McCain ignores calls to cancel fundraiser promoted by Ralph Reed

On August 8, 2008, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, will be attending an August 18th fundraiser, in Atlanta, promoted by Republican activist Ralph Reed. Reed has been linked in a scandal involving secretly accepting payments for lobbying against Indian casino gambling from Jack Abramoff.

YES! The Jack Abramoff Show is going on the McCain campaign trail!

This thing is a convoluted mess. First, we have Ralph Reed involved with the Jack Abramoff scandal. Steve Benen, at The Carpetbager Report, documents the relationship between Reed and Abramoff. Even more information on the relationship between Reed and Abramoff can be found here on EthicsDaily.com:

Investigators say the scheme worked like this: Abramoff earned the trust of tribal leaders and sometimes offered to work for free. He recommended hiring a consultant and pushed Scanlon, who in turn kicked back tens of millions of dollars to Abramoff. Abramoff did not reveal the potential conflict of interest to clients. Scanlon inflated his fees to cover both his and Abramoff's split. They spent about one-third of the money collected for purposes the clients intended and divided the rest between them.

When Abramoff and Scanlon did work for their clients' interests, they typically turned to Ralph Reed, Abramoff's longtime friend and a Republican strategist currently running for Georgia's lieutenant governor. Reed took money to mobilize grassroots Christian support against state proposals to expand legalized gambling, benefiting Abramoff's tribal clients, who feared losing business to increased competition.

Recognizing that Reed's conservative evangelical base would not approve of him taking money from gambling interests, Abramoff had tribal leaders filter Reed's money through various conduits, like Abramoff's lobbying firm and Americans for Tax Reform, an anti-tax, non-profit organization headed by conservative activist Grover Norquist.

According to the Senate [Committee on Indian Affairs] report, Reed reconnected with Abramoff in 1998, a few months before the lobbyist was discussing with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians various legislative proposals in Mississippi and elsewhere that threatened their casino market share.

Through at the time with electoral politics, Reed promised "to build a strong grassroots network" to oppose a video-poker bill in Alabama, mobilizing groups including the Alabama Christian Coalition, the Alabama Family Alliance, the Alabama Eagle Forum, the Christian Family Alliance and enlisting Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to record a commercial.

Reed had no direct contact with the Choctaws, who worked through Abramoff as a liaison. Reed boasted that he had 3,000 conservative pastors and 90,000 households in the state that he could access for the effort. Reed proposed a $20,000 a month retainer and closed his letter with, "We look forward to bringing about the desired results for you."

Later Abramoff proposed that the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana also work with Reed. William Worfel, former vice chairman of the tribe, said he understood Reed would engage the Christian Coalition against bills expanding gambling in Louisiana.

That is the connection between Reed and Abramoff. The second aspect of this mess comes from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The chairman for the Senate Committee on Indian affairs was none other than John McCain. McCain headed up the investigation of the Abramoff scandal by the Indian affairs committee. What is more, McCain was responsible for withholding controversial Abramoff emails from the report in order to protect his Republican colleagues from the investigation. In the 2006 report, McCain left out information on how Abramoff was targeting Alabama Gov. Bob Riley in the influence peddling scheme. In a December 9, 2002 email, Abramoff wrote that the Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation," which included "his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that." Riley was involved in a close 2002 gubernatorial election with Democrat Don Siegelman, in which Riley defeated Siegelman by around 3,000 votes. McCain had this email prior to the issuance of the report. Finally in February, 2008, McCain received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from Greenberg Traurig--the law firm which employed Jack Abramoff.

Do you see the hypocrisy within John McCain? First McCain claims that he is angry with the corruption taking place in Washington, but then helps shield his Republican friends from the Abramoff scandal, and then receives campaign contributions from the law firm that once employed Abramoff. And now McCain is planning to attend a fundraiser promoted by a key Republican figure connected with the Abramoff scandal. And McCain is ignoring calls to cancel this fundraiser:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain so far is ignoring calls from several watchdog groups to cancel an Atlanta fundraiser promoted by Ralph Reed, a longtime friend and business partner of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Campaign Money Watch are urging the Arizona senator to cancel plans for the Aug. 18 fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and remove Reed from McCain’s Victory 2008 Team.

[....]

On the campaign trail, McCain often touts his work tackling Abramoff’s corrupt lobbying practices as evidence of his commitment to cleaning up Washington and a straight-shooting style that transcends politics.

The watchdog groups reacted to a “special invitation” Reed sent to friends and political contacts, inviting them to the fundraiser and asking them to contribute to the McCain campaign by sending checks to Reed’s address.

“Attached is a contribution form and a fact sheet that details the event,” Reed wrote. “Please complete the contribution form and return it to me at [address], Duluth, GA 30097. If you select (sic) to use your credit card, you may fax the form to me at [number].”

In the invitation, which was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Reed also said he had agreed to serve as a member of the McCain Victory 2008 team.

“John McCain also believes that tax cuts work best when tied to spending restraint,” Reed wrote in the e-mail solicitation. “He has a 26-year pro-life voting record and has pledged to appoint conservative judges who will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.”

Watchdog groups are floored that McCain, who has worked with them for years to reform campaign finance law, has called on Reed to help bundle contributions.

“[Reed’s] hypocrisy is legion — now matched only by John McCain’s attending a fundraiser he’s helping host,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director. “You just have to wonder who’s the bigger hypocrite.”

I use to believe that John McCain would do anything and say anything in order to gain control of the White House. That he has shed any sense of morals and ethics to be replaced by outright blind ambition. I still think that this is true. But there is more than just McCain's blind ambition. McCain has given control of his entire campaign to lobbyists, and these lobbyists will use every tool they have to see that their sock puppet will be elected for their own blind ambition and greed. And if such a tool as a disgraced figure, such as Ralph Reed, will help raise money for the McCain campaign, then the lobbyists controlling John McCain will use Reed. The GOP's "culture of corruption" has never ended--it has only shifted into John McCain's presidential campaign.

Update: I am going to post Ralph Reed's invitation for McCain's fundraising appearance from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There is a little detail that I didn't catch, that Americablog and The Wall Journal noted. Ralph Reed was invited to be a part of McCain's Victory 2008 Team. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

From: Linda Ingram

Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 3:21 PM

Subject: Special Invitation from Ralph Reed: Senator McCain Coming to Atlanta

A Message from Ralph Reed:

Senator John McCain will be coming to Atlanta on August 18 for a very special event at the Marriot Marquis downtown and I have agreed to serve as a member of the McCain Victory 2008 Team. [Emphasis mine]

Never in my career can I recall a starker contrast between two major-party nominees for President. Barack Obama is advocating higher taxes, more spending, a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, and an energy plan that opposes drilling on the outer continental shelf. The nonpartisan publication National Journal concluded that he had the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate.

John McCain believes in a strong national defense, a smaller, more accountable government, steady economic growth and opportunity, the dignity of life and traditional values. He will make it a top priority to balance the budget and get federal spending under control so that our children aren’t burdened with a mountain of debt that will rob them of their future.

John McCain also believes that tax cuts work best when tied to spending restraint. He has a 26-year pro-life voting record and has pledged to appoint conservative judges who will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.

Attached is a contribution form and a fact sheet that details the event. Please complete the contribution form and return it to me at XXXXX Duluth, GA 30097. If you select to use your credit card, you may fax the form to me at 770-XXX-XXXX.

I hope you will join me and Jo Anne at the August 18 event in support of Senator McCain in Atlanta. The outcome of this presidential election is going to determine the future direction of this country. Please join us as we work together to elect John McCain. Your participation is critical to success.

