Third Parties Across The Country Say Sen. Reid Acted Improperly
Las Vegas Review-Journal: "[A]nother Washington controversy this week at least momentarily threatened the credibility of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. ... [E]ven several left-leaning newspapers - including The Washington Post - criticized the senator. The Philadelphia Inquirer went so far as to urge Democrats to boot Sen. Reid as their leader barring additional evidence in his favor." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid On The Hot Seat," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/15/06)
• Las Vegas Review-Journal : "All this raises the question: How does a savvy political operative such as Sen. Reid make a bush-league error and find himself ankle deep in the manure pit? For the past few years, Sen. Reid has been railing about a Republican 'culture of corruption' - and has eagerly sought to exploit the Foley mess for his party's political gain. Oops." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid On The Hot Seat," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/15/06)
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: "Perhaps after Sen. Reid scrapes the dung off his shoes, he'll tend to the egg on his face." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid On The Hot Seat," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/15/06)

The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer: "Democrats who have been howling this election season about a pervasive 'culture of corruption' in Washington apparently have a brand-new poster boy to illustrate their point. Problem is, he's one of theirs. Worse, he's the top Democrat in the Senate - Minority Leader Harry Reid ..." (Editorial, "Harry's Hang-Ups," The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer, 10/16/06)
• The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer: "The questions are so unpleasant that he hung up on the AP reporter trying to ask them. But it won't be quite so easy to dismiss a Senate ethics committee inquiry as to why he didn't report his holdings, participation and influence-wielding, as Senate rules demand. The IRS might have a couple of tax questions, too. And they really hate being hung up on." (Editorial, "Harry's Hang-Ups," The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer, 10/16/06)
• The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer: "The questions raised by the AP's investigative team about Reid's down-home dealing demand answers. The gentleman from Nevada would be well advised to provide them, quickly and clearly, as a culture of honesty demands." (Editorial, "Harry's Hang-Ups," The [Cleveland, OH] Plain Dealer, 10/16/06)

The San Diego Union Tribune: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is accused of violating Senate ethics rules by failing to disclose that he had transferred to a holding company ownership of a piece of land that was eventually sold for a $700,000 profit. Senate rules require that such disclosures be made so as to identify a lawmaker's business partners and avoid potential conflicts that might arise if those partners were to gain some benefit from action taken by that lawmaker." (Editorial, "Dodging Blame," The San Diego Union Tribune, 10/16/06)
• The San Diego Union Tribune: "Reid is no rookie. He has served in the Senate for 20 years, and served two terms in the House of Representatives before that. He must know the rules. So why didn't he follow them in this case? ... Whatever happened to admitting a mistake and taking responsibility? And if our representatives can't do even that much, how can we take them seriously?" (Editorial, "Dodging Blame," The San Diego Union Tribune, 10/16/06)

The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call: "Sen. Reid's lack of land-deal disclosures takes away his authority to point fingers ... A thorough investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee is warranted, but Sen. Reid has fast become a serious liability to Democrats." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid's Lack Of Land-Deal Disclosures Takes Away His Authority To Point Fingers," The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 10/16/06)
• The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call: "What was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid thinking when he gave an inaccurate accounting to Congress about a 2001 property transfer that later resulted in a $1.1 million sale and a $700,000 profit? The Nevada Democrat has been out front pointing fingers at Republicans for ethical breaches ... even as he was involved in a series of shady decisions himself." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid's Lack Of Land-Deal Disclosures Takes Away His Authority To Point Fingers," The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 10/16/06)
• The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call: "[S]en. Reid's association with [Jay] Brown is troublesome. Mr. Brown was involved in a 1981 federal securities complaint that was settled out of court, and his name surfaced in a political bribery trial this summer and in other organized crime investigations." (Editorial, "Sen. Reid's Lack Of Land-Deal Disclosures Takes Away His Authority To Point Fingers," The [Allentown, PA] Morning Call, 10/16/06)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Look who got his wallet caught in the wringer. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., received a $700,000 profit for the sale of land he hadn't personally owned for three years." (Editorial, "The Harry Reid Scandal," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 10/15/06)
• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "This is a matter for investigation by the ethics committee, the feds and Nevada. Was the $400,000 purchase money Reid's? Did Reid, or Brown on behalf of Reid, exert illegal influence on zoning officials? Why, even in the middle of a desert, does this smell so wet and so fishy?" (Editorial, "The Harry Reid Scandal," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 10/15/06)

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell: "[D]emocratic leader, Harry Reid, of course, in the Senate is under fire for a land deal that netted him $1.1 million." (MSNBC's "MSNBC Live," 10/13/06)
• O'Donnell: "The Philadelphia Enquirer says unless Reid comes up with a better explanation, Democrats should not keep him as their leader. The Washington Post talks about his professions of transparency are transparently wrong, they say. And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Reid faces too many questions about his own behavior to crusade against the misdeeds of others." (MSNBC's "MSNBC Live," 10/13/06)

