Wanda Baucus, dragged into the spotlight by the revelation that her divorce from Sen. Max Baucus of Montana may have been plotted partly by his staffer-turned-girlfriend, once spoke out on behalf of Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas' contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Wendy Baucus said at the time that Hill had suffered at the hands of senators acting like "a bunch of thugs."
Now Wendy Baucus is suffering at the hand of her ex-husband, after a Lee Newspapers report on billing documents that show Sen. Baucus' former state director, Melodee Hanes, met at least twice with his divorce attorney eight months before the Baucuses separated.
The two divorced in April. Hanes now is Sen. Baucus' live-in girlfriend.
In happier times, Wanda Baucus was an outspoken advocate for women working on Capitol Hill. In an interview with the Alicia Patterson Foundation two years after Thomas' sensational 1991 confirmation hearings, Baucus revealed that she had defended Hill, whose accusation of sexual harassment against Thomas was met by skepticism from senators.
Read on.
And divorce lawyer consulted Melodee Hanes.
Main Justice:
The Montana newspaper quoted from billing records submitted by Baucus’s lawyer, Ronald F. Waterman, in Helena. Main Justice obtained a copy of the billing records. Click here to see them.
Showing posts with label Melodee Hanes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melodee Hanes. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Girlfriend worked on Baucus’ divorce
Sen. Max Baucus’ former state director — and now his live-in girlfriend — met at least twice with the senator’s divorce attorney to discuss the Baucuses’ divorce eight months before the senator and his wife, Wanda, separated.
The meetings took place in the summer of 2007, according to billing documents obtained by Lee Newspapers.
Contacted this week by Lee Newspapers and asked about these documents, Wanda Baucus said she knew nothing about those discussions in 2007 and that the couple had never had a discussion about getting a divorce.
“Ending a 25-year marriage is a serious undertaking that should be discussed first within the family” she said. “There’s no justification for the staff being involved in such private matters.”
Melodee Hanes, Baucus’ former chief of staff and current girlfriend, met at least twice with Ron Waterman, the Helena lawyer who worked on the senator’s April 2009 divorce, the billing documents showed. At the time, Hanes was a lawyer and high-ranking aide to the senator.
Read on.
Also read more of the timeline of the Baucus-Hanes relationship. Click here.
The meetings took place in the summer of 2007, according to billing documents obtained by Lee Newspapers.
Contacted this week by Lee Newspapers and asked about these documents, Wanda Baucus said she knew nothing about those discussions in 2007 and that the couple had never had a discussion about getting a divorce.
“Ending a 25-year marriage is a serious undertaking that should be discussed first within the family” she said. “There’s no justification for the staff being involved in such private matters.”
Melodee Hanes, Baucus’ former chief of staff and current girlfriend, met at least twice with Ron Waterman, the Helena lawyer who worked on the senator’s April 2009 divorce, the billing documents showed. At the time, Hanes was a lawyer and high-ranking aide to the senator.
Read on.
Also read more of the timeline of the Baucus-Hanes relationship. Click here.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Montana reporter informed Baucus's office that paper planned to report that he had nominated Hanes.
This was back in March...
Posted by Jodi Rave of Buffalos Fire website:
Buffalosfire.com:
As a reporter who covered the story here in Montana for Lee Enterprises, I have a different perspective about why Hanes and Baucus jointly agreed to withdraw her name. I talked to Hanes and to Baucus spokesman about the relationship the senator had with Hanes, his state director. I had also talked with the Hanes’ husband. I had also interviewed all the candidates — and then some — about the U.S. attorney selection process in Montana. It was clear as day that Baucus had nominated her. I called the senator’s spokesman and told him we were going to finally print the story in the Missoulian, after a few delays. Within what seemed like minutes, K Barrett Kaiser sent an email to the newsroom and said that Hanes “was NOT” a candidate. We ran the news story without any mention of the affair. At the time, Baucus would not admit he had indeed nominated her. But, after a process of elimination, it was obvious that he did. Read an excerpt of the story.