Thank you for all you have done for our country and our shared conservative values.

Look forward to hearing from you, best, Ralph

What this means is that the McCain campaign actively sought out Reed to bring him into the campaign. It is another political calculation by the lobbyists controlling the McCain campaign here. Reed was the first executive director of the Christian Coalition, providing the McCain campaign a means of solidifying its fractured relationship with the Christian conservatives. Reed has already provided campaign advice for McCain, saying that McCain should avoid seeking endorsements from evangelical leaders and instead appeal directly to their church members. I'm thinking that the lobbyists are fearing a low voter turnout for McCain among the Christian conservatives, so the lobbyists are turning to Reed's Rolodex to solicit Christian conservative voters, and their campaign contributions.

White House logs are ruled public

This is off MSNBC News:

WASHINGTON - White House visitor logs are public documents, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a legal strategy that the Bush administration had hoped would get around public records laws and let them keep their guests a secret.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration, which has fought the release of records showing visits by prominent religious conservatives.

Visitor records are created by the Secret Service, which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Bush administration has ordered the data turned over to the White House, where they are treated as presidential records outside the scope of the public records law.

But U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled logs from the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence remain Secret Service documents and are subject to public records requests.

In a lawsuit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group, Lamberth ordered the Secret Service to turn over visitor logs regarding nine conservative religious commentators, including James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell.

"I think it's hugely significant," said Anne L. Weismann, the watchdog group's chief counsel. "The judge saw their arguments for what they were."

This is a big decision here. Remember that this whole legal argument over the White House visitor logs is another CYA by the Bush administration in order to keep secret the White House visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. It is all about keeping everything in the Bush White House secret, allowing no oversight into the Bush administration on anything, while at the same time having the Bush White House to tell us to trust them. We've seen this again and again on just about every Bush administration scandal.

FBI raids U.S. Rep. Doolittle's home in Abramoff probe

Well, The Jack Abramoff Show is still alive and and well it seems. This is off MSNBC News:

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Doolittle's Northern Virginia home was raided by the FBI in recent days, NBC News has learned. The California Republican and his wife have been linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Law enforcement sources tell NBC producer Mike Kosnar that the raid, which occurred sometime before Tuesday, took place at Doolittle's house, which also is where his wife ran a fundraising company.

Doolittle's name came up in documents released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last summer as part of its investigation into the Abramoff influence-peddling scandals.

ulie Doolittle, Rep. Doolittle's wife, owned a fundraising firm, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions. The firm was retained by Abramoff's law firm, Greenberg Traurig.

On Monday, Kevin Ring, a lobbyist also tied to Abramoff and who previously worked as an aide to Doolittle, resigned from the law firm where he worked.

A Roll Call article noted that Doolittle wrote a letter to then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton in support of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, an Abramoff client. The letter asked Norton to allow the tribe to reopen a gaming casino that had been shut down by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The letter was written at the same time that Sierra Dominion was receiving payments from Abramoff's lobbying firm.

Abramoff is currently serving a 5 1/2-year sentence for his conviction in the Florida-based SunCruz Casinos gambling boat fraud case. A federal judge has granted him a hearing to determine a reduction in his sentence as a reward for his continued cooperation in the Department of Justice probe.

So Doolittle wrote a letter to Norton asking that a gambling casino be re-opened for the Sac and Fox tribe, which was an Abramoff client. And while Doolittle was writing his letter to Norton, his wife's consulting firm, Sierra Dominion, was receiving payments from Abramoff's lobbying firm. Gee--what services was Sierra Dominion performing for Abramoff? This is almost like a good-ole-boy network, where personal and professional relationships are intermeshed together, and there is no disconnect between public policy and private lobbying.

TPM Muckraker has a complete history of the Doolittle angle on the Abramoff scandal.

Interior Department official pleads guilty in Abramoff case

Looks like we've got another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off The Washington Post:

The former No. 2 official in the Interior Department yesterday admitted lying to the Senate about his relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who gained the official's intervention at the agency for his Indian tribal clients.

J. Steven Griles pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a felony for making false statements in testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in November 2005 and in an earlier interview with panel investigators. He is the 10th person -- and the second high-level Bush administration official -- to face criminal charges in the continuing Justice Department investigation into Abramoff's lobbying activities.

Griles, 59, a gregarious former mining lobbyist, drew the wrath of environmentalists and his department's inspector general during a stormy four-year tenure at Interior. Standing before U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Griles said little beyond admitting guilt, though in a written statement distributed by his lawyer he apologized for his actions.

"I fully accept the responsibility for my conduct and the consequences it may have," he said in the statement. "When a Senate committee asks questions, they must be answered fully and completely and it is not my place to decide whether those questions are relevant or too personal."

Griles could receive up to five years in prison for obstructing the Senate investigation, but prosecutors agreed to ask for a sentence of 10 months in exchange for the guilty plea -- five months in jail and five months in a halfway house or in home detention. Huvelle set sentencing for June 26 and said she is not bound by the prosecution's recommendation.

Griles told the Senate panel and its investigators that his relationship with Abramoff was no different from that with any lobbyist. Griles's then-girlfriend, however, had introduced him to the lobbyist and then acted as a go-between. The woman, Italia Federici -- identified as "Person A" in court papers -- ran an advocacy group to which Abramoff and his clients donated $500,000.

"Abramoff occasionally sought and received -- both directly and through Person A -- defendant James Steven Griles' advice and intervention on issues within DOI that directly affected Abramoff and his clients," said the government's charging document. Griles was not accused of accepting anything of value in exchange.

The Abramoff corruption case continues on. While the WaPost story reports that the plea deal does not require Griles to cooperate with the Justice Department in the Abramoff investigation, I wouldn't be too surprised if the Justice Department lawyers offer a little time off of Griles' prison sentence in return for his cooperation. Griles' cooperation could help reveal details of the relationship between Abramoff and then-Secretary of Interior Gail Norton:

Griles was a controversial political appointee from the start of his tenure at Interior under then-Secretary Gale A. Norton. Environmentalists and the department's inspector general faulted him for keeping ties to energy and mining companies that were once his lobbying clients.

The guilty plea stems from his testimony on Nov. 2, 2005, before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that "there was no special relationship for Mr. Abramoff in my office. It never did exist." He has now admitted that he had frequent contact with Abramoff through Federici, the founder of a conservative environmental group with close ties to Norton. Federici had served as an official on one of Norton's political campaigns in Colorado.

Abramoff and his lobbying team focused on the Interior Department because its actions affected their most lucrative clients: Indian tribes with casinos. Abramoff directed tribal clients to contribute to Federici's group, the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy.

E-mails released as part of the Senate panel's Abramoff investigation detailed contact Griles had had with Abramoff or Federici.

Griles told the panel then that he had little to do with Indian affairs and never tried to help Abramoff's clients. But a former Interior Department lawyer testified that Griles inserted himself in tribal issues, including one that would determine whether a small Louisiana tribe, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, would be able to build a casino.

The Washington Post outlined in a March 2005 article how Abramoff enlisted the aid of numerous members of Congress and anti-gambling groups to crush the Jena effort because it could draw away casino business from his clients. Just as it appeared the department would grant the Jena's land claim anyway, Griles turned up with a binder full of congressional letters opposing the deal -- a binder prepared by Abramoff -- and pressed it on department officials.

[....]

Griles was criticized in a 2004 report from Earl E. Devaney, Interior's inspector general. Devaney found that Griles had used his official position in dealings with clients of his former firm even as he continued to receive payments from the firm amounting to more than $1 million.

