Sounds very much like the Republican National Committee should adopt some kind of vetting procedure for candidates for the Chairman’s post.

If newly elected chairman Michael S. Steele (apparently, the S. doesn’t stand for Sleazeball) had been vetted before the election, maybe the RNC wouldn’t now be wiping egg from its face with a very large handkerchief.

Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors.

Federal agents in recent days contacted Steele’s sister, a spokesman for Steele said yesterday.

The claim about the payment, one of several allegations by Alan B. Fabian, is outlined in a confidential court document. Fabian offered the information last March as he was seeking leniency for himself during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges.

(At this point, it is normal to pause and wonder if they’re all just a bunch of bloody crooks. Maybe Steele will also be in a position to seek leniency for himself by ratting out somebody else?)

Fabian’s claims emerge as Steele begins his new role at the RNC, where he oversees the raising and spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in party money. The former Maryland lieutenant governor has faced questions about his handling of campaign money in prior elections and was twice fined for missing filing deadlines.
[...]
The U.S. attorney’s office inadvertently sent the confidential document, a defense sentencing memorandum filed under seal, to The Washington Post after the newspaper requested the prosecution’s sentencing memorandum.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein declined to comment. Fabian could not be reached, and his attorney, James Wyda, declined to comment.

According to the filing, Wyda gave prosecutors “documents supporting [the] allegations.”
[...]
Fabian points to a February 2007 payment by Steele’s Senate campaign of more than $37,000 to Brown Sugar Unlimited, the company run by Steele’s sister, Monica Turner. Campaign finance records list the expense as having been for “catering/web services.” Turner filed papers to dissolve the company 11 months before the payment was received.

Apart from anything else, “catering/web services” is a heck of a category. Whoever dreamed that up should definitely take a bow.