Monetary influence of Jack Abramoff: Difference between revisions
GreenC bot (talk | contribs) Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#nbcnews.com |
|||
(123 intermediate revisions by 62 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
The '''monetary influence of Jack Abramoff''' ran deep in Washington, as [[Jack Abramoff]] spent millions of dollars to influence and entertain both [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and Democratic politicians. Abramoff had a reputation for largesse considered exceptional even by Washington standards.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} In addition to offering many Republican members of Congress expensive free meals at his restaurant, ''[[Signatures Restaurant|Signatures]]'', Abramoff maintained four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining at a cost of over $1 million a year. Abramoff hosted many fundraisers at these skyboxes including events for Republican politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as [[John Doolittle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050628%2FNEWS%2F506280307%2F1039 |title=Rutland Herald: Rutland Vermont News & Information |access-date=2019-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819152212/http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050628%2FNEWS%2F506280307%2F1039 |archive-date=2006-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Abramoff gave over $260,000 in personal contributions to Republican candidates, politicians, and organizations, and [[List of trips funded by Jack Abramoff|funded numerous trips]] for politicians and staffers and gave none to Democrats. |
|||
{{Jack Abramoff}} |
|||
{{current}} |
|||
The '''monetary influence of Jack Abramoff''' ran deep in Washington, as [[Jack Abramoff]] spent millions of dollars to influence and entertain Republican politicians. Abramoff had a reputation for largesse considered exceptional even by Washington standards. In addition to offering many Republican members of Congress expensive free meals at his restaurant, ''[[Signatures (restaurant)|Signatures]]'', Abramoff maintained four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining at a cost of over $1 million a year. Abramoff hosted many fundraisers at these skyboxes including events for Republican politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as [[John Doolittle]]. [http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050628/NEWS/506280307/1039] Jack Abramoff also made over $260,000 in personal contributions to Republican candidates, politicians, and organizations. |
|||
From 2000 to 2006, funds and Leadership [[Political action committee|PAC]]s of numerous Republican candidates for [[United States Congress|Congress]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006 |work=Capital Eye |url=http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_donor.asp?Name=Abramoff%2C+Jack+A+%26+Pamela |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060225204029/http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_donor.asp?Name=Abramoff%2C+Jack+A+%26+Pamela |access-date=March 15, 2006|archive-date=2006-02-25 }}</ref> Under his guidance, his Indian tribe clients loosened their traditional ties to the Democratic Party, giving Republicans two-thirds of the $2.9 million they donated to federal candidates since 2001.<ref>{{cite web |title=One More Look at the Washington Post Clown Show..."] |url=http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/23/12534/0111 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419035838/http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/23/12534/0111 |access-date=March 15, 2006|archive-date=2006-04-19 }}</ref> He raised $100,000 for the reelection of [[George W. Bush]], making him a [[Bush Pioneer]]. Abramoff and his wife gave $10,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund, shortly before Abramoff joined [[Greenberg Traurig]], which forgave over $314,000 in legal fees incurred by the [[George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000|Bush Campaign]] in the 2000 [[Florida election recount]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k |url=http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/abramoff_florida_recount_bush_505.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831044809/http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/abramoff_florida_recount_bush_505.htm |website=therawstory |access-date=March 15, 2006|archive-date=2006-08-31 }}</ref> |
|||
Of the approximately $85 million in tribal money entrusted to Abramoff, his employers, or his related organizations (see [[Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal]] for more), over $4.4 million since 1999 were directed to at least 250 members of Congress, primarily Republicans in leadership positions or on relevant committees, and Democrats with standing connections to Native American interests (in a 2-1 GOP ratio). Some of these lawmakers had recieved money from these same organizations in the past but after Abramoff was hired the percentage of funds contributed to Republicans increased suggesting he directed contributions away from Democrats and torward Republicans. These contributions have since become tainted by their association with Abramoff's criminal behavior.[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p01s03-uspo.html] |
|||
Of the approximately $85 million in tribal money entrusted to Abramoff, his employers, or his related organizations (see [[Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal]] for more), over $4.4 million since 1999 were directed to at least 250 members of Congress, primarily Republicans in leadership positions or on relevant committees, and Democrats with standing connections to Native American interests (in a 2:1 GOP ratio). These contributions have since become tainted by their association with Abramoff's criminal behavior.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p01s03-uspo.html |title=Coming to the Hill: Lots of hearing-room drama |journal=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |date=3 January 2006 |access-date=24 January 2006 |archive-date=6 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060106090215/http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p01s03-uspo.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
|||
Abramoff was associated with [[Tom DeLay]]'s and [[Grover Norquist]]'s [[K Street Project]] to bring Republican dominance to Washington lobbying.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Balz |first1=Dan |last2=Bimbaum |first2=Jeffrey H. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301536.html |title=Case Bringing New Scrutiny To a System and a Profession |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 4, 2006 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206211310/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301536.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
|||
==Skyboxes and St. Andrews== |
==Skyboxes and St. Andrews== |
||
Through the front company Sports Suites LLC, Abramoff owned skyboxes at [[MCI Center]] and [[Camden Yards]], and two at [[FedExField]]. Between 1999 and 2003, Abramoff hosted 72 events for members of Congress, all but eight for Republicans.<ref>{{cite news |
|||
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26015-2004Dec25?language=printer |
|||
|date=December 26, 2004 |
|||
|author=Susan Schmidt and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum |
|||
|newspaper=Washington Post |
|||
|title=Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising |
|||
}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
|||
On |
On May 7, 2000, while Abramoff was actively lobbying against the [[Internet Gambling Prohibition Act]] in the House of Representatives, [[Tom DeLay]] attended a performance by the [[Three Tenors]] in a skybox at Washington's MCI Center. Several major donors to DeLay's [[Texans for a Republican Majority]] PAC were also invited. It was later revealed that the skybox was leased and paid for by Jack Abramoff, at an estimated cost of $3,600–7,500. Although Federal law at the time did not require disclosure or reimbursement of this sort of gift-giving from a lobbyist to a [[Political action committee|PAC]], the law was changed several months later, and the incident was cited in later criticisms of DeLay's acceptance of gifts.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7577057|title = AP: DeLay used lobbyist's concert skybox|website = [[NBC News]]|access-date = 2019-11-18|archive-date = 2016-03-06|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160306173601/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7577057|url-status = live}}</ref> |
||
On |
On May 25, DeLay departed on a 10-day trip to [[Scotland]] together with Abramoff and DeLay's aides Tony Rudy and Susan Hirschmann. In documents filed after the trip as required by House rules, DeLay claimed that the purpose of the trip was primarily "educational", to hold meetings with Conservative leaders in Britain, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and that the total cost of the trip was $28,106. The filings indicated that the trip was being paid for by the "National Center for Public Policy Research", a [[think tank]] then chaired by Jack Abramoff.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301792.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=R. Jeffrey | last=Smith | title=Democrats' Travel Costs Linked to Lobbyist | date=May 4, 2005 | access-date=September 5, 2017 | archive-date=January 11, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111122229/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301792.html | url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
On the same date as DeLay's trip departure, Abramoff clients eLottery and the Mississippi Choctaw sent checks |
On the same date as DeLay's trip departure, Abramoff clients eLottery and the Mississippi Choctaw sent checks totaling $50,000 to the National Center for Public Policy Research. eLottery and the tribe both later claimed that they were unaware that the money was intended to pay for a trip.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28252-2005Mar11.html |title=Gambling Interests Funded DeLay Trip |first1=James V. |last1=Grimaldi and |first2=R. Jeffrey |last2=Smith |date=March 12, 2005 |page=A01 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-date=2021-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704025846/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28252-2005Mar11.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
Details later emerged that many parts of the trip were paid for directly on Abramoff's credit card, and a card belonging to [[Edwin A. Buckham]], another prominent lobbyist. Although the trip did include a meeting with Margaret Thatcher, according to detailed bills leaked to the [[Washington Post]], the trip also included golf at the exclusive [[Old Course at St Andrews|St. Andrews Golf Resort]], theater tickets, and "superior" room |
