Washington Wire: Nevada governor faces FBI probe:

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons accepted unreported gifts or payments from a company that was awarded secret military contracts when Mr. Gibbons served in Congress.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether any gifts or payments violated federal contracting rules or were offered in exchange for official acts by Mr. Gibbons, people briefed on the investigation said. Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, represented Nevada for five terms in Congress, where he served on the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, and was sworn in as governor last month.

The close ties between the congressman and the contractor, Warren Trepp, were disclosed in a Nov. 1 Wall Street Journal article, which revealed that Mr. Gibbons accepted private jet flights and a Caribbean cruise from the software-company owner. Mr. Gibbons says accepting the cruise and flight didn’t violate House ethics rules. [...]

On March 22, 2005, days before Mr. Trepp and his wife embarked on the Caribbean cruise with the congressman and his family, Jalé Trepp sent a reminder to her husband. “Please don’t forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn,” referring to Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons. Minutes later, Mr. Trepp responds, “Don’t you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!” Mr. Gibbons failed to disclose the cruise and travel on Mr. Trepp’s leased private jet, as required by House ethics rules. He later asked the House Ethics Committee for an exemption, but left office before any action was taken.

As I was told, Jim Gibbons' staffer on the House intel committee was Brent "Nine Fingers" Bassett, one of the Gosslings in the mix along with recently indicted former CIA executive director Dusty Foggo of the Cunningham affair.

Posted by Laura at February 15, 2007 01:32 PM