Sen. Baucus Was In Relationship With Women He Nominated For U.S. Attorney Post

Senate Fiance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was having a affair with his current girlfriend when he recommend her for U.S. Attorney last year, a spokesman said late Friday. Ty Matsdorf said the Montana Democrat and his former state office Director Melodee Hanes, began their relationship in the summer of 2008, after Baucus separated from his wife. Baucus nominated Hanes for the U.S. Attorney post in Montana in March, but she later withdrew her name. Matsdorf said Baucus submitted six names to a third party reviewer. who whittled those down to Hanes and two others. The senator sent the three names to the White House with no ranking. "After through review of all applicants, Baucus recommend each of the three candidates based solely on qualifications and merit knowing Whichever one the White House selected would serve Montana Well,"Matsdorf told Associated Press. The spokesman said that Baucus and Hanes decided during the nomination process to withdraw her name from because the couple wanted to live together in Washington, which they later did. Hanes had started working for Baucus in 2002 and was state director before leaving his office earlier the year for a position in the U.S. Justice Department. "Mel is supremely qualified and got her current position based solely on her merit, Matsdorf said. Word of Baucus nominating his girlfriend was first reported by Roll Call, a online publication that covers Washington. Baucus was elected in the Montana House in 1973 and to the House in 1974 and 1976. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1978 at the age of 36, and is up for re-election in 2014. He has been increasingly visible roles in Congress, sometimes willing to buck his own Democratic Party on certain issues. He recognizes the state that sent him to the Senate for five straight terms is fundamentally Conservative and its voters want someone willing to base votes based on party lines. Most recently he has been the center of a bipartisan effort to move sweeping health care legislation through the Senate with a bill aimed at meeting Obama's goal of overhauling the nation health care system. The Democrat has also been at the center of Congressional battles: He played a key role in 2003 legalisation adding a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program enacted by President George W. Bush tax cuts in 2001. Baucus has also secured millions in federal funding for highways and billions in disaster aid for drought-plagued farmers and ranchers. By Thomas Peipert AP. The United States Senate is full of "Sumbags".