Details later emerged that many parts of the trip were paid for directly on Abramoff's credit card, and a card belonging to [[Edwin A. Buckham]], another prominent lobbyist. Although the trip did include a meeting with Margaret Thatcher, according to detailed bills leaked to the ''[[Washington Post]]'', the trip also included golf at the exclusive [[Old Course at St Andrews|St. Andrews Golf Resort]], theater tickets, and "superior" room accommodations at the London Four Seasons. The total cost of the trip was estimated{{By whom|date=August 2011}} at $70,000–120,000, of which approximately $12,000 was reimbursed to Abramoff by Preston Gates. |
||
The length of the trip, expense, source of funding, and activities of the trip are significant as House ethics rules at the time prevented representatives from accepting gifts from private parties if it would "create the appearance of using public office for private gain." |
The length of the trip, expense, source of funding, and activities of the trip are significant as House ethics rules at the time prevented representatives from accepting gifts from private parties if it would "create the appearance of using public office for private gain."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12416-2005Apr23.html |title=DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card |first=R. Jeffrey |last=Smith |date=April 24, 2005 |page=A01 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-date=2021-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910090320/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12416-2005Apr23.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
<!--need details of 2002 Ney/Safavian/Norquist trip--> |
<!--need details of 2002 Ney/Safavian/Norquist trip--> |
||
== Justice Department investigation == |
|||
These actions by Abramoff ignited an investigation by the Justice Department to examine widespread claims and allegations of corruption of law-makers connected with Jack Abramoff. The allegations of corruption were later shown to be true, and resulted in a politician (Rep. [[Bob Ney]], (R-OH)) getting convicted for accepting bribes from Abramoff.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schmidt, Grimaldi|first=Susan, James V.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300169.html|title=Ney Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=October 13, 2006|accessdate=May 10, 2015|archive-date=May 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510152958/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300169.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Abramoff also plead guilty to tax fraud and bribery of public officials in January 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300474.html|title=Abramoff Pleads Guilty to 3 Counts|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 3, 2006|accessdate=May 10, 2015|archive-date=May 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510153001/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300474.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
== Justice Department Investigation == |
|||
Currently, there is an investigation by the Justice Department to examine widespread claims and allegations of corruption of law-makers connected with Jack Abramoff. The investigation is attempting to determine and evaluate evidence on whether official acts were performed in exchange for campaign contributions or favors. According to a [[Washington Times]] story using an unnamed source working on the investigation, the Justice Department is focusing on the so-called "first-tier" law-makers: Sens. [[Conrad Burns]], Montana Republican; [[Byron L. Dorgan]], North Dakota Democrat; and Minority Leader [[Harry Reid]], Nevada Democrat, along with Reps. [[J.D. Hayworth]], Arizona Republican, and [[Bob Ney]], Ohio Republican.[http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060111-093059-1441r] |
|||
== Politicians who have received direct contributions from Abramoff == |
== Politicians who have received direct contributions from Abramoff == |
||
FEC records show that Abramoff gave $172,933 for Republican candidates, $88,985 to Republican causes and nothing to Democratic candidates or organizations. |
FEC records show that Abramoff gave $172,933 for Republican candidates, $88,985 to Republican causes and nothing to Democratic candidates or organizations.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/03/abramoff.fallout/ | work=CNN | title=CNN.com - Hastert donates Abramoff-linked money - Jan 3, 2006 | access-date=January 24, 2006 | archive-date=January 13, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113060707/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/03/abramoff.fallout/ | url-status=live }}</ref> A compilation of the complete FEC record and its analysis of contributions made by Jack Abramoff, only, independently confirmed the latter claim.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2006/2/17/01135/9251 |title=EPluribus Media Community || for the Record: Jack Abramoff contributed no campaign money to Democrats |website=scoop.epluribusmedia.org |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928045121/http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2006/2/17/01135/9251 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of the most prominent who have received such contributions and who may have other connections to Abramoff include: |
||
;President George W Bush (R) |
;President George W Bush (R) |
||
As a [[Bush Pioneer]], Abramoff raised over $100,000 for the [[George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004|George W. Bush reelection campaign]] in addition to the $6,000 which he personally contributed. |
As a [[Bush Pioneer]], Abramoff raised over $100,000 for the [[George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004|George W. Bush reelection campaign]] in addition to the $6,000 which he personally contributed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-01-04T153929Z_01_SIB452554_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-ABRAMOFF-BUSH.xml |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060330023157/http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews |archive-date=2006-03-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060117/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_abramoff;_ylt=AgN3zRwO.HpQ8PDKGKqPX82yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA {{dead link|date=April 2019}}</ref> |
||
Although the White House insists President Bush never met Jack Abramoff outside of large gatherings, |
Although the White House insists President Bush never met Jack Abramoff outside of large gatherings, ''[[The Texas Observer]]'' reports that in May 2001 Abramoff "charged two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.texasobserver.org/showForPrint_new.asp?ArticleID=13 |title=The Pimping of the President |website=www.texasobserver.org |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203093322/http://www.texasobserver.org/showForPrint_new.asp?ArticleID=13 |archive-date=3 February 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
Time Magazine also reports having at least five White House publicity photos, or 'clicks' showing Bush together with Abramoff or Abramoff's family members. |
''Time Magazine'' also reports having at least five White House publicity photos, or 'clicks' showing Bush together with Abramoff or Abramoff's family members. |
||
;U.S. Rep. & Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) |
;U.S. Rep. & Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) |
||
Joining Abramoff on a vacation was [[Tom DeLay]], whose airfare to [[London]] and [[Scotland]] in 2000 was charged to an [[American Express]] card issued to Abramoff, according to two sources who know Abramoff's [[credit card]] account number and to a copy of a travel invoice displaying that number. DeLay's expenses during the same trip for food, phone calls and other items at a golf course hotel in Scotland were billed to a different credit card also used on the trip by a second registered Washington lobbyist, Edwin A. Buckham, according to receipts documenting that portion of the trip. |
Joining Abramoff on a vacation was [[Tom DeLay]], whose airfare to [[London]] and [[Scotland]] in 2000 was charged to an [[American Express]] card issued to Abramoff, according to two sources who know Abramoff's [[credit card]] account number and to a copy of a travel invoice displaying that number. DeLay's expenses during the same trip for food, phone calls and other items at a golf course hotel in Scotland were billed to a different credit card also used on the trip by a second registered Washington lobbyist, Edwin A. Buckham, according to receipts documenting that portion of the trip.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12416-2005Apr23.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=R. Jeffrey | last=Smith | title=DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card | date=April 24, 2005 | access-date=September 5, 2017 | archive-date=March 28, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328113759/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12416-2005Apr23.html | url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bob Ney (R-OH) |
;U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bob Ney (R-OH) |
||
[[Image:Bob.ney.png|220px|thumb|right|Bob Ney also |
[[Image:Bob.ney.png|220px|thumb|right|Bob Ney also guilty]]In 2002, after Abramoff and Reed closed the casino of the Tigua tribe, Abramoff persuaded the tribe to hire him to lobby Congress to reopen the casino. After Abramoff met with [[Bob Ney]] to ask him to push the legislation, the Tigua (by overnight mail) sent three checks to Ney's political committees, totaling $32,000. The exchange of campaign contributions in return for Ney's support of an amendment to reopen the Tigua's casino constituted [[bribery]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} |
||
Emails between Abramoff and the Tigua's political consultant show that Ney solicited the Tigua to pay for part of a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, knowing full well that solicitation of travel is specifically prohibited by House rules. Shortly after Ney returned from Scotland, he was scheduled to meet with members of the Tigua tribal council. Prior to that meeting, Abramoff reminded the Tigua that "for obvious reasons" the golf trip would not be mentioned at the meeting, but that Ney show his appreciation "in other ways |
Emails between Abramoff and the Tigua's political consultant show that Ney solicited the Tigua to pay for part of a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, knowing full well that solicitation of travel is specifically prohibited by House rules. Shortly after Ney returned from Scotland, he was scheduled to meet with members of the Tigua tribal council. Prior to that meeting, Abramoff reminded the Tigua that "for obvious reasons" the golf trip would not be mentioned at the meeting, but that Ney show his appreciation "in other ways", which was, Abramoff pointed out, just what the tribe wanted. Although the tribe never ended up paying for the golf trip, Ney's attempt to tie the gift of the trip to the legislative assistance the tribe was seeking likely violates federal criminal law. |