Devaney's report did not draw conclusions about whether Griles broke laws or ethics rules, in part due to guidance from the Office of Government Ethics, which said that, with two possible exceptions, Griles did not violate ethics rules.

During the investigation, Norton's deputy chief of staff, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, provided ethics advice to Griles and advised Norton on the inspector general's allegations. She also sent a memo to the Office of Government Ethics about the case. Investigators learned after their report was issued that Griles and Wooldridge had been dating since February 2003, people familiar with the investigation said.

Wooldridge eventually became assistant attorney general for environment and natural resources. She resigned in January.

Devaney, in testimony last fall before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said his Griles probe faced what he called an "assault" from Norton and the Office of Government Ethics. He testified he was astonished at the ethics office's response and that Norton took no disciplinary action against Griles, declaring him "cleared."

What is interesting about this story here is that Norton was willing to protect Griles, even as Griles was helping Abramoff in opposing the Jena tribe's casino deal. There is a sense of cronyism taking place within the Norton Interior department, where Griles is helping Abramoff, Norton is protecting Griles, and both Griles and Norton are connected to Abramoff through Federici. The corruption here is either permitted, or overlooked, between these individuals because of their past personal, and political, relationships with each other.

Ex-Ohio Rep. Bob Ney sentenced for 30 months in Abramoff scandal

Ex Ohio Representative Bob Ney has been sentenced for 30 months in his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Good--If you break the law as a congressman, you should get your ass thrown into jail. This is from the Washington Post:

A federal judge today ordered former Congressman Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) to serve 30 months in prison for accepting gifts, favors and campaign contributions in exchange for official actions, making the six-term congressman the first elected official to be sent to prison in the influence-peddling investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff's activities.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle rejected the recommendations of both prosecutors, who asked for a 27-month term, and Ney's lawyers, who sought leniency. Instead, Huvelle doled out a slightly tougher 2 1/2 -year sentence because, she said, Ney had "seriously betrayed the public's trust."

Huvelle told Ney: "You have a long way to go to make amends for what's happened."

The former chairman of the powerful House Administration Committee, Ney, 52, pleaded guilty in October to one count each of conspiracy and making false statements. He admitted using his elected office to perform official acts in exchange for a series of gifts, including a lavish golf trip to Scotland, skybox tickets to sporting events, meals at lobbyist Abramoff's pricey downtown restaurant and campaign contributions from Abramoff and his clients.

The judge also ordered Ney to serve two years probation after his release from federal prison and pay a $6,000 fine. Huvelle granted a request of defense attorneys that she recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Ney be sent to a federal prison in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he could participate in an alcohol rehabilitation program.

Let's hope we can get some more congressmen caught in this scandal--and thrown into jail for their crimes.

White House visitor records closed to public

The news just keeps coming fast here. How about one more episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public.

The Bush administration did not reveal the existence of the memorandum of understanding until last fall.

The White House is using it to deal with a legal problem on a separate front, a ruling by a federal judge ordering the production of Secret Service logs identifying visitors to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a federal appeals court filing three weeks ago, the administration's lawyers used the memo in a legal argument aimed at overturning the judge's ruling. The Washington Post is suing for access to the Secret Service logs.

The five-page document dated May 17 declares that all entry and exit data on White House visitors belongs to the White House as presidential records rather than to the Secret Service as agency records.

Therefore, the agreement states, the material is not subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

In the past, Secret Service logs have revealed the comings and goings of various White House visitors, including Monica Lewinsky and Clinton campaign donor Denise Rich, the wife of fugitive financier Marc Rich, who received a pardon in the closing hours of the Clinton administration.

The memo last spring was signed by the White House and Secret Service the day after a Washington-based group asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on the Secret Service in a dispute over White House visitor logs for Abramoff.

You've got to LOVE that last paragraph. The White House and Secret Service decide to create an agreement to transfer the visitor records out of the Secret Service and into the presidential records so that the Washington Post, and Judicial Watch, cannot access the records in investigating the Abramoff ties to the White House. And this took place just one day after Judicial Watch asked the U.S. District Court to impose sanctions on the Secret Service. What is more, this little tit-for-tat agreement between the Bush White House and Secret Service isn't just for hiding the Abramoff visits. If the Bush White House gets away with this, then they can keep the visitor logs hidden for other oversight investigations such as Cheney's Energy Task Force, the Valerie Plame affair, and intelligence failures. This is complete secrecy of this Bush administration. Continuing with the CNN story:

The chief counsel to another Washington-based group suing to get Secret Service logs calls the creation of the memo "a political maneuver couched as a legal one."

"It appears the White House is actually manufacturing evidence to further its own agenda," Anne Weismann, a Justice Department lawyer for 19 years and now chief counsel to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Friday.

The White House and the Secret Service declined to comment.

[....]

The memorandum of understanding is an unusual step because it deals with an unsettled area of law.

Federal courts will ultimately decide whether records identifying White House visitors and who they are going to see are under the legal control of the Secret Service or are presidential records publicly releasable solely at the discretion of the White House.

The Bush administration's agreement with the Secret Service "at a minimum will serve to postpone a final resolution of who these records belong to," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists.

"This memo reflects the Bush administration's view of American government, which is that the people's business should be conducted behind closed doors."

Bob Ney has resigned

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, right, arrives at the Federal Courthouse, Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

This story is off Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, who pleaded guilty last month in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation resigned his seat in Congress on Friday.

The Ohio Republican, who had been pressed to quit by fellow lawmakers, sent a letter of resignation to House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, according to Ney's chief of staff, David Popp.

"I can confirm the letter has been delivered to the speaker," Popp said in an electronic mail message to The Associated Press. The speaker's office would not confirm whether it had received the letter.

Ney pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to conspiracy and making false statements, acknowledging taking trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Abramoff in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff clients.

House Republicans had threatened to expel Ney if he didn't quit by the time lawmakers returned to Washington after Tuesday's elections. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Ney's resignation four days before the elections was late.

"The Republican leadership has allowed Bob Ney to receive his paycheck and benefits for seven weeks after his admission of guilt to criminal conspiracy charges — it is an embarrassment to this institution and an insult to the American taxpayer," Pelosi said in a statement.

Ney's letter, printed under his House letterhead, said, "Having completed all outstanding work in my congressional office, I now hereby resign from the United States House of Representatives effective close of business on Friday, Nov. 3, 2006."

There is some more background details about Ney's career on CNN, The Washington Post, and MSNBC. My own comment on this?

Good riddance!

Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff

I'd say we're going to have a double feature here for The Jack Abramoff show! This is also off The Washington Post:

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued yesterday.

The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients' positions.

Officers of the groups "were generally available to carry out Mr. Abramoff's requests for help with his clients in exchange for cash payments," said the report, issued by the Senate Finance Committee. The report was written by the Democratic staff after a yearlong investigation and authorized by the Republican chairman, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).

[....]

The Senate report released yesterday states that the nonprofit groups probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."

The report bolstered earlier revelations that Abramoff laundered money through the nonprofits to pay for congressional trips and paid Norquist to arrange meetings for Abramoff's clients with government officials including White House senior adviser Karl Rove.

The groups named in the report are Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform; the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, which was co-founded by Norquist and Gale Norton before she became secretary of the interior; Citizens Against Government Waste; the National Center for Public Policy Research, a spinoff of the Heritage Foundation; and Toward Tradition, a Seattle-based religious group founded by Rabbi Daniel Lapin.

