NATION IN BRIEF
Monday, October 16, 2006; Page A02
RNC Chairman Denies Role in Official's Firing
The head of the Republican Party said yesterday that he did not have a State Department official fired at the request of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, despite e-mails that reportedly suggest otherwise.
Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, denied playing a role in the firing of Allen Stayman from his job as a special negotiator while Mehlman was the White House political director.
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"It is not true," Mehlman said, when asked about the report on CNN's "Late Edition." "I did not have the authority, as the political director, to fire anybody. It wasn't my decision."
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· BONAPARTE, Iowa -- A 22-year-old man has been charged with murdering his parents and three teenage sisters at their home in southeastern Iowa, officials said. Shawn Bentler is being held on a $2.5 million bond at the Adams County Jail in Quincy, Ill., on five counts of first-degree murder, the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office said.
-- From News Services