||
Ney lied when he said he was "duped" by Abramoff and lied again on financial disclosure forms when he said that a nonprofit had paid for the trip. However, Safavian, in an email to his government employer seeking permission to go on the trip, states that Abramoff personally extended invitations to all the guests. Ney also said he made the trip to speak to Scottish parliamentarians. But the Scottish parliament wasn't in session at the time he was in Scotland. |
|||
Ney is also implicated in the separate [[Jack Abramoff|Abramoff SunCruz]] scandal. |
|||
Bob Ney is now{{When|date=August 2011}} setting up a legal defense fund for Abramoff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/110805/news4.html |title=Ney sets up defense fund on Abramoff |accessdate=2009-09-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211154107/http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/110805/news4.html |archivedate=2007-02-11 }}</ref> |
|||
Bob Ney is now setting up a legal defense fund for Abramoff. |
|||
[http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/110805/news4.html] |
|||
Bob Ney |
Bob Ney was "Representative #1," in Abramoff's January 3 plea agreement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/abramoff_info_010306.pdf |title=United States v. Jack A. Abramoff |date=January 2006 |publisher=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] |via=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2017-09-05 |archive-date=2018-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924151731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/abramoff_info_010306.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10218892/site/newsweek/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051204042932/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10218892/site/newsweek/|archive-date=2005-12-04|title=MSN}}</ref> On September 15, 2006 Ney's guilty plea for bribery related to Abramoff's clients and others was submitted to the court and made public. |
||
;U.S. Rep. |
;U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, CD1 (R-NM) |
||
Congresswoman Heather Wilson received $1,000 in a direct contribution from Abramoff. |
|||
;U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, III (R-FL); |
|||
Congressman [[Tom Feeney]] (R-[[Florida|FL]]) joined other Republicans on the now infamous golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003. |
|||
Congressman [[Tom Feeney]] (R-[[Florida|FL]]) joined other Republicans on the now infamous{{According to whom|date=August 2011}} [[List of trips funded by Jack Abramoff|golf trip to Scotland]] with Abramoff in 2003. |
|||
;U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) |
;U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) |
||
In 2003, Abramoff gave [[Richard Pombo|Richard Pombo's]] (R-CA) [[political action committee|PAC]] $5,000. Abramoff also gave $2,000, the maximum allowed, to Pombo's congressional campaign committee that same year. |
In 2003, Abramoff gave [[Richard Pombo|Richard Pombo's]] (R-CA) [[political action committee|PAC]] $5,000. Abramoff also gave $2,000, the maximum allowed, to Pombo's congressional campaign committee that same year. |
||
On |
On January 8, 2006, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that "Pombo helped one of Abramoff's clients, the [[Mashpee Indians]] in Massachusetts, gain official recognition as a tribe; the congressman received contributions from the lobbyist and the tribe in that instance."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-banker8jan08,0,1764103.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews |title=A Donor Who Had Big Allies |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=8 January 2006 |access-date=24 January 2006 |archive-date=14 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060814213942/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-banker8jan08,0,1764103.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews |url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) |
;U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) |
||
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Mike Ferguson (New Jersey)|Mike Ferguson]] is not going to give back the $1,000 he received in 2001, according to his spokeswoman Abby Bird. |
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Mike Ferguson (New Jersey)|Mike Ferguson]] is not going to give back the $1,000 he received in 2001, according to his spokeswoman Abby Bird.<ref name="autogenerated1">http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050818/NEWS03/508180435/1007/BUSINESS {{dead link|date=July 2022}}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) |
;U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) |
||
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Frank LoBiondo]] has planned or has given back the $1000 contribution he had received in 2001. |
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Frank LoBiondo]] has planned or has given back the $1000 contribution he had received in 2001. |
||
;U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) |
;U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) |
||
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Jim Saxton]] has given back the |
[[New Jersey]] Republican Rep. [[Jim Saxton]] has given back the 1000-dollar contribution he had received from Abramoff. |
||
;U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) |
;U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) |
||
Line 75: | Line 84: | ||
After initially claiming credit for the appropriation, Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it. "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did." |
After initially claiming credit for the appropriation, Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it. "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did." |
||
Although |
Although initially refusing to return Abramoff's donations,<ref name="billingsgazette2004">{{cite web |url=http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?tl=1 |title=Archived copy |website=www.billingsgazette.com |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041102023512/http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?tl=1 |archive-date=2 November 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Burns ultimately said that he would return or give away $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients. |
||
In December, 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of |
In December, 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of "Abramoff's group".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/12/25/news/local/znews04.txt|title = Business interests interview Supreme Court candidates}}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) |
;U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) |
||
(R-Texas) On |
(R-Texas) On November 12, 2001, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating, "get me details so I can alert [[John Cornyn|cornyn]] and let him know what we are doing to help him" [sic]. Similarly, on November 13, Reed wrote "I strongly suggest we start doing patch-throughs to perry and cornyn [sic]. We're getting killed on the phone." Also, on January 7, 2002, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating "I think we should budget for an ataboy for cornyn" [sic]. |
||
When |
When Cornyn ran for Senate, Abramoff contributed $1,000, the maximum amount legally allowed. Cornyn, who has spoken out against gambling, also received $6,250 in contributions from [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] casino interests who oppose [[Native American gaming|Indian gaming]], some of which were made at the same time Cornyn was pushing to close the Tigua's casino. |
||
;New Jersey State Senator William Gormley (R-Atlantic, NJ) |
;New Jersey State Senator William Gormley (R-Atlantic, NJ) |
||
New Jersey State Sen. [[William Gormley]], R-Atlantic, got $1,000 from Abramoff when Gormley was running for the U.S. Senate in 2000. |
New Jersey State Sen. [[William Gormley]], R-Atlantic, got $1,000 from Abramoff when Gormley was running for the U.S. Senate in 2000.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> |
||
Abramoff also gave $5,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee. New Jersey Democratic Party Chairwoman [[Bonnie Watson Coleman]] hopes this money will be returned to Abramoff. |
Abramoff also gave $5,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee. New Jersey Democratic Party Chairwoman [[Bonnie Watson Coleman]] hopes this money will be returned to Abramoff.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> |
||
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan [[ |
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan [[OpenSecrets]], Abramoff has contributed more than $220,000 in New Jersey since 1995, almost exclusively to Republican candidates and committees and only a "smattering" of those who received donations from Abramoff have returned them.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> |
||
;U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) |
;U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) |
||
;U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) |
;U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) |
||
In |
In 2000, Abramoff gave $500 to [[Ed Royce (politician)|Ed Royce]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips_detail.asp?type=R&Name=Ed+Royce+%28R%2DCalif%29 |title=Capital Eye |website=www.capitaleye.org |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214003417/http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips_detail.asp?type=R&Name=Ed+Royce+%28R%2DCalif%29 |archive-date=14 February 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
== Politicians with connections to Indian affairs and Greenberg Traurig == |
== Politicians with connections to Indian affairs and Greenberg Traurig == |
||
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
||
Rep.[[ |
Rep.[[J.D. Hayworth]] the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff. |
||
;U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) |
;U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) |
||
The Louisiana Jena Band of Choctaws offered testimony accusing Louisiana Senator [[David Vitter]] (R) of being in cahoots with Abramoff and his attempts to stymie the tribe's casino plans. |
The Louisiana Jena Band of Choctaws offered testimony accusing Louisiana Senator [[David Vitter]] (R) of being in cahoots with Abramoff and his attempts to stymie the tribe's casino plans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/washington/index.ssf?/base/news-1/112253289179960.xml |title = McCain defends Vitter as tribe cries foul |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050907221410/http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/washington/index.ssf?/base/news-1/112253289179960.xml |archive-date=7 September 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) |
;U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) |
||