E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often with the knowledge of the groups' leaders, exploited the tax-exempt status and leveraged the stature of the organizations to build support among conservatives for legislation or government action sought by clients including Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.'s Channel One Network, and Brown-Forman, maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey.

So what does this mean? Abramoff was taking money from his clients, and then sending it to these conservative non-profit groups. In exchange for Abramoff's money, the conservative non-profits were writing news releases, opinion-editorials that favored Abramoff's clients. And while the conservative non-profits were producing these materials which supported Abramoff's clients, Abramoff could then lobby the Republican lawmakers, while using these same news releases and opinion-editorials to support his position. Talk about a self-generating marketing scheme to sell favorable legislation to your clients here.

Continuing with some of the details in the WaPost article:

Abramoff traded on Norquist's cachet, at one point referring to him in an e-mail as a "hard-won asset" of his lobbying empire. In exchange for Norquist's opposition to taxes on Brown-Forman products, Norquist recommended that a $50,000 donation be made to Americans for Tax Reform, according to an Abramoff e-mail.

"What is most important, however, is that this matter is kept discreet," Abramoff wrote to a colleague at the Preston, Gates & Ellis law firm. "We do not want the opponents to think that we are trying to buy the taxpayer movement."

The e-mails show that Abramoff and Norquist explicitly discussed client donations to Norquist's group in exchange for Norquist's support. The group's advocacy "appears indistinguishable from lobbying undertaken by for-profit, taxable firms," the report said.

Among those who agreed to donate money for an opinion piece was DH2, which in 2004 pushed for tax breaks for its customers.

E-mails show that DH2 understood that Norquist's help came with a price tag. The tab was sent to DH2's managing director, Robert S. Rubin.

"I told Rubin he needs to round up some $$$ for ATR," wrote lobbyist Michael E. Williams to his boss, Abramoff.

"Get the money from Rubin in hand," Abramoff replied, "and then we'll call Grover."

How much, Williams asked.

"50K," Abramoff wrote.

Abramoff e-mailed Norquist on Feb. 10, 2004: "I have sent over a $50K contribution from DH2 (the mutual fund client). Any sense as to where we are on the op-ed placement?"

Replied Norquist: "The Wash Times told me they were running the piece. . . . I will nudge again."

The Washington Times has published about 50 Norquist op-eds since 1993 but apparently none on mutual funds. Norquist did write a letter in April 2004 to a congressman praising him for sponsoring "legislation that would finally allow mutual fund shareholders to defer their capital gains tax" and pledging that his group "is committed to helping you pass this legislation."

Norquist wrote an op-ed piece, published in the Washington Times, as part of an extensive Abramoff campaign for Channel One, which broadcasts educational programming and advertising into public school classrooms. An Abramoff e-mail to Norquist offered him $1,500 for an op-ed, and another e-mail exchange suggested up to $3,000 to buy an "economic analysis."

This is damning evidence that shows just how deep the Republican corruption has gotten here. This was a relationship congressional legislation benefited corporate interests while in exchange; Republican congressmen received money from the corporate interests which translated into power for the Republican Party. The conduit between these relationships was Jack Abramoff, while the conservative non-profits generated the marketing materials, on Abramoff's behalf, to help "convince" the Republican lawmakers in passing the legislation benefiting the corporate interests. This was how the game was played.

In other Abramoff News: There has been some other Abramoff news over the past two weeks that I haven't had a chance to look over or comment on. The first is this Washington Post story, dated October 7, 2004:

A top aide to White House strategist Karl Rove resigned yesterday after disclosures that she accepted gifts from and passed information to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the first official in the West Wing to lose a job in the influence-peddling scandal.

Susan B. Ralston submitted her resignation to avoid causing political damage to President Bush a month before the midterm elections, officials said. "She did not want to be a distraction to the White House at this important time," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

A congressional report showed last week that Ralston accepted sometimes-pricey tickets to nine sports and entertainment events from Abramoff while she provided him with inside White House information. The bipartisan report said there is no evidence that Rove knew of or approved of Ralston's actions, and sources said yesterday that the White House was surprised by the report's revelations.

As right hand to the president's most important adviser, Ralston was closer to the center of the Bush operation. She was a key organizer of presidential events, coordinating with White House political, scheduling, advance and public liaison offices. "She will be missed because she solves problems, and finding people in government who solve problems" is rare, a colleague said.

As a former Abramoff assistant, Ralston played intermediary between the lobbyist and Rove. The congressional report found 66 Abramoff contacts with the White House, more than half of them with Ralston. In addition, Abramoff's lobbying colleagues contacted Ralston 69 times.

So Abramoff had a contact with Sue Ralson in the White House that he was also using in an attempt to lobby his clients. And he was giving gifts to Ralston. But I'm not sure how effective Ralston was in providing White House favors for Abramoff. According to the WaPost:

More often, Abramoff fell short at the White House. Abramoff contacted Ralston to get Rove to place a close ally, Mark Zachares, as head of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs. Ralston rebuffed a meeting with Rove for Zachares, saying it was unnecessary because Rove was on their side. But Zachares did not get the position.

In November and December 2003, Abramoff e-mailed Ralston about Iraqi bonds apparently issued by one of his clients, American Bondholders Foundation, the House committee said. In response, Ralston indicated that the National Security Council had not "gotten back to me yet." Six days later, she had an answer. "The NSC is very suspect of this proposal," she wrote. "The White House will not support it."

What this story does show is that Abramoff was certainly interested in using the White House to lobby for his clients. Of course, if Abramoff could get to Ralston, then you also have to wonder who else in the White House could Abramoff get to?

Then there is this September 29, 2006 Washington Post story:

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his colleagues billed their clients for more than 400 contacts with White House officials between 2001 and 2004, according to a report released yesterday by the House Government Reform Committee. The report did not determine how many of those contacts -- referenced in e-mails and Abramoff's often falsified client bills -- actually occurred.

The 93-page report was jointly issued by the committee's chairman, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), and its ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.). They wrote that their investigation found the current reporting requirements "failed to protect public officials from the ethical undertow generated by Abramoff's claims of access to executive branch deliberations, particularly at the White House."

The report, based on 14,000 e-mails and other documents, conveys many assertions by Abramoff and his team about their efforts to lobby White House officials on matters affecting their Indian tribal clients.

Abramoff's team offered officials tickets to 19 sporting events and concerts, the report states, but "in many instances the documents do not indicate whether the White House officials requested or attended the events." One who did accept tickets, the report said, was Susan Ralston, executive assistant to White House presidential adviser Karl Rove.

The report also cites documents suggesting that former White House political director Ken Mehlman, now chairman of the Republican National Committee, may have helped Abramoff's team get money for a tribal client from the Justice Department. But the committee did not corroborate the claim.

[....]

The committee subpoenaed Abramoff's client billing records and other documents from Greenberg Traurig LLP, his former firm. The report said the Abramoff team billed clients for $23,981 in meals and drinks with White House officials. But the report said it could not determine how many of those meals took place or whether White House officials paid their own way.

One exchange of e-mails cited in the report suggests that former Abramoff lobbying team member Tony C. Rudy succeeded in getting Mehlman to press reluctant Justice Department appointees to release millions of dollars in congressionally earmarked funds for a new jail for the Mississippi Choctaw tribe, an Abramoff client. Rudy wrote Abramoff in November 2001 e-mails that Mehlman said he would "take care of" the funding holdup at Justice after learning from Rudy that the tribe made large donations to the GOP.

