal Connecticut district of [Republican Representative] Rep. Christopher Shays, an endangered Republican incumbent. Seven times, senior administration officials visited Shays's district in the six months before the election -- once for an announcement as minor as a single $23 government weather alert radio presented to an elementary school. On Election Day, Shays was the only Republican House member in New England to survive the Democratic victory." ... "The U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee are investigating whether any of the meetings violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from using federal resources for election activities." (1, 2, 3) -By John Solomon, Alec MacGillis and Sarah Cohen -WashingtonPost 

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Secret - Government - Archives - History - Politics - Connecticut - "Archives OK'd removing records, kept quiet." ... "Previously public intelligence documents, some more than 50 years old, have been sealed under a secret agreement between the National Archives and three federal agencies, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act." ... "The 2002 agreement, obtained by The Associated Press and released by archivists this week, shows the agency agreed to keep quiet about U.S. intelligence's role in the deal that shut off access to thousands of previously unclassified CIA and Pentagon documents." ... "Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican who has led hearings into the resealing of records, described the deal as "the culture of secrecy as tragicomic opera. One government agency has to sneak into the files of another ... to reclassify material that may have been on the public record for a decade or more."" -By Randy Herschaft and Frank Bass -AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource

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- Tom DeLay - Connecticut - "[Connecticut's Republican Representative Christopher] Shays: DeLay Should Quit As House Leader: GOP Congressman Tells AP That Texas Rep. Tom DeLay Should Step Down House Majority Leader." ... ""Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election," Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., told The Associated Press in an interview, calling for DeLay to step down as majority leader." ... "A moderate Republican from Connecticut who has battled with his party's leaKdership on a number of issues, Shays said efforts by the House GOP members to change ethics rules to protect DeLay only make the party look bad." ... ""My party is going to have to decide whether we are going to continue to make excuses for Tom to the detriment of Republicans seeking election," Shays said." (1, 2, 3) -By Lou Kesten with contributions by Lolita C. Baldor and Suzanne Gamboa -AP via -ABCNEWS.com 

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Tom DeLay - Connecticut - "Republican calls for DeLay to step down: Another says he should clear air on ethics issues." ... "[Connecticut's Republican Representative Christopher] Shays and Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., the past chairman of the House ethics committee, have signed a Democratic resolution that would undo some of the rules changes that GOP leaders, including DeLay, pushed through the House in January." ... "Hefley was removed as chairman after the committee unanimously voted last year to issue three admonishments against DeLay. A key staffer also was fired." ... "DeLay recently offered to go before the committee to answer charges that have been raised in recent weeks. But his offer was viewed as largely symbolic since the committee is gridlocked." -By Gebe Martinez -HoustonChronicle.com

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