New York Post's Ed Morrissey: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's ethics woes continue to mount. An Associated Press expose shows that Reid pushed through changes in federal law that helped the senator get rich - via complex land deals with a lobbyist who's also tied up in a federal bribery case." (Ed Morrissey, Op-Ed, "Reid's Smelly Windfall," New York Post, 10/16/06)
• Morrissey: "It isn't the first time Harry Reid's ties to real-estate developers have caused people to question the senator's ethics. ... Had the investment been known, voters could have made the connection. The Senate Ethics Committee might have taken an interest as well - except that Harry Reid himself sat as the top Democrat on that panel." (Ed Morrissey, Op-Ed, "Reid's Smelly Windfall," New York Post, 10/16/06)
• Morrissey: "Disclosures now are pointless. The ethics panel needs to order a full investigation not just into the $700,000 profit, but all of Reid's business partners and any legislation or intervention with federal regulators Reid pushed on their behalf." (Ed Morrissey, Op-Ed, "Reid's Smelly Windfall," New York Post, 10/16/06)

Rocky Mountain News: "[T]he House is hardly the only body tainted by ethical issues. ... Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada had been involved in an elaborate deal that yielded big profits after land he'd bought was rezoned from residential to commercial so a shopping center could be built. Reid didn't even own the land any more, though on the official disclosure forms he filed with the Senate, he said he did." (Editorial, "Mounting Image Woes For Congress," Rocky Mountain News, 10/14/06)
• Rocky Mountain News: "At the very least Reid appears to have violated Senate disclosure rules in this peculiar, incredibly complicated deal - a deal, moreover, that seems to have minimized his risk and maximized his profit. And this is the man who could become majority leader if the Democrats take back the Senate next month!" (Editorial, "Mounting Image Woes For Congress," Rocky Mountain News, 10/14/06)

Tuscaloosa [AL] News: "Another congressional leader, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, is facing questions on what has become an all-too familiar charge - a breach of ethics." (Editorial, "Public Deserves Tougher Ethics Laws For Corrupt Congress," Tuscaloosa [AL] News, 10/13/06)
• Tuscaloosa [AL] News: "The allegation in Reid's case is that the he failed to disclose to Congress that he first sold land to a friend's company in 2001. Then he took an ownership stake in the company - again failing to disclose it as legally required - and collected a seven-figure payout when the company sold the land again in 2004. Ethics experts have told the AP that Reid's inaccurate accounting of the 2004 transaction as a personal sale appears to violate Senate ethics rules." (Editorial, "Public Deserves Tougher Ethics Laws For Corrupt Congress," Tuscaloosa [AL] News, 10/13/06)

Houston Chronicle's James T. Campbell: "Just when I thought it was safe to write about something nonpolitical like recipes in the Flavor Section, The Associated Press drops a story last week about Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid possibly violating Senate rules." (James T. Campbell, Op-Ed, "In A Week Of Scandals, Are All Of Them Created Equal?," Houston Chronicle, 10/15/06)
• Campbell: "The Reid story is newsworthy, but involves a complicated allegation. As it continues to evolve it should be considered for Page One." (James T. Campbell, Op-Ed, "In A Week Of Scandals, Are All Of Them Created Equal?," Houston Chronicle, 10/15/06)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Unless Reid comes up with a better explanation for this lack of disclosure, Democrats should not keep him as their leader in the new Congress in 2007." (Editorial, "Reid's Land Deal," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/13/06)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: "A lucrative land deal benefiting U.S. Senate minority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) deserves full scrutiny by the Senate ethics committee. ... [T]he Senate Democratic leader engaged in a seven-figure handshake and didn't feel the need to disclose all the details. Experts on Senate ethics rules say Reid should have disclosed the sale in 2001 on his annual ethics report, and informed Congress of his part-ownership in Brown's corporation. Reid didn't." (Editorial, "Reid's Land Deal," The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/13/06)

CNBC's Larry Kudlow: "[W]hat's up with this Harry Reid scandal? Why aren't newspapers playing this on the front pages? Some pundits say he could go to jail. ... [T]he part that's really troubling is ... apparently [Jay] Brown, who has a checkered past, structured the deal so that Senator Reid could transfer his ownership interest to Brown without disclosing it to the public. ... That is potentially a federal crime." (CNBC's "Kudlow & Co.," 10/12/06)

Las Vegas Review-Journal's John L. Smith: "The question is the timing of the land deal itself and its relationship, if any, to the release of other federal land for private development. In theory, such a purchase could be considered something akin to trading with insider knowledge. Reid's influential friends and political allies are often close to those federal land releases." (John L. Smith, Op-Ed, "Timing Is Everything In Harry Reid's Profitable Partnership Deal," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/13/06)

Fox News' Megyn Kendall: "[H]arry Reid is under fire, it's all about this land deal he made a few years ago with questions being raised about the Senator's disclosures of the transactions. Now the senate ethics committee is taking a closer look." (Fox News' "Fox News Live," 10/12/06)