Abramoff was certainly persistent in his lobbying the Bush White House. I'm not sure what to say about Mehlman's connection with Abramoff--he certainly helped provide the funds to build a new jail for the Mississippi Choctaw tribe. And he may have taken care of it after learning that the tribe made a large contribution to the GOP. This certainly is suspicious. I would be curious to see if there are more examples of Mehlman giving away government favors to Abramoff clients in exchange for GOP campaign contributions.

Rep. Bob Ney pleads guilty of bribery in Abramoff scandal

It is time for another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off The Washington Post:

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in an election-year scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration.

Standing before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients.

Ney did not immediately resign from Congress, and within minutes, Republican and Democratic leaders vowed to expel him unless he steps down.

[....]

The 52-year-old lawmaker faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Huvelle said prosecutors had agreed to recommend a term of 27 months, and said federal guidelines suggest a fine of between $5,000 and $60,000.

Ney did not resign his seat. Several officials have said the congressman is financially strapped and needs his $165,200 annual paycheck and benefits as long as he can continue to receive them.

You've got to love that last paragraph--Bob Ney is so financially strapped so we have to allow him to collect his congressional paycheck until he goes into prison. If Ney was working for a private company, he would have been gone--Period.

Of course, this is another big problem for the Republicans here. Ney is the first lawmaker to be convicted in the Abramoff scandal. And since Ney will probably cooperate with the feds for a reduced sentence, you can bet that other Republican Party lawmakers will start feeling some heat. And it also doesn't look good for the Republicans that Ney is refusing to step down from Congress--even as he's pleaded guilty. With Ney refusing to resign his seat, this revives the Abramoff scandal and shows how the Republicans are so intent on maintaining their control of Congress just four weeks before the election. It also doesn't help the Republicans that Ney's involvement in the Abramoff scandal is competing for space with the Foley sex scandal--again less than four weeks before the election. Talk about insanity here.

Pass the popcorn please?

Secret Service: More Abramoff visits to the White House

I found this off the New York Times--yes, it is another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! The Times article is titled Secret Service Reveals More Abramoff Visits:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Secret Service on Friday revealed four more visits to the White House in 2001 by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, including one to see a domestic policy aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

The newly released records of Abramoff's access to the White House bring the total number of his known visits to seven.

One Abramoff White House visit, according to Secret Service logs, was on April 20, 2001, to see Cesar Conda, at the time Cheney's assistant for domestic policy.

Five days after the Conda meeting, one of Abramoff's former lobbying colleagues, Patrick Pizzella, was nominated by the president as assistant secretary of labor. The Secret Service logs do not state why Abramoff met with Conda.

Talk about a coincidence here! Abramoff visits the White House to see Cesar Conda, Cheney's assistant for domestic policy, and then five days later we get a former Abramoff lobbying colleague Patrick Pizzella to be nominated by the president to be the assistant secretary of labor? And it was just a coincidence? Abramoff's meeting had nothing to do with Pizzella's nomination to a top White House job?

Oh, and does anyone remember this little Abramoff friend who was appointed to a White House job:

A former White House aide, David Safavian, was convicted in a trial last month for covering up his relationship with Abramoff. Safavian was the Bush administration's top procurement official until his arrest last year.

The stench is getting pretty bad here!

Rep. Ney's aide subpoenaed in Abramoff probe

In this photo released by Carlos Hisa, Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, center, poses with Tigua Tribe Lt. Gov. Carlos Hisa, right, and Raul Gutierrez, left, then a member of the tribe's governing council, in a hearing room after a meeting with Ney in Washington D.C, on Capitol Hill in August 2002. On Nov. 12, 2004, while being interviewed by Senate investigators, Ney said he could not recall meeting with the Tigua. (AP Photo/ The Plain Dealer, Carlos Hisa)

It appears we've got another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is from Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - An aide to embattled Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record) has been subpoenaed in the Justice Department's investigation of influence peddling in Congress, and three other aides are leaving the Ohio Republican's staff, Ney's spokesman said Thursday.

The subpoena for Matthew Parker, director of Ney's congressional district office, was issued by a federal magistrate in Washington.

Ney has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but federal prosecutors have described him in court documents as having received gifts, trips and other things of value from disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates.

Ney spokesman Brian Walsh declined to comment on Parker's subpoena.

Parker is the first member of Ney's staff to be subpoenaed by the Justice Department since Ney himself was subpoenaed in November.

Ney's chief of staff, William Heaton, and Paul Vinovich, the staff lawyer for the House committee Ney used to lead, were subpoenaed by the defense in the related trial of former Bush administration official David Safavian, who was found guilty of lying and obstructing the federal corruption investigation.

Walsh said he will leave next month to take a job with Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas. He also confirmed that Heaton is leaving in July and that Chris Otillio, Ney's former legislative director, left earlier this month.

There is really not much more to say here, except that the Abramoff scandal is continuing to ensnare Bob Ney. With Parker now being subpoenaed, you have to wonder what the feds are interested in learning what Parker knows about Ney and his relationship with Abramoff. I'm sure there will be plenty of questions about Ney's voting record regarding the Indian casinos, and all the expensive trips and gifts Ney received from Abramoff.

Finally, there is the cutline off the photo here. Bob Ney does not remember meeting with the Tigua Tribe? Excuse me Congressman Ney--what is that lovely pic there of you standing next to the Tigua Tribe Lt. Gov. Carlos Hisa, and Raul Gutierrez? Or was that a card board cut-out character of you for your constituents to stand next to? And when you're meeting with these individuals, do you not have someone transcribe the minutes of your meetings--so that you would know and understand what their interests are and how you should stand on these issues?

Or did you conveniently forget this meeting?

Let's connect the dots....Abramoff....Norquist....Reed

A photograph of a 2002 golf trip to St. Andrews in Scotland shows, from left in the front row, the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, David H. Safavian and Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio. U.S. District Court, via Associated Press

I'd say it is time for an astoundingly exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This one might just knock your socks off! From CNN.Com:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In Jack Abramoff's world, prominent Washington tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist was a godsend.

Moving money from a casino-operating Indian tribe to Ralph Reed, the Christian Coalition founder and professed gambling opponent, was a problem. Lobbyist Abramoff turned to his longtime friend Norquist, apparently to provide a buffer for Reed.

The result, according to evidence gathered by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was that Norquist's Americans for Tax Relief became a conduit for more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw to Reed's operation, while Norquist, a close White House ally, took a cut.

Without citing any specific group, the Senate panel found numerous instances of nonprofit organizations that appeared to be involved in activities unrelated to their mission as described to the Internal Revenue Service.

Thursday's 373-page Senate report on Abramoff's influence-peddling said some nonprofits channeled money from one entity to another in an effort to obscure the source of funds, the eventual use of funds and to evade tax liability.

The report said some tax-exempt organizations apparently were used as extensions of for-profit lobbying operations. The committee forwarded 108 documents to the Senate Finance Committee in February about nonprofits, 28 of them dealing with Norquist's group.

Talk about a Republican money-making machine here! Abramoff takes the lobbying money from the Indian casinos, and then transfers it to Norquist's non-profit organization Americans for Tax Relief--Norquist gets his cut, of course. Then the money is transferred out of Norquist's organization and into Ralph Reed's non-profit Christian Coalition. This is the equivalent of political money-laundering here!

But it gets better. Continuing with the story:

Nell Rogers, a planner for the Choctaws, told the Senate that the arrangement was never intended as a contribution to support ATR's general anti-tax work.

Rogers said she understood from Abramoff that ATR was willing to serve as a conduit, provided it received a fee.

In an e-mail obtained by the committee, Abramoff told Reed that "I need to give Grover something for helping, so the first transfer will be a bit lighter."

