To me this is about as good as it gets. In response to the letter sent U.S. Attroney Frank J. Magill, Jr., last week posted here, Jan. 29, 2008, Mr. Magill replied that the matter is not within his jurisdiction, but my letter has been duly forwarded - it was a joint letter sent Feb. 1, to Jerry Hiniker and to me.
It is fortunate that it takes the local U.S. Attorney's office out of something that otherwise might have been politicized to harm that office - or at least had that potential.
It appears the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House have jurisdiction over matters concerning registration of lobbyists under the statute. That is something I was unaware of, in contacting the Justice Department. It is a statute I am unfamiliar with and I erred.
However the letter is being forwarded to the Department of Justice's Office of Legislative Affairs "to determine whether the matter should be forwarded to the Secretary or Clerk."
The courtesy is appreciated. It takes the burden off of Jerry and me to redirect our inquiry, and allows an official at DOJ with experience to handle things instead. If the letter is in any way insufficient or not meriting forwarding, it would have been so if sent by Jerry and me to the legislative branch offices had we initially routed it that way. Also, if raising a suitable question for the legislative offices I am certain it will be promptly and duly handled by the DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs.
This is an opportunity to publicly thank the local U.S. Attorney for his prompt and courteous handling of the inquiry, and an opportunity to let anyone reading this know that the matter is moving in due course.
