Old habits die hard, I guess.

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) is under investigation for his ties to Jack Abramoff, who's still causing plenty of trouble for Republicans, Feeney and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) most of all. A Scottish golf junket with Abramoff in 2003 is the source of Feeney's problems. But even as Feeney tries to put Abramoff far behind him ("There's no relationship") with the help of a legal defense fund, he can't help himself.

Abramoff's old associate Todd Boulanger, The Orlando Sentinel reports, will be co-hosting a $500-a-person fundraiser for Feeney tonight. Boulanger, Abramoff enthusiasts might remember, was among Abramoff's coterie of go-getting young lobbyists at the firm Greenberg Traurig. And Boulanger's go-getting spirit was on full display in an email TPMmuckraker obtained last year, where he urged others in the office to pony up for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), who was a fast friend to the firm's clients (he'd "never said 'no'"). In it, Boulanger allowed that Abramoff's team had already delivered thousands in contributions for Cochran, but that wasn't "good enough for the member who keeps the lights turned on here at Greenberg."

The Sentinel notes that Boulanger, who now works at the lobby shop Cassidy & Associates, represents among other clients Freddie Mac; Feeney sits on the House Financial Services Committee. Boulanger gave Feeney $1,250 in contributions in 2005. Though a number of Boulanger's former colleagues are either in prison or under investigation, Boulanger himself appears never to have been a focus of the investigation.

Federal investigators are continuing on Rep. Tom Feeney's (R-FL) trail. The latest pin to drop -- the FBI has asked Florida Today for a video of an interview with Feeney. During the interview, from September of last year, Feeney minimized his relationship to Jack Abramoff to the vanishing point, saying that "“My office has never done anything for Jack Abramoff” and that "he’s never asked us for anything.” (The St. Petersburg Times later found a possible exception to that.)

“We didn’t have any relationship at all with him other than he gave us a contribution" was the kicker.

Feeney, of course, accompanied Abramoff on one of his infamous golf junkets to Scotland in 2003. Feeney was one among three lawmakers on the trip -- the other two were ex-Reps. Bob Ney (R-OH) and Tom DeLay (R-TX).

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Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) filed papers with the House of Representatives establishing a legal defense fund earlier this week.

Federal investigators stepped up their probe of Feeney's ties to Jack Abramoff in April. Abramoff brought Feeney along on one of his infamous golf junkets to Scotland, this one in 2003. Feeney was one among three lawmakers on the trip -- the other two were ex-Reps. Bob Ney (R-OH) and Tom DeLay (R-TX).

As Roll Call reported in April, Feeney has made two payments totaling $23,000 to the law firm Patton Boggs for legal counsel to represent him for an ethics committee probe of the trip. The committee ruled in January that the trip was improper and fined Feeney $5,643. It would seem that Feeney needs more help paying to defend himself against possible criminal charges.

Via PoliticalMoneyLine.

Congrats to Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) for issuing the boldest denial of the Jack Abramoff scandal.

A lot of lawmakers have said they never met Abramoff, or they never met him in their office, or when they met him, they didn't like him, or they wouldn't recognize him if they saw him, etc. But Feeney has gone above and beyond:

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) says he is not worried that the Justice Department is looking into his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and is voluntarily cooperating with the investigation....

...Feeney denied having any kind of relationship with Abramoff.

“There’s no relationship,” he said flatly.

Feeney, remember, was one of seven people Abramoff took on a golf junket to Scotland in 2003. He flew over on a private jet. He played golf with Abramoff twice a day there.

Now, even though a sham charity covered the cost of Feeney's trip, Abramoff was not someone who, when it came to lawmakers, was interested in charity. Consider some of the others who joined Abramoff on his junkets: ex-Rep. Bob Ney (jail), Mark Zachares (pled guilty), Neil Volz (pled guilty), David Safavian (convicted), ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (under investigation), etc., etc.

Feeney, no doubt, was not an exception. Here's McClatchy on Abramoff's strenuous efforts to cooperate with prosecutors:

"He's talking so much he doesn't have time to eat," one lawyer involved in the matter quipped, insisting upon anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. "Everybody who had business dealings with the guy should be nervous."...

Feeney is among those who might be nervous over the ex-lobbyist's chatter, said the knowledgeable lawyer.

Today, the House ethics committee ordered Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) to repay the cost of a golf junket to Scotland with Jack Abramoff in 2003. Abramoff paid for the trip, for one, but the committee found that Feeney should have been paying for his own golf outing anyway.

Feeney's response?

“Tom felt, on balance, the trip was a waste of time,” [Feeney's chief of staff Jason Roe] said, adding, “It’s an expensive lesson, but we’re glad it’s behind us.”

Well, at least his Scotland junket didn't land him in jail.