Relying on an e-mail by Abramoff, the Senate report said "Norquist kept" $25,000 from each of two transfers from the Choctaw to Reed. The report provided evidence about four transfers for about $1.2 million in all.

First the email letter clearly shows the involvement of Abramoff, Reed, and Norquist on the scam. What is more, Norquist's non-profit ATR was willing to serve in this money laundering for a profit! Norquist kept $25,000 from each of the two money transfers between the Choctaw tribe and Reed's Christian Coalition. Norquist profited handsomely from these money transfers. So if $1.2 million was transferred from the Choctaw Indians to the Christian Coalition through Norquist's ATR, then how much did Norquist make total on this $1.2 million transfer? And how many other Indian casinos were involved in this money laundering scam?

This story really shows the corruption of money within the Republican Party establishment, and the hypocrisy of the Republican political elites. First, there is the desire to use non-profit organizations as Norquist's ATR for-profit operations, such as wiring money into Reed's non-profit Christian Coalition for $25,000--tax free, of course. These Republican political elites, and their organizations, will do whatever they can to gain money through legal and illegal means--ethics be damned! Money has become their new God, and they will worship their new God through the accumulation of its religious coin. Then there is the hypocrisy of Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition. Here's an Evangelical Christian lobbying group that is suppose to be against the sins of gambling, but is taking money in from the Indian casinos through this circumventing route.

There is a madness involved within this story. There is the madness of arrogance that these characters--Abramoff, Reed, and Norquist--may feel that they can do anything they wish, and are not accountable to anyone. There is the madness of our political system, and how money corrupts this system. But there is also the madness of the American voter--the disconnect between the voter and the political process, the feeling that voting will not change the political process, or even provide the change necessary to improve this country's well being. So the madness continues on, it cancerous tentacles reaching into all facets of American society--feeding upon American society and upon itself.

How deep will it go?

Safavian convicted of lying in Abramoff scandal

Looks like we've got another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is from Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Bush administration official was convicted on Tuesday of lying about his links to Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist whose ties to powerful Republicans have embarrassed the party.

A federal jury found David Safavian -- a former chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- guilty of four of five counts of lying and obstructing justice in the first trial to be held in connection with the Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.

Safavian, who showed little emotion as the verdict was read, was cleared of one count of lying to Senate investigators looking into the Abramoff scandal, which could hurt Republicans leading into November's midterm vote.

Federal prosecutors had painted Safavian as someone who took advantage of his position to help Abramoff, a former top Washington lobbyist with strong ties to congressional leaders, particularly Republicans.

Safavian, a GSA political appointee from 2002 to 2004 who later worked in the White House budget office, was the first government official to be indicted in a case related to the Abramoff scandal.

On the fifth day of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of lying about his relationship with Abramoff and his knowledge of the lobbyist's interest in acquiring property from GSA, the property managing agency for the U.S. government.

The jury also found that Safavian lied to a GSA ethics officer when he sought approval to go on an Abramoff-sponsored luxury golf trip to Scotland in 2002. The jury said Safavian had concealed his assistance to Abramoff in GSA-related activities and had also obstructed justice in an agency investigation.

Safavian faces up to 20 years in prison for the four counts. Sentencing was set for October 12.

But here is the real kicker in this story. Safavian's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, was perplexed at how the federal government went after her client. Consider this:

"I've always been perplexed as to why the Justice Department decided to take out the howitzers against Mr. Safavian," she said after the verdict was read. "They made a mountain out of a molehill and now they're going to climb atop the molehill and plant a flag."

It is rather simple here as to why the government went after Safavian. Once they have a conviction from Safavian, the government could offer Safavian a deal, where Safavian could get some time off in exchange for his cooperation. I'm sure that the feds would love to know what Safavian has done to help both Abramoff and possibly Republican congressmen, in his position as a government official. This corruption scandal between Abramoff, the K Street lobbyists, and the Republican congressional leadership of Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and other Republicans, runs deep. The links even run into the Bush White House. So the feds are certainly interested in what Safavian knows. And now that Safavian is convicted and is facing some serious jail time, there is a deal that can be made here.

So is Safavian willing to spend 20 years in jail, or is he willing to talk to the feds? That's the next question. Stay tuned.

Ex-Bush official hid ties to Abramoff, US says

It's time for another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is from Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Bush administration official lied to investigators in an attempt to hide the influence-peddling activities of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

In opening statements at the first trial in connection with the Abramoff scandal, prosecutors tried to paint David Safavian as a liar while his lawyer denied the charges and accused the government of basing its case on "guilt by association."

Justice Department lawyer Peter Zeidenberg said Safavian took advantage of his position to help his friend, a top Washington lobbyist with strong ties to leaders in Congress, particularly in the Republican Party.

"He worked first and foremost to further the interest of one particular individual -- a rich and powerful lobbyist and personal friend of the defendant, Jack Abramoff," Zeidenberg told 12 jurors and two alternates.

Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- the agency that manages property for the federal government -- has been charged with lying and obstructing investigations into his relationship with Abramoff and their 2002 golf outing to Scotland that was funded by the lobbyist.

A political appointee at the GSA from May 2002 to January 2004 who later worked at the White House budget office, Safavian is the first government official to be indicted in a case related to the Abramoff scandal.

YES! It is the trial of David Safavian, who has been charged with lying and obstruction of justice. It is certainly interesting that the first government official to be charged in this Abramoff scandal happens to be a Bush administration official, and not any of the congressional Republicans. But this is just the tip of the iceberg here. If Safavian is found guilty, you have to wonder whether he's going to cooperate with the feds in return for a reduced jail sentence. We will soon know. According to the Yahoo story, the trial is expected to last a week.

Stay tuned.

Bush Official Offered Abramoff Help

We've got ourselves a great episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's top procurement official offered his assistance to now-disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as his lobbying empire began to crumble, according to e-mails released Wednesday by the White House.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help with damage control," David Safavian, who is now under indictment, messaged Abramoff on Feb. 22, 2004.

At the time, Safavian was working at the White House Office of Management and Budget. He later became administrator of federal procurement policy at OMB.

That morning, The Washington Post revealed how four of Abramoff's Indian tribal clients had paid $45 million, most of it to Abramoff partner Michael Scanlon.

This is big. So David Safavian was willing to help Abramoff just as Abramoff's lobbying empire was crumbling. The first question here is what was Safavian willing to do to help Abramoff. The second aspect of this story is that Abramoff's Indian tribal clients paid $45 million to Abramoff's partner Michael Scanlon--that's a huge chunk of change here. What was the services that Abramoff and Scanlon gave to these tribal clients for this $45 million. And do both the Safavian email and this payment have a connection?

The Yahoo story has some interesting details here:

A few days before Abramoff's operations were exposed by The Post, Safavian expressed a willingness to put an Abramoff lobbying partner on a government acquisition advisory panel.

But the partner had left Abramoff's lobbying firm, so "I assume that means you have no interest in seeing him named to the panel. Correct?" Safavian asked.

"No, not at all," Abramoff replied. "He has left to give me more flexibility and make sure he has more earning potential. He is still absolutely part of our family. Please put him on if convenient and he wants to do it. Thanks so much David."

Within weeks, Abramoff was ousted by his firm.

The day after he was ousted, Safavian wrote his friend an e-mail asking, "Are you OK? I figured you would be besieged with phone calls. So I thought an e-mail would be best. Just wanted to let you know that you're in our thoughts. Let me know if there is ANYTHING I can do."

In another e-mail to Abramoff after his lobbying practices had come under investigation, Safavian explained that he would have to turn down a last-minute invitation from the lobbyist for lunch, noting that Abramoff had rejected an earlier offer for the two to get together.

