LegiStorm

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) has put a money launderer on his official payroll, which is at least the second such time he has done so.

Dona Nichols-Jones and her husband, Mikel Jones, were convicted in 2011 of conspiracy, money laundering and fraud after the couple took more than $600,000 from a business loan for personal use. Prosecutors accused the couple of crafting fake invoices from shell companies to funnel the money toward groceries, credit card bills and tickets to sporting events. Nichols-Jones was sentenced to one day in prison, and the court ordered her to pay nearly $400,000 in restitution.

According to the most recently released salary records, Nichols-Jones is now employed part-time by Hastings and was paid $4,375 between April 1 and June 30 this year.

The salary record does not indicate what type of work Nichols-Jones is doing for the office, where she is working, or how many hours she puts in for the representative. The office did not respond to messages left since Friday.

Mikel Jones was himself employed by Hastings. Records indicate Jones drew a salary of more than $78,000 in 2010, and he remained on the payroll even after his indictment in July 2011 until the day he was convicted in November. Jones was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay almost $500,000 restitution.

Asked at the time how Mikel Jones was able to operate a law firm in Philadelphia while employed by Hastings in Florida, the representative's office declined to comment, according to the Sun Sentinel.

The congressman himself has a colorful legal history. As a federal judge, Hastings was impeached in 1989 by the U.S. Senate for taking a $150,000 bribe in a racketeering trial. He was subsequently elected to the House.

The lawmaker's staff hires have raised eyebrows before. Hastings currently employs longtime girlfriend, Patricia Williams, who served as his attorney when he was indicted for bribery, and during his subsequent impeachment trial. She began working for Hastings during his first term in 1993, shortly after being disbarred in Florida, and is his highest paid employee, earning more than $168,000 in 2013 as his deputy district director.

Although it has not previously received attention, Hastings also employs Williams' daughter, Maisha Williams, as a staff assistant. She earned $40,000 in 2013. 

As relations continue to thaw with the diplomatically isolated country of Myanmar, Hill staffers have made the first privately financed trip to the country in more than a decade.

Three House and Senate aides made the trip to the military-controlled nation late last month, although the first disclosure of the travel was released Thursday. Janice Kaguyutan, the chief Democratic counsel for Rep. Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.) on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reported spending nine days in the Southeast Asian country, along with staffers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The $13,616 trip, which was sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, included meetings with the U.S. ambassador and Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The pro-democracy activist is attempting to amend the constitution to eliminate the de facto veto power that the military currently holds.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was until recently ruled tightly by a military junta. However, international pressure on the ruling party to institute human rights and civil reforms forced the announcement of a new constitution in 2008. Since then, the United States has eased economic sanctions against the undeveloped nation. On a recent trip, Secretary of State John Kerry stated that "the United States is going to do everything we can to help reformers."

The last privately financed congressional trip to Myanmar was in 2001, when an aide to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Myat Moe "Phyllis" Khaing, stopped off in the country as part of a trip to Taiwan.

Matthew Bisenius, a former legislative staffer for Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), has left Congress for a government affairs position with the National Propane Gas Association.

Bisenius was serving as senior legislative assistant when he left Sensenbrenner's office. He worked his way up the ranks from his starting as systems administrator in 2008. Bisenius will now serve as legislative director at the propane industry trade association.

The NPGA advocates for its clients in every segment of the propane industry, from production, to transportation and retail marketing - including propane equipment and appliances.

Bisenius holds a bachelor's in political science from the Florida State University College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

Many legislators have filled their August recess with town hall meetings, but the number is still far below what it was this time last year.

Last month, members held 588 such meetings, compared to 792 in August 2013, when LegiStorm began gathering data on town halls. LegiStorm tracks press releases, newsletters, social media, member web sites and other sources to collect dates, times and other information related to these gatherings. LegiStorm tracks these interactions with constituents, whether they take place in person, on the phone or online using forums like Twitter and Google Hangouts. The data does not include campaign events.

Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) led his peers with 23 town hall meetings last month, followed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), with 19 events.

Members of Congress didn't always choose a crowded community building for such events. On Aug. 26, Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) took questions on immigration while riding a bus in El Paso. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) was one of several members who hosted a "Coffee with your Congressman" event. His took place at a Chik-fil-A in Sumter.

Politicians missed an opportunity this year to provide constituents with a way to beat the summer heat: There were five ice cream events held in August 2013 -- four of them by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) -- but none were held last month.

A former lobbyist with a specialty in transportation and commerce has joined Rep. Gary Miller's (R-Calif.) staff as the congressman's top policy aide.

Yvette Wissmann left her job as director for government relations at the American Shipping and Logistics Group earlier this month. Before joining the Group, Wissmann spent almost a decade lobbying for K Street firm K&L Gates. While there, Wissmann represented clients in the maritime, railroad and airline industries.

Wissmann will handle commerce and foreign trade issues for Miller, who serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

Joining Miller's office marks a return to Capitol Hill for Wissman, who worked as a legislative correspondent in Rep. Duncan Hunter's (R-Calif.) office between 2001 and 2003. She also earned an MA in political science with an emphasis on lobbying and government relations from American University during that time.