Senator [[Charles Grassley]] (R-Iowa) is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of several committees investigating the scandal. From 2001 to 2004, Grassley received over $62,000 in donations from groups related to the scandal. In March 2002 he sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton opposing the Jena casino. In April he received a donation of $1000 from Abramoff's firm. |
Senator [[Charles Grassley]] (R-Iowa) is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of several committees investigating the scandal. From 2001 to 2004, Grassley received over $62,000 in donations from groups related to the scandal. In March 2002 he sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior [[Gale Norton]] opposing the Jena casino. In April he received a donation of $1000 from Abramoff's firm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/13189471.htm |title=Bay Area news, technology, jobs, cars & real estate |access-date=2006-01-24 |archive-date=2006-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630052647/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/13189471.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
[http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/13189471.htm] |
|||
;U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) |
;U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) |
||
Between 2001 and 2004 Sen. [[Harry Reid]] received $61,000 from donors with whom after the fact had hired Abramoff later on, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. |
Between 2001 and 2004 Sen. [[Harry Reid]] received $61,000 from donors with whom after the fact had hired Abramoff later on, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. In a February 9, 2006 Washington Post article,<ref name="AR2006020901208_pf">https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020901208_pf.html {{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Reid's office acknowledged contacts with [[Greenberg Traurig]] during this time. |
||
Reid also intervened on government matters in ways that Abramoff's tribal clients might have deemed helpful, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action. Reid's office said none of the senator's actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff. |
|||
Reid also has been linked to Abramoff through [[Edward Ayoob]], who worked for Reid from June 1997 to March 2002 variously as legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, foreign affairs adviser and chief aide on judicial nominations, according to a biography on his employer's Web site. Ayoob in 2002 was hired as a lobbyist by Greenberg Traurig LLP, where his work included teaming with Abramoff and other lobbyists on client matters. According to the Greenberg Traurig website, Greenberg Traurig has over 1400 lobbyists. |
|||
Reid sent a letter they wrote on March 5, 2002, to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking her to reject an application from the [[Jena Band]] of [[Choctaw Indians]], which was seeking to open a casino outside its Louisiana reservation. An Abramoff client fighting the Jena casino, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, donated $5,000 to Reid's political action committee, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, the next day, at Abramoff's request. While Abramoff never donated directly to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct the tribe to send $5,000 to the fund. The Washington Post reported that Abramoff sent a list to the tribe titled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip." Reid was Democratic whip at the time. |
|||
Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig in March 2004 after the Senate and the FBI began investigating his activities while Ayoob left Greenberg Traurig in spring 2005. Ayoob is now a senior lobbyist at Barnes & Thornburg LLP. |
|||
About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show. His March 5, 2002, letter pressed the agency to reject a casino proposed by a potential rival to the Coushattas, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians. Sen. [[John Ensign]] (R-Nev.) also signed the letter. |
|||
Future Abramoff coworker [[Edward Ayoob]] before he knew Abramoff worked for Reid from June 1997 to March 2002 variously as legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, foreign affairs adviser and chief aide on judicial nominations, according to a biography on his employer's Web site. Ayoob in 2002 was hired as a lobbyist by Greenberg Traurig LLP, where his work included teaming with Abramoff and other lobbyists on client matters. According to the Greenberg Traurig website, Greenberg Traurig has over 1400 lobbyists. |
|||
Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig in March 2004 after the Senate and the FBI began investigating his activities while Ayoob left Greenberg Traurig in spring 2005. Ayoob is now a senior lobbyist at [[Barnes & Thornburg]] LLP. |
|||
Reid downplayed Ayoob's role, saying Ayoob was a legislative assistant on his staff and not an adviser. |
Reid downplayed Ayoob's role, saying Ayoob was a legislative assistant on his staff and not an adviser. |
||
Ayoob and Reid met "from time to time" after Ayoob became a lobbyist, according to a Reid spokesperson. She said she did not know when they last spoke or how Reid would characterize their relationship today.<ref name="reviewjournal.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-04-Wed-2006/news/5194840.html|title=Las Vegas News | Breaking News & Headlines|access-date=2006-01-24|archive-date=2006-01-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110034912/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-04-Wed-2006/news/5194840.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Washington Post has reported that the aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised money from several of Abramoff's lobbying partners.<ref name="AR2006020901208_pf" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200602100013 |title=Media Matters - Dobbs repeated AP report that omitted key facts about Reid's alleged connections to Abramoff |website=[[Media Matters for America]] |access-date=2006-02-11 |archive-date=2006-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213180949/http://mediamatters.org/items/200602100013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200602100001 |title=Media Matters - AP left out key facts in report linking Reid, Abramoff |website=[[Media Matters for America]] |access-date=2006-02-11 |archive-date=2006-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213182643/http://mediamatters.org/items/200602100001 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007651.php |title=Archived copy |website=www.talkingpointsmemo.com |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405230450/http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007651.php |archive-date=5 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
|||
Ayoob and Reid met "from time to time" after Ayoob became a lobbyist, according to a Reid spokesperson. She said she did not know when they last spoke or how Reid would characterize their relationship today.[http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-04-Wed-2006/news/5194840.html] |
|||
;U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) |
;U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) |
||
Senator [[Byron Dorgan]], the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had received at least $79,300 from associates and clients |
Senator [[Byron Dorgan]], the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had received at least $79,300 from associates and clients who later hired Abramoff to work for them. |
||
After several news articles appeared detailing the tribal donations |
After several news articles appeared detailing the tribal donations,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/04/AR2005120401158.html |title=Dorgan Tangled in Abramoff Web |first1=James V. |last1=Grimaldi |first2=Susan |last2=Schmidt |date=December 5, 2005 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-date=November 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122223038/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/04/AR2005120401158.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dorgan wrote a news release replying to several claims he said were erroneous, including the allegation he received money directly from Abramoff. In the release, Dorgan said, "The fact is I have never met Abramoff and have never received a campaign contribution from him. If he was directing any of his clients to make a political contribution to me, it was done without my knowledge."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=249445 |title=12-1-05 - News Release: Statement by Senator Dorgan on Ap Story on Abramoff Investigation: Byron Dorgan, Senator for North Dakota |website=dorgan.senate.gov |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060126205312/http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=249445 |archive-date=26 January 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
Dorgan says, in the release, that his activities in support of several tribal programs are continuing his trend of supporting Native American issues since being elected, and do not stem from Abramoff-related campaign contributions. |
Dorgan says, in the release, that his activities in support of several tribal programs are continuing his trend of supporting Native American issues since being elected, and do not stem from Abramoff-related campaign contributions. |
||
In December 2005, Dorgan returned tribal donations totaling $67,000. |
In December 2005, Dorgan returned tribal donations totaling $67,000.<ref>http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=111260§ion=News {{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051213-111244-2879r.htm | title=Dorgan returns Abramoff money | website=[[The Washington Times]] | access-date=2006-01-24 | archive-date=2006-02-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060201034509/http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20051213-111244-2879r.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) |
;U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) |
||
According to the FEC, Sen. [[Tom Harkin]] (D-Iowa) failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in |
According to the FEC, Sen. [[Tom Harkin]] (D-Iowa) failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in Abramoff's skybox at Washington's MCI Center in 2002 and 2003, according to filings with the FEC and the Iowa Democrat's spokeswoman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/102005/news3.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051227155351/http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/102005/news3.html|archive-date = 2005-12-27|title = Harkin pays tribe for his use of skybox}}</ref> |
||
==Campaign contributions returned or donated== |
==Campaign contributions returned or donated== |
||
Many politicians have returned or donated all or part of the money received from Abramoff or his clients though only two lawmakers have given some of this money to [[Native Americans]]. |