"When you spurned my invite, I called one of the industry sycophants and offered him an opportunity to suck up," Safavian wrote.

Late in 2004, Safavian gave Abramoff a heads-up that a provision buried in a lengthy piece of legislation gave the GSA "enormous latitude" in disposing of government property. The provision was of interest to Abramoff because he had been trying to acquire land outside Washington for a private school he had founded.

So it appears that Safavian and Abramoff were planning on placing an Abramoff lobbying partner on a government acquisition advisory panel, just before Abramoff's lobbying empire was exposed. This acquisition panel would have been of interest to Abramoff for acquiring government land for his private school. And yet, an Abramoff lobbyist on this government panel is a sweet option to sell to the Indian tribes. Consider this Yahoo story I talked about in a previous post:

Abramoff was trying to get GSA approval for leases of the Old Post Office Pavilion in Washington for an Indian tribe to develop and for federal property in Silver Spring, Md., for use by a Jewish school.

Is such a positioning of an Abramoff lobbyist on a GSA panel worth $45 million?

What do you think?

Former Aide to Rep. Ney Pleads Guilty

Neil Volz leaves Federal Court in Washington Monday, May 8, 2006. Volz, a former congressional aide and business associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff has agreed to plead guilty to charges in connection with the investigation of influence-peddling and public corruption. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Folks, it is time for another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday in the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal, admitting he conspired to corrupt Ney, his staff and other members of Congress with trips, free tickets, meals, jobs for relatives and fundraising events.

The criminal investigation of Abramoff's lobbying operation has now claimed Abramoff and three former congressional staffers: Neil Volz on Monday, as well as Tony Rudy and Michael Scanlon, who both worked for former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

All four are now government witnesses whose prison terms may depend in part on how cooperative they are with federal prosecutors in the investigation involving lawmakers, their aides and members of the Bush administration.

Three former congressional staffers have pleaded guilty on corruption charges--Rudy and Scanlon who worked in Tom DeLay's office, and now Rep. Bob Ney's top aid, Neil Volz, has been ensnared in the Abramoff probe. And Volz admitted he conspired to corrupt Bob Ney--you have to wonder what did Volz give to Ney and his staff, for Ney's support in legislation benefiting Abramoff and his clients?

The details are interesting:

In a nine-page document that focused on Ney's conduct, Volz enumerated 16 actions he said his old boss took on behalf of Abramoff clients. During the period, from January 2000 through April 2004, Volz said Abramoff and his lobbyists gave Ney and members of his staff trips to Lake George in New York state, New Orleans, the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., in 2003, and a weeklong golfing retreat to the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, with a second leg to London.

In addition, Volz wrote, Abramoff gave the congressman and his staff numerous tickets to concerts and sporting events in the Washington, D.C., area; regular meals and drinks at restaurants including Abramoff's restaurant Signatures, and unreported use of Abramoff's box suites at the MCI Center Arena in Washington and Camden Yards Stadium in Baltimore for political fundraisers for Ney and for candidates and political organizations he supported.

And look at what Ney did for Abramoff:

The court papers did not detail the conduct of other congressmen, but it said that Ney, acting with Volz and others, agreed to:

_Sponsor legislation to lift a ban against commercial gambling by the Tigua Indian tribe, an Abramoff client in Texas.

_Sign a letter opposing creation of a commission to study Indian gambling.

_Assist Abramoff in obtaining government property for Abramoff's private school in Maryland.

The court papers also say that after asking Volz what Abramoff wanted the congressman to say, Ney assured the Tiguas in Texas that Abramoff was effectively representing them and that Ney would continue to press for legislation on their behalf.

In a 2003 meeting to assist Abramoff clients, Ney told Housing Secretary Mel Martinez that one of Ney's priorities would be housing for American Indians.

Among the projects on which Volz worked was securing a contract for Foxcom Wireless, an Israeli communications company, to improve cell phone reception in House office buildings.

In a conference phone call with reporters, Ney's lawyers acknowledged that the congressman met with Abramoff about a wireless contract for the House buildings. The lawyers added that Ney, then chairman of the House Administration Committee, also met with Haley Barbour, now the governor of Mississippi, who was lobbying for a competing firm at the time. Ney has said he would have been within his rights to award the contract on his own, but instead held an open competition and awarded it based on merit to the firm represented by Abramoff, Foxcom Wireless.

Sounds like corruption to me.

White House to release logs of Abramoff visits

Looks like we've got another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is a good one here--actually two stories here. This first is from CNN.Com, titled White House to release logs of Abramoff visits:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite repeated White House objections to the release of documents related to Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House, the Secret Service has agreed to produce all logs detailing the disgraced lobbyist's meetings, according to a court filing released Monday.

The Secret Service agreed on April 25 to drop any objections to turning over the information and will "produce any and all documents" on or before May 10, according to the filing released by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on February 2.

Judicial Watch officials have said they believe the records will show the frequency and length of Abramoff's visits to the White House in recent years and could shed light on the former lobbyist's relationship with the White House.

Naturally, the Bush White House has been stonewalling this access of the Secret Service logs regarding Abramoff's visits. Consider this from the CNN story:

Questions have also been raised about Abramoff's contact with White House officials, including President Bush.

When reporters in January pressed him on his relationship with Abramoff, the president said, "I've never sat down with him and had a discussion with the guy."

White House aides have confirmed that Abramoff attended holiday parties at the White House and had some "staff-level meetings" as well.

While White House officials have been careful not to rule out the possibility that other Bush-Abramoff meetings occurred, they have refused to turn over any documents detailing who at the White House has met with Abramoff and under what circumstances.

So, the first questions to ask would regard Abramoff's visits--how many times? When? Who did Abramoff meet? What was the nature of the visits? What about Abramoff's involvement in these "staff-level meetings?" What were the nature of these staff level meetings, and who were involved in these meetings? And there is a whole range of questions regarding President Bush's involvement with Abramoff--even though Bush claims he has never sat down and had a discussion with Abramoff. I'm not sure that the Secret Service logs will be able to answer any of these questions, but they can provide the number of times Abramoff visited the White House, what dates and times, and perhaps show who Abramoff was suppose to meet in the White House. In other words, we get a timeline regarding this relationship between Abramoff and the Bush administration.

I especially find it interesting that for the longest time, the Bush administration has been refusing to hand over any documents regarding Jack Abramoff. You have to wonder if the White House is hiding something regarding the Abramoff scandal? But now, the White House has to turn over these Secret Service logs. And what does the White House say regarding this matter? You're gonna love this! This little story is from Yahoo News, titled, White House Cautions on Abramoff Logs:

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service's records documenting convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's contacts with Bush administration officials may not reveal all such meetings, the White House said Tuesday.

he Secret Service has agreed to turn over White House visitor logs showing when Abramoff met with administration officials — and with whom. But presidential spokesman Scott McClellan cautioned reporters from viewing the release as all-inclusive.

"I don't know exactly what they'll be providing, but they only have certain records and so I just wouldn't view it as a complete historical record," McClellan said.

I just have to laugh at this. First, the Bush administration refuses to turn over any documents regarding Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House, and then when the Bush administration turns over these Secret Service documents, White House Press Secretary Scotty McClellan disregards them, claiming people are not going to view the "complete historical record" of these Abramoff visits. Excuse me Mr. Scott--why not have the White House hand over ALL documents regarding Jack Abramoff's visits, so that the American public can view this "complete historical record?" Or is the Bush administration trying to hide its own involvement in this Abramoff scandal? Consider this:

Abramoff, who represented Indian tribes in their dealings with Washington politicians and raised at least $100,000 for Bush's re-election campaign, was once one of the city's most successful lobbyists.