Posted by Jodi Rave of Buffalos Fire website:
Buffalosfire.com:
As a reporter who covered the story here in Montana for Lee Enterprises, I have a different perspective about why Hanes and Baucus jointly agreed to withdraw her name. I talked to Hanes and to Baucus spokesman about the relationship the senator had with Hanes, his state director. I had also talked with the Hanes’ husband. I had also interviewed all the candidates — and then some — about the U.S. attorney selection process in Montana. It was clear as day that Baucus had nominated her. I called the senator’s spokesman and told him we were going to finally print the story in the Missoulian, after a few delays. Within what seemed like minutes, K Barrett Kaiser sent an email to the newsroom and said that Hanes “was NOT” a candidate. We ran the news story without any mention of the affair. At the time, Baucus would not admit he had indeed nominated her. But, after a process of elimination, it was obvious that he did. Read an excerpt of the story.
Baucus gave girlfriend $14K raise
I posted the jump of raise of Max Baucus' girlfriend on the blog. Click here.
Politico:
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty. Late last Friday, Baucus acknowledged his relationship with Melodee Hanes, whom he nominated for the job of U.S. attorney in Montana, after it was first reported on the website MainJustice.com. [. . .] [Baucus] dismissed calls for an ethics investigation, saying, “I went out of my way to be up and up.”
Also this:
Baucus separated from his now-ex-wife, Wanda, in March 2008 and moved out of their home. Hanes separated from her husband in April 2008 and moved out in early June. Hanes was divorced from her husband last December, and Baucus was divorced in April 2009. They are now living together on Capitol Hill and began dating in the summer of 2008. Hanes and other staff received their raises in this time period, according to public documents that show payroll breakdowns in six-month increments.
Politico:
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty. Late last Friday, Baucus acknowledged his relationship with Melodee Hanes, whom he nominated for the job of U.S. attorney in Montana, after it was first reported on the website MainJustice.com. [. . .] [Baucus] dismissed calls for an ethics investigation, saying, “I went out of my way to be up and up.”
Also this:
Baucus separated from his now-ex-wife, Wanda, in March 2008 and moved out of their home. Hanes separated from her husband in April 2008 and moved out in early June. Hanes was divorced from her husband last December, and Baucus was divorced in April 2009. They are now living together on Capitol Hill and began dating in the summer of 2008. Hanes and other staff received their raises in this time period, according to public documents that show payroll breakdowns in six-month increments.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Baucus didn’t disclose relationship to DOJ officials while recommending Hanes
Raw Story:
Baucus has acknowledged that he recommended his girlfriend, Melodee Hanes, to be the U.S. attorney for Montana, but it has not been previously known whether he or his staff told Justice Department officials about the relationship at the time of his recommendation. An official involved in the vetting of U.S. attorneys says that Baucus did not—a disclosure that is almost certainly going to escalate questions about Baucus’ conduct.
Here is some interesting info according to wikipedia:
Baucus has owned a home in Washington, D.C.'s upscale Georgetown district since 1984. As of November 2007, the Missoulian newspaper reported he owned no other property in Montana.
And Baucus met his second wife when she was an aide. After Baucus divorced first wife in 1982, Baucus met wife #2 , who was an aide to a Senator in Arkansas after his divorce. Read on.
Finally, click here for a copy of Hanes’s resume. And click here to view Ms .Hanes' salary while working for Baucus. Not bad.
Baucus has acknowledged that he recommended his girlfriend, Melodee Hanes, to be the U.S. attorney for Montana, but it has not been previously known whether he or his staff told Justice Department officials about the relationship at the time of his recommendation. An official involved in the vetting of U.S. attorneys says that Baucus did not—a disclosure that is almost certainly going to escalate questions about Baucus’ conduct.
Here is some interesting info according to wikipedia:
Baucus has owned a home in Washington, D.C.'s upscale Georgetown district since 1984. As of November 2007, the Missoulian newspaper reported he owned no other property in Montana.