Many politicians have returned or donated all or part of the money received from Abramoff or his clients though only two lawmakers have given some of this money back to [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. |
||
According to CBS, over 100 |
According to CBS, over 100 lawmakers have donated Abramoff related money to charity. It is not yet clear if donating the money will give them tax advantages in a way that returning the money would not or if these charities have a history of donating money or aiding favorable lawmakers in other ways. |
||
;President George W. Bush (R) |
;President George W. Bush (R) |
||
On |
On January 4, 2005 President [[George W. Bush]] announced that his campaign will donate $6000 to the [[American Heart Association]]. The $6000 is the sum of the donations by Abramoff, Abramoff's wife, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The more than $100,000 in [[Bush Pioneer]] money raised by Abramoff, but not directly contributed by Abramoff will not be returned.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/04/lobbyist.fraud.ap/index.html |title=CNN.com - Bush, congressmen to donate Abramoff contributions - Jan 4, 2006 |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=2006-01-24 |archive-date=2006-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110232907/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/04/lobbyist.fraud.ap/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
;[[Republican Governors Association]] |
|||
On January 12, 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/12/house_gop_eyes_ban_on_free_trips_for_lawmakers/|title=House GOP eyes ban on free trips for lawmakers - the Boston Globe|access-date=2006-01-24|archive-date=2012-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716181657/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/12/house_gop_eyes_ban_on_free_trips_for_lawmakers/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Boston Globe reported paraphrased [[Governors of Massachusetts|Massachusetts Governor]], [[Mitt Romney]], saying that "the [[Republican Governors Association]] would donate to charity $500,000 in contributions it received from a donor entwined in the Abramoff investigation." |
|||
;Republican Governors Association |
|||
On [[January 12]], [[2006]], [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/01/12/house_gop_eyes_ban_on_free_trips_for_lawmakers/ The Boston Globe reported] paraphrased [[Governors of Massachusetts|Massachusetts Governor]], [[Mitt Romney]], saying that "the [[Republican Governors Association]] would donate to charity $500,000 in contributions it received from a donor entwined in the Abramoff investigation." |
|||
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
||
Rep.[[ |
Rep.[[J.D. Hayworth]], the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff. Hayworth has said he will keep these donations because they were given independently of Abramoff's influence. He donated to charity $2,250 he got directly from Abramoff.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} The charity's name is unavailable, but was claimed to be related to [[Hurricane Katrina]] relief.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} |
||
;U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) |
;U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) |
||
Returned $2,500 contribution he received from [[Bob Ney]]. He has so far refused to return a quarter million dollars raised at a |
Returned $2,500 contribution he received from [[Bob Ney]]. He has so far refused to return a quarter million dollars raised at a fundraiser co-chaired by Abramoff.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-maxwell2606jan26,0,4941874.column?coll=orl-news-col |date=January 26, 2006 |title=Chronicler of Florida weirdness speaks his mind |first=Scott |last=Maxwell |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219052321/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-maxwell2606jan26,0,4941874.column?coll=orl-news-col |archive-date=2006-02-19 }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) |
;U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) |
||
On |
On October 26,{{When|date=August 2011}} Sen. [[Jim Talent]] returned a $2,000 contribution made to his 2002 Senate campaign by Abramoff. Talent also returned a $1,000 contribution that Abramoff's former law firm made to Talent's re-election campaign earlier this year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/politics/13003623.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-01-24 |archive-date=2006-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516213136/http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/politics/13003623.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) |
;U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) |
||
Sen. [[Max Baucus]] gave $18,892 in Abramoff-related money he received to tribal colleges in Montana. |
Sen. [[Max Baucus]] gave $18,892 in Abramoff-related money he received to tribal colleges in Montana. |
||
;U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) |
;U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) |
||
Sen. [[Conrad Burns]] the fourth largest recipient of Abramoff related money, some $60,000, announced that he would return or donate $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients. Via his spokesman he had previously claimed that the money could not be returned as the committee that received it was shut down and the money was "already spent". |
Sen. [[Conrad Burns]], the fourth largest recipient of Abramoff related money, some $60,000, announced that he would return or donate $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients. Via his spokesman he had previously claimed that the money could not be returned as the committee that received it was shut down and the money was "already spent".<ref name="billingsgazette2004"/> |
||
Burns attempt to make a $111,000 "donation" to the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council was rejected by the tribe who said the money was tainted because it originally came from Abramoff and his clients. |
Burns attempt to make a $111,000 "donation" to the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council was rejected by the tribe who said the money was tainted because it originally came from Abramoff and his clients. |
||
Julia Doney, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council and a member of the tribal leaders council, explained that the tribes are "tired of being used" and don't want help Burns with his political troubles. |
Julia Doney, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council, and a member of the tribal leaders council, explained that the tribes are "tired of being used" and don't want help Burns with his political troubles. |
||
"it's tainted money" said Doney |
"it's tainted money" said Doney<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13660751.htm |title=San Jose Mercury News - 404 |access-date=2006-01-24 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130757/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13660751.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
The Blackfeet Community College has also refused to accept money Burns because it came from Jack Abramoff. James St. Goddard, a Blackfeet council member, told The Great Falls Tribune |
The Blackfeet Community College has also refused to accept money Burns because it came from Jack Abramoff. James St. Goddard, a Blackfeet council member, told The Great Falls Tribune |
||
that taking the money "would have made it look like the money is clean. We do not want Mr. Burns to use the tribes any more for his political gain." |
that taking the money "would have made it look like the money is clean. We do not want Mr. Burns to use the tribes any more for his political gain."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060119%2FNEWS01 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928085855/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060119%2FNEWS01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) |
;U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) |
||
Rep. [[Dennis Rehberg]] returned $20,000. |
Rep. [[Dennis Rehberg]] returned $20,000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051221%2FNEWS01%2F512210303%2F1002 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928085816/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051221%2FNEWS01%2F512210303%2F1002 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) |
;U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) |
||
On |
On December 13, 2005 Sen. [[Byron Dorgan]] reported that he would return $67,000 in questionable donations from Abramoff's clients (the entirety of his "Abramoff-related money"). Dorgan was quoted as saying he would not "knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken."<ref>http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1205/285514.html {{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) |
;U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) |
||
On |
On August 18, 2005, Rep. [[Frank LoBiondo]] said he plans to give back the $1,000 contribution he received in 2001 from Abramoff. |
||
;U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) |
;U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) |
||
On |
On August 18, 2005 Rep. [[Jim Saxton]] also returned a $1,000 contribution Abramoff made in 2001.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> |
||
;U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) |
;U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) |
||
On |
On January 5, 2006, Sen. [[Hillary Clinton]]'s campaign announced that it would contribute $2,000 in donations from American Indian tribe clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to a New York charity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_005075047.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211042708/http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_005075047.html|archive-date=2006-02-11|title=New York City News Radio Station - WINS-AM | 1010 WINS}}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Ernest Istook (R-OK) |
;U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Ernest Istook (R-OK) |
||
On |
On January 9, 2006, Rep. [[Ernest Istook]] announced he is giving $23,000 that was donated to his re-election campaign or his PAC to the Boy Scouts of America. This is in addition to $6,000 in Abramoff-related donations given to Indian health research last month. In December 2005, Rep. [[Ernest Istook]], said he would donate a $1,000 campaign donation he received from Abramoff to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for Indian health research. A $5,000 donation to a political action committee Istook was involved with will also be given to the OMRF.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.normantranscript.com/cnhi/thenormantranscript/opinion/local_story_011002337?keyword=topstory |title = Give tainted money back to donors » Editorials » the Norman Transcript |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130121536/http://www.normantranscript.com/cnhi/thenormantranscript/opinion/local_story_011002337?keyword=topstory |archive-date=30 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