When a photo of Bush with Abramoff surfaced earlier this year, the president said he has his picture taken with "a lot of people." In the 2001 photo, Bush is shaking hands with a leader of an Indian tribe. Abramoff is in the background.

The president has said that he does not know Abramoff personally, but Abramoff told the Washingtonian magazine that he had met with Bush nearly a dozen times and that the president knew him well enough to joke with him.

McClellan has said that Abramoff attended Hanukkah receptions at the White House in 2001 and 2002, and some additional staff-level meetings. "But I said I couldn't rule out that there might be other large events that may have taken place that he attended, but that's what I know and that still stands," McClellan said.

I'm sorry Mr. Scott. There is more to this scandal here.

Abramoff Gets Almost 6 Years in Prison

Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff walks outside Miami's courthouse in Miami March 29, 2006. Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist at the heart of a Washington influence-peddling scandal that has rattled top Republicans, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Wednesday for fraud in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Folks, we just might have the Season Finale here for The Jack Abramoff Show! This is off Yahoo News:

MIAMI - Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison in a Florida fraud case, the minimum sentence allowed.

Abramoff and former partner Adam Kidan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from the ill-fated purchase in 2000 of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet.

The sentence won't start immediately so the pair can continue cooperating in a Washington corruption investigation and a Florida probe into the murder of former SunCruz owner Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis.

In the Florida case, Abramoff and Kidan admitted concocting a fake $23 million wire transfer to make it appear they had made a large cash contribution to the $147.5 million purchase of SunCruz Casinos. Based on that fake transfer, lenders provided the pair with $60 million in financing.

A courtroom sketch shows Jack Abramoff, center, standing before U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, far left, at the federal justice building in Miami where he plead quilty to two of six counts of wire fraud and mail fraud stemming from the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos, Jan. 4, 2006. AP FILE PHOTO/Jeanne Boggs

Six years--and this is just for the conspiracy and wire fraud charges regarding the SunCruz Casinos scandal. We haven't even gotten into the federal charges regarding the corruption probe investigating congressional Republicans. Consider this:

The same week Abramoff pleaded guilty to the SunCruz fraud, he entered guilty pleas to three federal charges as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that could involve up to 20 members of Congress and aides, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. No date has been set for his sentencing in that case.

We'll just now have to see what happens when the federal prosecutors start handing down indictments against the congressional Republicans.

Abramoff Supporters Appeal to Judge for a Reduced Sentence

Folks, this is going to be a really fun episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This is from the Los Angeles Times:

WASHINGTON — Whatever his shortcomings, Jack Abramoff still has connections — more than 250 of them, to be precise — including prominent lawyers, religious leaders and even a member of Congress.

They are encouraging a federal judge to give the disgraced lobbyist a reduced sentence Wednesday in a Miami fraud case. They have written letters to U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, saying that the picture of Abramoff that has emerged through the news media is a gross distortion, and that he deserves a break.

Far from the image of the greedy Beltway operator who stole from Indian tribes, defrauded the Internal Revenue Service and tried to bribe public officials, they say, Abramoff is a man of charity and good works. In their letters, they cite his generosity to others, his deep religious faith and his devotion to his family.

Abramoff boarded underprivileged children in his home, they said. He opened a kosher deli in Washington "so that Jews would have a place where they could dine in comfort."

The sole member of Congress who wrote on Abramoff's behalf is a longtime friend, Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach.

"I think when he is being punished for the things he did that were wrong, some of the things that he did that were right and admirable in the past should be taken into consideration," Rohrabacher said in an interview. "I think that balance is necessary for justice. I think even Jack Abramoff deserves that."

In his letter to the judge, Rohrabacher described "a far different Jack than the profit-seeking megalomaniac portrayed in the press."

"Jack was a selfless patriot for most of the time I knew him," the congressman wrote, recalling his friend as an ardent anti-communist during the Cold War.

Rohrabacher said he was concerned that an inordinately stiff sentence might prevent Abramoff from eventually starting a new life with his wife and children.

This is almost laughable. Here is a man who has defrauded hundreds of millions of dollars from his clients--mainly the Indian casinos. Through his lobbying efforts, he has forced the citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands to work in sweatshop conditions with less-than-minimum wages. How much harm did Abramoff give in providing in all those fundraising dinners at his Signatures Restaurant for his Republican friends in Congress--especially for his good buddy Tom DeLay?

I'm sorry, I don't buy it.

Abramoff committed some serious white-collar crimes. And he should go to jail for his crimes--no matter how pious he may seem to be, now that he was caught. In one sense, I can see a lot of hypocrisy among Abramoff's friends--especially those who have connections within the Republican Party. The Republican Party loves to tout how they want to get tough on crime--throw the book at the rapists, murderers, robbers, and others who commit violent street crimes. Three strikes and you're out! But when one of their own members is caught in a white-collar crime, then they will rally around their own and plead to the judge to be lenient--he didn't mean to. He's really a good guy. He has learned his lesson--let him pick up the pieces of his shattered life and live with his family. If you want to get tough on crime, then you have to get tough on both street crime, and white-collar crime. And that includes getting tough on Jack Abramoff. What Abramoff did was to be the instigator in destroying the trust between the American public and its leaders in government. In crimes like these, monetary fines are not enough to deter such criminals--jail time is. And Jack Abramoff is going to have to go to jail for his crimes. If there is going to be any reduced sentence for Abramoff, it is going to have to be up to the federal prosecutors and how much cooperation and information Abramoff is giving to the feds. That is the only way to deter white-collar crime.

And we have been seeing a lot of white-collar crime these days.

Bush backs Abramoff-linked Montana senator

President Bush shakes hands with Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., left, during a Burns fundraiser on Monday, March 27, 2006 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It is time for another exciting episode of The Jack Abramoff Show! This one is going to be fun. From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush expressed support on Monday for U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), who is under pressure over his links with Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist at the heart of an influence-peddling scandal.

Speaking at a fund-raising event for Burns' re-election campaign at a Washington hotel, Bush praised the Montana lawmaker as a strong supporter on national security and tax relief.

"He's the kind of person the people of Montana need here. They need somebody who's steadfast when it comes to defending the country, who's wise about how we spend your money," Bush said.

"I'm proud to stand by this man. I strongly urge the people of Montana to reelect Conrad Burns to the United States Senate," he said.

Burns, who faces a tough fight for re-election in November, became ensnared in the corruption investigation involving Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud in January and is cooperating with prosecutors.

In December, Burns said he would return $150,000 he had received from Abramoff-related sources over the past several years. Insisting they were "legal and fully disclosed," he said they had undermined public confidence in the government.

In Vanity Fair magazine's April edition, Abramoff said he worked closely with many top Republicans, despite their claims to the contrary. According to the article, Abramoff said Burns was especially cooperative.

You have got to love this! Bush is standing by his man Burns--even as Abramoff is singing to the federal prosecutors about all the scams and the dirty dealings Abramoff was involved in. How much do you want to bet that Burns' name came up in those conversations with the feds?

I'll also say that it is interesting that Bush is trying to play up Burns' record as a strong supporter for national security and tax relief. Burns is "somebody who's steadfast when it comes to defending the country, who's wise about how we spend your money," Bush said. National security and "defending the country," is about the only issue that Bush can play up to these corrupted Republican congressmen. I'm surprised that Burns even allowed Bush to speak at his fundraising event--is Burns in that much political trouble up in Montana?

Interesting day.