Ney's Chief of Staff Wore Wire, Was Key To Boss's Conviction

Butler said it is "quite possible" that Ney would have fought the charges, and a subsequent trial would have been difficult without recordings because two of the key actions Ney performed for Abramoff involved statements he placed in the Congressional Record.

Certain congressional actions, even when done in exchange for a bribe, cannot be introduced as evidence in a criminal trial because of the "speech or debate" clause of the U.S. Constitution. It protects official legislative actions and materials from interference by the executive branch.

"Had Ney proceeded to trial, the prosecution could have established Ney's agreement to insert the Congressional Record statements, but the prosecution could not have shown that Ney actually inserted those statements," Butler wrote.

The same speech-or-debate clause forced a constitutional showdown over the search of the offices of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.). An appeals court last week ruled that the FBI improperly seized documents from Jefferson's Capitol Hill office last year and ordered authorities to return them.

Heaton provided internal records through his lawyer and began active cooperation in June 2006. "Throughout his proactive cooperation, Heaton conscientiously followed the instructions given him by the FBI, notwithstanding that he was cooperating in an investigation of his one-time friend and mentor Bob Ney," Butler said.

Heaton's lawyer, John N. Nassikas III, said his client was an "earnest, moral and at times naive" congressional staffer taken advantage of by "a corrupt, deceitful and manipulative public official." Nassikas said that Ney "intentionally hired and quickly promoted young, inexperienced staffers -- who did not receive any formal ethics training from Congress -- so that staffers would have neither the knowledge nor the maturity to question Ney's conduct."

Heaton, a government major at the College of William and Mary with a passion for American politics and history, was hired in part because he was inexperienced and deferential, Ney told Neil Volz, Heaton's predecessor. Volz later became a lobbyist for Abramoff and then a cooperating witness for the government.

Volz told the government that Ney said "other, more seasoned candidates might 'get up and walk out of dinner because it was too expensive' " and violated the $50 gift ban.

Ney had a reputation among colleagues in both parties as collegial and cooperative, but inside his office he could be abusive and manipulative, said Heaton's wife, Kathryn Knapp, in another letter to the judge. He frequently "fired" Heaton when under the influence of alcohol, only to rehire him "once Ney was sobered up," Knapp said.

Early on, when Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) came under scrutiny in 2005, Heaton, a devout Roman Catholic, turned to House Chaplain Daniel P. Coughlin, a Catholic priest. "As Will wrestled with his guilt," Couglin said in a letter to the judge, "I saw in him someone young, talented, responsible and reliable, yet caught in a web of evil around him."

By the spring of 2006, the investigation of Ney had intensified, despite repeated denials from him and his spokesman that he was in trouble. Prosecutors had subpoenaed thousands of documents and called numerous staff members for grand jury testimony.

In mid-June, the FBI tested Heaton, the documents said. The government recorded a phone call from another staff member who was cooperating with the federal investigation. With guidance from FBI agents and prosecutors, the staff member talked about the investigation with Heaton, asserted that his lawyers wanted him to provide information and repeatedly asked Heaton for advice. Heaton warned the staff member against trying "to cover something up."

Heaton also said in the recorded call, "The truth is what the truth is."

Heaton then "began cooperating proactively with government prosecutors and investigators" -- recording phone calls, meeting with Ney and answering questions from investigators over "many hours of debriefings."