U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-NC, and TVA officials earlier had told The Tennessean newspaper that there’d been no contact between the two about a water-access problem, but a new TVA report says that, though there was nothing wrong with contact as long as pressure was not exerted, Shuler did, indeed contact the TVA about the issue:
U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler has said he didn’t contact TVA while the federal utility was considering a controversial water-access deal in which he had a stake, but a new report says he spoke with TVA CEO Tom Kilgore about the matter. …
“Specifically, if all of this was above board, why did TVA and Shuler feel compelled to tell the media that there was no contact between the congressman and TVA in relation to the Maintain and Gain application?” the report said. “There obviously was.”
Why not just say up front there was contact, but nothing unethical? This could have been a one-day story.
