CQ: Hastert's aide ordered investigators to stop Foley probe in 2005

House Speaker Dennis Hastert is not out of the woods yet.  Late Friday night, Congressional Quarterly reported that Ted Van Der Meid, the Speaker's Chief Counsel, told investigators to end their probe into the Mark Foley emails last year:

Two former House committee investigators who were examining Capitol Hill security upgrades said a senior aide to Speaker

J. Dennis Hastert

hindered their efforts before they were abruptly ordered to stop their probe last year.

The former Appropriations Committee investigators said Ted Van DerMeid, Hastert’s chief counsel, resisted from the start the inquiry,which began with concerns about mismanagement of a secret securityoffice and later probed allegations of bid-rigging and kickbacks fromcontractors to a Defense Department employee.

Ronald Garant and a second Appropriations Committee investigator whoasked not to be identified said Van Der Meid engaged in “screamingmatches” with investigators and told at least one aide not to talk tothem. Van Der Meid also prohibited investigators from visiting certainsites to check up on the effectiveness of the work, the investigatorssaid.

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This comes as the House Ethics Committee is wrapping up its investigation into what the House Republican leadership knew and when they knew it.