Feds subpoena official aviation records of gov. air travel in West Virginia Democrat candidate Manchin's administration

10/26, "West Virginia probe worries Dems," Politico, Shira Toeplitz

"A federal investigation into West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin’s administration has taken a disturbing turn for his Democratic supporters:

• agents reportedly have subpoenaed the director of the state Aviation Division, along with
  
• flight logs and records for official government aircraft.

The news comes just after federal prosecutors privately asked a judge to delay the sentencing of a contractor who

• got a no-bid contract to redecorate Manchin’s office.

And the developments are set against an ongoing government probe reportedly involving state Democratic Party chairman Larry Puccio, Manchin’s former chief of staff.

It’s highly unlikely the federal investigation will be resolved before Election Day, and the exact details of the probe, which apparently stem from state contracts, are still unclear. But the headlines about possible wrongdoing in the governor’s office – and rumors swirling around his former top aide – threaten to hamstring Manchin in his tight Senate race with millionaire businessman John Raese, with the Democrats’ control of the Senate at stake....

• On Tuesday, the lead story in the state’s largest newspaper, the Charleston Gazette, reported that
  

the investigation, which began with the Department of Highways and the state administrator’s office, had widened to include the Department of Aviation, which maintains and controls the state’s fleet of airplanes and helicopters.

• On Monday, the sentencing of Clark Diehl, the contractor who put up wallpaper in several of Manchin’s offices and the offices of other top officials, was postponed until April after prosecutors told a judge the punishment could compromise part of their probe.

An attorney for Diehl, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, told a local newspaper that he is cooperating in

• a “sensitive and ongoing investigation.”

Puccio’s former firm, Puccio and York, LLC, won a total of $831,932 worth of contracts with the state since 1996, primarily involving property appraisals for the Division of Highways, according to local news reports, citing state auditor's office records.

• Further details about the investigation are scarce; Manchin’s campaign referred all questions to his official government spokesman, who referred all questions to the
  
• special assistant Attorney General, Dwane Tinsley, who was appointed to handle the case.

“As has been the case since I was hired to represent the state, I cannot comment on the specifics,” said Tinsley. “However, as far as I know, little has changed with the investigation. I am still working with State agencies

• to gather and provide information to the Federal Government. To my knowledge, no one working for the State, past or present, is the focus of this or any investigation.”
  

Given the lack of information about the probe, it’s unclear whether another shoe could drop before Nov. 2 that could implicate Manchin. In the meantime, however, local Democrats say having an ongoing investigation has already been a distraction....

• “It’s been something that the opposition can use to wave around, it’s something that may not even have anything to it,” said state Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler, a Democrat. “The opposition has tried to take advantage of it by suggesting it should be an issue.”

Raese, however, has taken a hands-off approach on the Manchin investigation, although the state Republican Party has consistently criticized Democrats. When asked to comment on the investigation, a Raese spokesman directed inquiries to the state party.

• To underscore the matter, state Republicans have kept a regular countdown of how long Puccio has been silent on the matter, which they said Monday stood at 75 days. In a press release Tuesday, the state party openly questioned whether the federal probe will snare Manchin:
  

“Will West Virginia voters choose to elect someone who may be headed to prison for corruption?”

• State Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart said Puccio’s reluctance to clear the air and answer questions sets a bad example and casts a shadow over Manchin, the man whose counsel Puccio kept.

“This uncomfortable silence, hiding from Freedom of Information requests, these are an offense to any of us who love the First Amendment and the Constitution,” said. “The voters deserve to know exactly what is happening before they cast their votes for the U.S. Senate.”

• A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, Laura Sweeney, declined to comment on the grounds that the department does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Nonetheless, the timing of the Justice Department’s investigation continues to irk Democrats in the state, who are suspicious about a new twist in the probe coming so close to Election Day. "...

via Free Republic