Another GOP elected official abused his wife -- Rep. Sweeney (R-NY)

Note the "blame game" at the end, regarding the incident involving the congressman's son.

It's great that the Albany media stuck to its guns and got information on this. 

http://timesunion.co...

Congressman's wife called police

Sweeney campaign says the document concerning a domestic incident is ``false and concocted'' 

By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
Last updated: 8:53 p.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2006

CLIFTON PARK -- The wife of U.S. Rep. John Sweeney called police last December to complain her husband was ``knocking her around'' during a late-night argument at the couple's home, according to a document obtained last week by the Times Union.

The emergency call to a police dispatcher triggered a visit to the couple's residence by a state trooper from Clifton Park, who filed a domestic incident report after noting that the congressman had scratches on his face, the document states. No criminal charges were filed.

Gaia M. Sweeney, 36, told a trooper that her husband had grabbed her by the neck and was pushing her around the house, according to the document.
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The Times Union confirmed several months ago, through multiple law enforcement sources, that State Police had responded to the Sweeney residence in early December to investigate a domestic dispute. The sources confirmed that Sweeney had scratches on his face when a trooper arrived, but they provided no additional information about the incident.

In the past 10 months, at least three news organizations, including the Times Union, have filed formal requests seeking disclosure of police records about the incident. State Police denied those requests and, according to agency sources, ordered that all inquiries about the matter be directed to headquarters, where officials have declined comment.

Early Tuesday, copies of the document obtained by this newspaper were provided to State Police headquarters and to Sweeney's offices in Washington, D.C., and Clifton Park.

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Sweeney has declined repeated requests to discuss the incident. The Times Union initially contacted Sweeney's office for comment last December, about three weeks after police responded to his residence. The congressman did not return telephone inquiries about the incident that month. He also did not respond to requests for comment, which were made through his spokeswoman, on Monday and Tuesday.

The statement issued by Sweeney's campaign states: ``This barley (sic) legible document that is currently being circulated is a piece of campaign propaganda in the continued smear campaign against Congressman John Sweeney and his family. It is not authentic. It is false and it is a concoction by our opposition.''

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A Sweeney spokeswoman did not respond to a follow-up request from the newspaper inquiring whether the congressman is disputing the facts contained in the document. The newspaper also asked whether Sweeney would authorize State Police to release records from the incident. The spokeswoman did not respond.

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The alleged incident at the couple's home off Kinns Road took place at the end of a tumultuous year for Sweeney. Less than two weeks earlier, his son, John J. Sweeney, then 19, pleaded guilty to felony assault charges for his role in a fight that left another young man with skull factures and blurred vision. The younger Sweeney initially faced the prospect of spending up to 15 years in prison, but a plea deal gave him youthful offender status and a sentence that included four months of weekends in jail and community service.

Sweeney, 51, has blamed his political opponents for his son's prosecution on felony charges.

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