||
[http://www.normantranscript.com/cnhi/thenormantranscript/opinion/local_story_011002337?keyword=topstory] |
|||
;U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio(D-OR) |
;U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio(D-OR) |
||
On |
On January 9, 2006, the office of Rep. [[Peter DeFazio]] announced he will return $1,500 he received from out-of-state Indian tribes represented by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsreview.info/article/20060109/NEWS/60109001 |title=Newsreview.info - Serving Roseburg & Douglas County, Oregon - News |access-date=2006-01-26 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927034124/http://www.newsreview.info/article/20060109/NEWS/60109001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) |
;U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) |
||
As the [[Virginia Democratic Party]] called on all Virginia Republicans in Congress to dump Abramoff's contributions, Virginia Representative and chief deputy Republican whip [[Eric Cantor]] announced that he would donate almost 10,000 of Abramoff money to charity on |
As the [[Virginia Democratic Party]] called on all Virginia Republicans in Congress to dump Abramoff's contributions, Virginia Representative and chief deputy Republican whip [[Eric Cantor]] announced that he would donate almost 10,000 of Abramoff money to charity on January 4. |
||
;U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis, III (R-VA) |
;U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis, III (R-VA) |
||
At the same time, the [[Richmond Times-Dispatch]] reported that "Rep. [[Thomas M. Davis]] III, R-11th, planned to give to charity money from the Abramoffs and tribal clients, possibly totaling $4,500, according to an aide who was uncertain of the exact amount. |
At the same time, the [[Richmond Times-Dispatch]] reported that "Rep. [[Thomas M. Davis]] III, R-11th, planned to give to charity money from the Abramoffs and tribal clients, possibly totaling $4,500, according to an aide who was uncertain of the exact amount. |
||
Line 182: | Line 195: | ||
Rep. [[J. Randy Forbes]] planned to give to charity $1,000 from the Abramoffs; |
Rep. [[J. Randy Forbes]] planned to give to charity $1,000 from the Abramoffs; |
||
;U.S. Senator John W. Warner (R-VA) |
;U.S. Senator John W. Warner (R-VA) |
||
and Sen. [[John W. Warner]], $1,000, from an Indian tribe." |
and Sen. [[John W. Warner]], $1,000, from an Indian tribe."<ref>http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128769109214&path=!news&s=1045855934842 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> |
||
==Campaign contributions to be kept== |
==Campaign contributions to be kept== |
||
Line 188: | Line 201: | ||
;President George W. Bush (R) |
;President George W. Bush (R) |
||
On |
On January 4, 2005 President [[George W. Bush]] announced that his campaign will donate $6000 to the [[American Heart Association]]. The $6000 is the sum of the donations by Abramoff, Abramoff's wife, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The more than $100,000 in [[Bush Pioneer]] money raised by Abramoff, but not directly contributed by Abramoff will not be returned.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/04/lobbyist.fraud.ap/index.html |url-status=dead |work=CNN |via=AP |title=Bush, congressmen to donate Abramoff contributions |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110232907/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/04/lobbyist.fraud.ap/index.html |archivedate=January 10, 2006 }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
;U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ) |
||
Rep.[[ |
Rep.[[J.D. Hayworth]] the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff. These donations Hayworth has said he will keep because they were given independently of Abramoff's influence. He donated to charity $2,250 he got directly from Abramoff. |
||
;U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) |
;U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) |
||
Line 197: | Line 210: | ||
;U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) |
;U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) |
||
Sen. [[Patty Murray]] received $35,000 from tribal donors who once used Abramoff's services. Murray will not return the donations, saying in a letter to the [[Seattle Times]], "I will not rush to scapegoat those tribes who have already been victimized by Jack Abramoff." |
Sen. [[Patty Murray]] received $35,000 from tribal donors who once used Abramoff's services. Murray will not return the donations, saying in a letter to the ''[[Seattle Times]]'', "I will not rush to scapegoat those tribes who have already been victimized by Jack Abramoff." |
||
;U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) |
;U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) |
||
Sen. [[Harry Reid]] received $61,000 from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff's firm, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. |
Sen. [[Harry Reid]] received $61,000 from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff's firm, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations.<ref name="reviewjournal.com"/> |
||
;U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) |
;U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) |
||
Rep. [[Charles Rangel]] of Harlem, who received $36,000 in donations from Abramoff clients, says he's keeping the money. A Rangel spokesman |
Rep. [[Charles Rangel]] of Harlem, who received $36,000 in donations from Abramoff clients, says he's keeping the money. A Rangel spokesman says Abramoff's guilty pleas won't affect Rangel's decision.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_005075047.html |title=1010 WINS - ALL NEWS. ALL THE TIME.: Clinton's Campaign to Donate Abramoff Money |accessdate=2006-01-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211042708/http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_005075047.html |archivedate=2006-02-11 }}</ref> |
||
;U.S. Rep. [[John Doolittle]] (R-CA) |
;U.S. Rep. [[John Doolittle]] (R-CA) |
||
Rep. [[John Doolittle]], who is the fifth highest recipient of Abramoff-directed money and has gotten more money from this source than any two Democrats combined,{{citation needed|date=August 2011}} has refused to return the donations, explaining that the money is his.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} |
|||
Rep. [[John Doolittle]] |
|||
who is the fifth highest recipent of Abramoff directed money and has more gotten more money from this source than any two Democrats combined has refused to return the donations explaining that the money is his. |
|||
;U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) |
|||
== Quotations == |
|||
Rep. [[Randy Forbes]] was not a major receiver of funds, but has kept the $2,000 from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, $1,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and $1,000 from the Tigua Indian Reservation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips_detail.asp?type=R&Name=J%2E+Randy+Forbes+%28R%2DVa%29 |title=Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999-2006 |website=Capital Eye |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020075056/http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips_detail.asp?type=R&Name=J%2E+Randy+Forbes+%28R%2DVa%29 |archive-date=2006-10-20}}</ref> |
|||
;[[John McCain]] |
|||
"Even in this town, where huge sums are routinely paid as the price of political access, the figures are astonishing." |
|||
;[[Howard Dean]] |
|||
"There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal. There is no evidence that Jack Abramoff ever gave any Democrat any money. And we've looked through all of those FEC reports to make sure that's true." [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/08/le.01.html] |
|||
;U.S. Rep [[Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician)|Charles H. Taylor]] (R-NC) |
|||
== References == |
|||
Over several years, Taylor's campaign received approximately $3,000 total{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} in donations from now convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his firm, and one of his clients. Several editorials in the ''Asheville Citizen-Times'' have called on Taylor to explain his relationship with Abramoff, which he has so far chosen not to do, other than to claim he did nothing wrong and wasn't going to give up the money he received from Abramoff. |
|||
* {{news reference |
|||
|firstname=Greg |
|||
|lastname=Sargent |
|||
|title=Dems Don’t Know Jack |
|||
|date=January 27, 2006 |
|||
|org=The American Prospect Online |
|||
|url=http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10924 |
|||
}} |
|||
== See also == |
|||
*{{Web reference |
|||
* [[List of trips funded by Jack Abramoff]] |
|||
| title=Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006 |
|||
| work=Capital Eye |
|||
==References== |
|||
| url=http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_donor.asp |
|||
{{Reflist|30em}} |
|||
| date=February 7 |
|||
| year=2006 |
|||
* {{cite news |
|||
| publishyear=January 12, 2006 |
|||
|first=Greg |
|||
|last=Sargent |
|||
|title=Dems Don't Know Jack |
|||
|date=January 27, 2006 |
|||
|publisher=The American Prospect Online |
|||
|url=http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10924 |
|||
|access-date=January 28, 2006 |
|||
|archive-date=February 6, 2006 |
|||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206151130/http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10924 |
|||
|url-status=dead |
|||
}} |
|||
*{{cite web |
|||
|title = Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006 |
|||
|work = Capital Eye |
|||
|url = http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_donor.asp |
|||
|accessdate = February 7, 2006 |
|||
|date = January 12, 2006 |
|||
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060110105950/http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_donor.asp |
|||
|archive-date = 2006-01-10 |
|||
|url-status = dead |
|||
}} Very useful searchable database. |
}} Very useful searchable database. |
||
{{Jack Abramoff}} |
|||
[[Category:American political scandals]] |
Latest revision as of 19:39, 3 August 2024
The monetary influence of Jack Abramoff ran deep in Washington, as Jack Abramoff spent millions of dollars to influence and entertain both Republican and Democratic politicians. Abramoff had a reputation for largesse considered exceptional even by Washington standards.[citation needed] In addition to offering many Republican members of Congress expensive free meals at his restaurant, Signatures, Abramoff maintained four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining at a cost of over $1 million a year. Abramoff hosted many fundraisers at these skyboxes including events for Republican politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as John Doolittle.[1] Abramoff gave over $260,000 in personal contributions to Republican candidates, politicians, and organizations, and funded numerous trips for politicians and staffers and gave none to Democrats.