And Baucus met his second wife when she was an aide. After Baucus divorced first wife in 1982, Baucus met wife #2 , who was an aide to a Senator in Arkansas after his divorce. Read on.
Finally, click here for a copy of Hanes’s resume. And click here to view Ms .Hanes' salary while working for Baucus. Not bad.
Hanes traveled abroad with Baucus twice in '08
Former U.S. attorney nominee Melodee Hanes traveled abroad with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and six other staff members twice at the end of 2008, both times as a member of the lawmaker's office.
Those two trips -- to the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam -- occurred while Hanes was serving in an official capacity as the state director for the Montana Democrat, but before Baucus recommended her for an attorney position she later turned down.
Joining Baucus on both stops, which featured discussions about international trade and education opportunities, were William Dauster, a staff director for the Senate Finance Committee; Jon Selib, Baucus' chief of staff; Demetrios Marantis, Chelsea Thomas and Janis Lazda, formerly international trade specialists for the Finance Committee; and Carol Guthrie, the committee's former communications director.
All received the same per diem of roughly $200 for the UAE trip and more than $700 for the Vietnam stop, according to foreign travel reports published in the Congressional Record.
While it is normal for staff members to accompany lawmakers on foreign events and meetings, the Senate Finance Committee chairman's trip in particular could raise some ethical red flags, experts suggested on Saturday.
Hanes has been dating Baucus since the summer of 2008, and if she was invited on a trip that "she would not have gone on otherwise" based on her position, Baucus may find himself in the wrong, noted Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).Read on.
See Baucus' campaign finance/money.
Click here.
Those two trips -- to the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam -- occurred while Hanes was serving in an official capacity as the state director for the Montana Democrat, but before Baucus recommended her for an attorney position she later turned down.
Joining Baucus on both stops, which featured discussions about international trade and education opportunities, were William Dauster, a staff director for the Senate Finance Committee; Jon Selib, Baucus' chief of staff; Demetrios Marantis, Chelsea Thomas and Janis Lazda, formerly international trade specialists for the Finance Committee; and Carol Guthrie, the committee's former communications director.
All received the same per diem of roughly $200 for the UAE trip and more than $700 for the Vietnam stop, according to foreign travel reports published in the Congressional Record.
While it is normal for staff members to accompany lawmakers on foreign events and meetings, the Senate Finance Committee chairman's trip in particular could raise some ethical red flags, experts suggested on Saturday.
Hanes has been dating Baucus since the summer of 2008, and if she was invited on a trip that "she would not have gone on otherwise" based on her position, Baucus may find himself in the wrong, noted Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).Read on.
See Baucus' campaign finance/money.
Click here.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Sen. Baucus nominated girlfriend for U.S. Attorney
Tsk, tsk, tsk... Sex for position. Look for a possible ethics investigation by the Senate..
According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, divorced in April 2009. The Senator had informally separated from his wife in March 2008 and they were living apart when he began dating Hanes, according to Baucus' office.
Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year.
Hanes, who is divorced and now lives with Baucus in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C., ultimately withdrew her name from consideration for the U.S. attorney position in order to move to Washington, and she now works in the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as a counselor to the administrator.
Baucus spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said the relationship was not the cause of Baucus’ divorce and that Baucus did not arrange for her current position with DOJ.
Read on.
Main Justice broke the story. Read more.
According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, divorced in April 2009. The Senator had informally separated from his wife in March 2008 and they were living apart when he began dating Hanes, according to Baucus' office.
Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year.
Hanes, who is divorced and now lives with Baucus in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C., ultimately withdrew her name from consideration for the U.S. attorney position in order to move to Washington, and she now works in the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as a counselor to the administrator.
Baucus spokesman Tyler Matsdorf said the relationship was not the cause of Baucus’ divorce and that Baucus did not arrange for her current position with DOJ.
Read on.
Main Justice broke the story. Read more.
On a side note: The media is ignoring the story how Liz Fowler who worked for Wellpoint as VP healthcare insurance and now senior counsel to Baucus helped to write the Senate healthcare reform bill. Click here.
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