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Ney says ethics law has loopholes

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney said Wednesday an ethics law that sent him to prison probably won't stop abuses in Washington.

The Ohio Republican said in an appearance on "Howard Monroe and the Morning Show" that the law has loopholes, The Hill reported.

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He noted that under the law lobbyists are still allowed to host events at political conventions.

"I think lobbyists are still needed they are needed out there (but) the question is: Would a member do something for money? I think that the lobby will probably help somewhat, but it was most likely a cosmetic situation too because lobbyists are still allowed to host things at conventions and lobbyists are still out there."

Ney served 17 months of a 30 month sentence in prison after pleading guilty in 2006 to corruption charges stemming from his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the newspaper reported.

Asked whether he felt his case was handled fairly, Ney said he thought so.

"Yeah, I believe I did some things that, frankly, with the alcohol ... can diminish your judgment and in some cases I didn't care. (I thought), 'So what? Everybody goes out and eats dinner ... no one keeps track of it.' The blase things you get into you let your guard down. That's what I did and I paid a price for it," he said.

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