Monday, October 16, 2006

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.

"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