From 2000 to 2006, funds and Leadership PACs of numerous Republican candidates for Congress.[2] Under his guidance, his Indian tribe clients loosened their traditional ties to the Democratic Party, giving Republicans two-thirds of the $2.9 million they donated to federal candidates since 2001.[3] He raised $100,000 for the reelection of George W. Bush, making him a Bush Pioneer. Abramoff and his wife gave $10,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund, shortly before Abramoff joined Greenberg Traurig, which forgave over $314,000 in legal fees incurred by the Bush Campaign in the 2000 Florida election recount.[4]
Of the approximately $85 million in tribal money entrusted to Abramoff, his employers, or his related organizations (see Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal for more), over $4.4 million since 1999 were directed to at least 250 members of Congress, primarily Republicans in leadership positions or on relevant committees, and Democrats with standing connections to Native American interests (in a 2:1 GOP ratio). These contributions have since become tainted by their association with Abramoff's criminal behavior.[5]
Abramoff was associated with Tom DeLay's and Grover Norquist's K Street Project to bring Republican dominance to Washington lobbying.[6]
Skyboxes and St. Andrews
[edit]Through the front company Sports Suites LLC, Abramoff owned skyboxes at MCI Center and Camden Yards, and two at FedExField. Between 1999 and 2003, Abramoff hosted 72 events for members of Congress, all but eight for Republicans.[7]
On May 7, 2000, while Abramoff was actively lobbying against the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act in the House of Representatives, Tom DeLay attended a performance by the Three Tenors in a skybox at Washington's MCI Center. Several major donors to DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority PAC were also invited. It was later revealed that the skybox was leased and paid for by Jack Abramoff, at an estimated cost of $3,600–7,500. Although Federal law at the time did not require disclosure or reimbursement of this sort of gift-giving from a lobbyist to a PAC, the law was changed several months later, and the incident was cited in later criticisms of DeLay's acceptance of gifts.[8]
On May 25, DeLay departed on a 10-day trip to Scotland together with Abramoff and DeLay's aides Tony Rudy and Susan Hirschmann. In documents filed after the trip as required by House rules, DeLay claimed that the purpose of the trip was primarily "educational", to hold meetings with Conservative leaders in Britain, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and that the total cost of the trip was $28,106. The filings indicated that the trip was being paid for by the "National Center for Public Policy Research", a think tank then chaired by Jack Abramoff.[9]
On the same date as DeLay's trip departure, Abramoff clients eLottery and the Mississippi Choctaw sent checks totaling $50,000 to the National Center for Public Policy Research. eLottery and the tribe both later claimed that they were unaware that the money was intended to pay for a trip.[10]
Details later emerged that many parts of the trip were paid for directly on Abramoff's credit card, and a card belonging to Edwin A. Buckham, another prominent lobbyist. Although the trip did include a meeting with Margaret Thatcher, according to detailed bills leaked to the Washington Post, the trip also included golf at the exclusive St. Andrews Golf Resort, theater tickets, and "superior" room accommodations at the London Four Seasons. The total cost of the trip was estimated[by whom?] at $70,000–120,000, of which approximately $12,000 was reimbursed to Abramoff by Preston Gates.
The length of the trip, expense, source of funding, and activities of the trip are significant as House ethics rules at the time prevented representatives from accepting gifts from private parties if it would "create the appearance of using public office for private gain."[11]
Justice Department investigation
[edit]These actions by Abramoff ignited an investigation by the Justice Department to examine widespread claims and allegations of corruption of law-makers connected with Jack Abramoff. The allegations of corruption were later shown to be true, and resulted in a politician (Rep. Bob Ney, (R-OH)) getting convicted for accepting bribes from Abramoff.[12] Abramoff also plead guilty to tax fraud and bribery of public officials in January 2006.[13]
Politicians who have received direct contributions from Abramoff
[edit]FEC records show that Abramoff gave $172,933 for Republican candidates, $88,985 to Republican causes and nothing to Democratic candidates or organizations.[14] A compilation of the complete FEC record and its analysis of contributions made by Jack Abramoff, only, independently confirmed the latter claim.[15] Some of the most prominent who have received such contributions and who may have other connections to Abramoff include:
- President George W Bush (R)
As a Bush Pioneer, Abramoff raised over $100,000 for the George W. Bush reelection campaign in addition to the $6,000 which he personally contributed.[16][17]
Although the White House insists President Bush never met Jack Abramoff outside of large gatherings, The Texas Observer reports that in May 2001 Abramoff "charged two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President."[18]
Time Magazine also reports having at least five White House publicity photos, or 'clicks' showing Bush together with Abramoff or Abramoff's family members.
- U.S. Rep. & Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)
Joining Abramoff on a vacation was Tom DeLay, whose airfare to London and Scotland in 2000 was charged to an American Express card issued to Abramoff, according to two sources who know Abramoff's credit card account number and to a copy of a travel invoice displaying that number. DeLay's expenses during the same trip for food, phone calls and other items at a golf course hotel in Scotland were billed to a different credit card also used on the trip by a second registered Washington lobbyist, Edwin A. Buckham, according to receipts documenting that portion of the trip.[19]
- U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bob Ney (R-OH)
In 2002, after Abramoff and Reed closed the casino of the Tigua tribe, Abramoff persuaded the tribe to hire him to lobby Congress to reopen the casino. After Abramoff met with Bob Ney to ask him to push the legislation, the Tigua (by overnight mail) sent three checks to Ney's political committees, totaling $32,000. The exchange of campaign contributions in return for Ney's support of an amendment to reopen the Tigua's casino constituted bribery.[citation needed]
Emails between Abramoff and the Tigua's political consultant show that Ney solicited the Tigua to pay for part of a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, knowing full well that solicitation of travel is specifically prohibited by House rules. Shortly after Ney returned from Scotland, he was scheduled to meet with members of the Tigua tribal council. Prior to that meeting, Abramoff reminded the Tigua that "for obvious reasons" the golf trip would not be mentioned at the meeting, but that Ney show his appreciation "in other ways", which was, Abramoff pointed out, just what the tribe wanted. Although the tribe never ended up paying for the golf trip, Ney's attempt to tie the gift of the trip to the legislative assistance the tribe was seeking likely violates federal criminal law.
Ney lied when he said he was "duped" by Abramoff and lied again on financial disclosure forms when he said that a nonprofit had paid for the trip. However, Safavian, in an email to his government employer seeking permission to go on the trip, states that Abramoff personally extended invitations to all the guests. Ney also said he made the trip to speak to Scottish parliamentarians. But the Scottish parliament wasn't in session at the time he was in Scotland.
Ney is also implicated in the separate Abramoff SunCruz scandal.
Bob Ney is now[when?] setting up a legal defense fund for Abramoff.[20]
Bob Ney was "Representative #1," in Abramoff's January 3 plea agreement.[21][22] On September 15, 2006 Ney's guilty plea for bribery related to Abramoff's clients and others was submitted to the court and made public.
- U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, CD1 (R-NM)
Congresswoman Heather Wilson received $1,000 in a direct contribution from Abramoff.
- U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, III (R-FL);
Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) joined other Republicans on the now infamous[according to whom?] golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003.
- U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
In 2003, Abramoff gave Richard Pombo's (R-CA) PAC $5,000. Abramoff also gave $2,000, the maximum allowed, to Pombo's congressional campaign committee that same year.
On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Pombo helped one of Abramoff's clients, the Mashpee Indians in Massachusetts, gain official recognition as a tribe; the congressman received contributions from the lobbyist and the tribe in that instance."[23]
- U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ)
New Jersey Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson is not going to give back the $1,000 he received in 2001, according to his spokeswoman Abby Bird.[24]
- U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
New Jersey Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo has planned or has given back the $1000 contribution he had received in 2001.
- U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ)
New Jersey Republican Rep. Jim Saxton has given back the 1000-dollar contribution he had received from Abramoff.
- U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Conrad Burns (R-Montana) is an alleged recipient of illegal favors and $136,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff. As the chair of the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations, Burns received over $136,000 in campaign contributions through Abramoff and then directed $3 million to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, an Abramoff client and one of the wealthiest tribes in the country from a program intended to help the neediest tribes fix dilapidated schools.
