Cantwell aide arrested in sting

WASHINGTON – A former aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was in federal custody after being arrested on a charge of attempting to sexually exploit a minor.

James Michael McHaney was fired Friday from his job as a scheduler for Cantwell, hours after he was arrested by FBI agents. The FBI said in court papers that McHaney is accused of trying to set up a meeting with a witness posing online as a teenage boy.

McHaney, who appeared in federal court on Saturday, was being held without bond pending a court hearing on Wednesday, said Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

According to court papers, McHaney, known as Mike, tried to arrange a lunchtime meeting with an unidentified person posing as a 13-year-old boy. When the witness, working under the supervision of the FBI, asked whether McHaney was interested in sex with a 13-year-old, McHaney allegedly replied, “I’ll be there,” the court papers said. He later asked for a photo of the child, the FBI alleged.

News of the arrest was first reported on the Web site, www.thesmokinggun.com.

Congressional records show McHaney worked as a scheduler in Cantwell’s Washington, D.C., office since at least July 2006.

Cantwell’s chief of staff, Michael Meehan, issued a statement Monday night saying McHaney had been fired.