After initially claiming credit for the appropriation, Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it. "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did."
Although initially refusing to return Abramoff's donations,[25] Burns ultimately said that he would return or give away $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients.
In December, 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of "Abramoff's group".[26]
- U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
(R-Texas) On November 12, 2001, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating, "get me details so I can alert cornyn and let him know what we are doing to help him" [sic]. Similarly, on November 13, Reed wrote "I strongly suggest we start doing patch-throughs to perry and cornyn [sic]. We're getting killed on the phone." Also, on January 7, 2002, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating "I think we should budget for an ataboy for cornyn" [sic].
When Cornyn ran for Senate, Abramoff contributed $1,000, the maximum amount legally allowed. Cornyn, who has spoken out against gambling, also received $6,250 in contributions from Las Vegas casino interests who oppose Indian gaming, some of which were made at the same time Cornyn was pushing to close the Tigua's casino.
- New Jersey State Senator William Gormley (R-Atlantic, NJ)
New Jersey State Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, got $1,000 from Abramoff when Gormley was running for the U.S. Senate in 2000.[24]
Abramoff also gave $5,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee. New Jersey Democratic Party Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman hopes this money will be returned to Abramoff.[24]
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan OpenSecrets, Abramoff has contributed more than $220,000 in New Jersey since 1995, almost exclusively to Republican candidates and committees and only a "smattering" of those who received donations from Abramoff have returned them.[24]
- U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO)
- U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
In 2000, Abramoff gave $500 to Ed Royce.[27]
Politicians with connections to Indian affairs and Greenberg Traurig
[edit]- U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ)
Rep.J.D. Hayworth the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff.
- U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA)
The Louisiana Jena Band of Choctaws offered testimony accusing Louisiana Senator David Vitter (R) of being in cahoots with Abramoff and his attempts to stymie the tribe's casino plans.[28]
- U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of several committees investigating the scandal. From 2001 to 2004, Grassley received over $62,000 in donations from groups related to the scandal. In March 2002 he sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton opposing the Jena casino. In April he received a donation of $1000 from Abramoff's firm.[29]
- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Between 2001 and 2004 Sen. Harry Reid received $61,000 from donors with whom after the fact had hired Abramoff later on, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. In a February 9, 2006 Washington Post article,[30] Reid's office acknowledged contacts with Greenberg Traurig during this time.
Reid also intervened on government matters in ways that Abramoff's tribal clients might have deemed helpful, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action. Reid's office said none of the senator's actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff.
Reid sent a letter they wrote on March 5, 2002, to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking her to reject an application from the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, which was seeking to open a casino outside its Louisiana reservation. An Abramoff client fighting the Jena casino, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, donated $5,000 to Reid's political action committee, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, the next day, at Abramoff's request. While Abramoff never donated directly to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct the tribe to send $5,000 to the fund. The Washington Post reported that Abramoff sent a list to the tribe titled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip." Reid was Democratic whip at the time.
About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show. His March 5, 2002, letter pressed the agency to reject a casino proposed by a potential rival to the Coushattas, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) also signed the letter.
Future Abramoff coworker Edward Ayoob before he knew Abramoff worked for Reid from June 1997 to March 2002 variously as legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, foreign affairs adviser and chief aide on judicial nominations, according to a biography on his employer's Web site. Ayoob in 2002 was hired as a lobbyist by Greenberg Traurig LLP, where his work included teaming with Abramoff and other lobbyists on client matters. According to the Greenberg Traurig website, Greenberg Traurig has over 1400 lobbyists.
Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig in March 2004 after the Senate and the FBI began investigating his activities while Ayoob left Greenberg Traurig in spring 2005. Ayoob is now a senior lobbyist at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
Reid downplayed Ayoob's role, saying Ayoob was a legislative assistant on his staff and not an adviser.
Ayoob and Reid met "from time to time" after Ayoob became a lobbyist, according to a Reid spokesperson. She said she did not know when they last spoke or how Reid would characterize their relationship today.[31] The Washington Post has reported that the aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised money from several of Abramoff's lobbying partners.[30][32][33][34]
- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Senator Byron Dorgan, the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had received at least $79,300 from associates and clients who later hired Abramoff to work for them.
After several news articles appeared detailing the tribal donations,[35] Dorgan wrote a news release replying to several claims he said were erroneous, including the allegation he received money directly from Abramoff. In the release, Dorgan said, "The fact is I have never met Abramoff and have never received a campaign contribution from him. If he was directing any of his clients to make a political contribution to me, it was done without my knowledge."[36]
Dorgan says, in the release, that his activities in support of several tribal programs are continuing his trend of supporting Native American issues since being elected, and do not stem from Abramoff-related campaign contributions.
In December 2005, Dorgan returned tribal donations totaling $67,000.[37][38]
- U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
According to the FEC, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in Abramoff's skybox at Washington's MCI Center in 2002 and 2003, according to filings with the FEC and the Iowa Democrat's spokeswoman.[39]
Campaign contributions returned or donated
[edit]Many politicians have returned or donated all or part of the money received from Abramoff or his clients though only two lawmakers have given some of this money back to Native Americans. According to CBS, over 100 lawmakers have donated Abramoff related money to charity. It is not yet clear if donating the money will give them tax advantages in a way that returning the money would not or if these charities have a history of donating money or aiding favorable lawmakers in other ways.
- President George W. Bush (R)
On January 4, 2005 President George W. Bush announced that his campaign will donate $6000 to the American Heart Association. The $6000 is the sum of the donations by Abramoff, Abramoff's wife, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The more than $100,000 in Bush Pioneer money raised by Abramoff, but not directly contributed by Abramoff will not be returned.[40]
On January 12, 2006,[41] The Boston Globe reported paraphrased Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, saying that "the Republican Governors Association would donate to charity $500,000 in contributions it received from a donor entwined in the Abramoff investigation."
- U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ)
Rep.J.D. Hayworth, the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff. Hayworth has said he will keep these donations because they were given independently of Abramoff's influence. He donated to charity $2,250 he got directly from Abramoff.[citation needed] The charity's name is unavailable, but was claimed to be related to Hurricane Katrina relief.[citation needed]
- U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Returned $2,500 contribution he received from Bob Ney. He has so far refused to return a quarter million dollars raised at a fundraiser co-chaired by Abramoff.[42]
- U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO)
On October 26,[when?] Sen. Jim Talent returned a $2,000 contribution made to his 2002 Senate campaign by Abramoff. Talent also returned a $1,000 contribution that Abramoff's former law firm made to Talent's re-election campaign earlier this year.[43]
- U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Max Baucus gave $18,892 in Abramoff-related money he received to tribal colleges in Montana.
- U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Sen. Conrad Burns, the fourth largest recipient of Abramoff related money, some $60,000, announced that he would return or donate $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients. Via his spokesman he had previously claimed that the money could not be returned as the committee that received it was shut down and the money was "already spent".[25]
Burns attempt to make a $111,000 "donation" to the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council was rejected by the tribe who said the money was tainted because it originally came from Abramoff and his clients.
Julia Doney, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council, and a member of the tribal leaders council, explained that the tribes are "tired of being used" and don't want help Burns with his political troubles.
"it's tainted money" said Doney[44]
The Blackfeet Community College has also refused to accept money Burns because it came from Jack Abramoff. James St. Goddard, a Blackfeet council member, told The Great Falls Tribune that taking the money "would have made it look like the money is clean. We do not want Mr. Burns to use the tribes any more for his political gain."[45]
- U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT)
Rep. Dennis Rehberg returned $20,000.[46]
- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
On December 13, 2005 Sen. Byron Dorgan reported that he would return $67,000 in questionable donations from Abramoff's clients (the entirety of his "Abramoff-related money"). Dorgan was quoted as saying he would not "knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken."[47]
- U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
On August 18, 2005, Rep. Frank LoBiondo said he plans to give back the $1,000 contribution he received in 2001 from Abramoff.
- U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ)
On August 18, 2005 Rep. Jim Saxton also returned a $1,000 contribution Abramoff made in 2001.[24]
- U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
On January 5, 2006, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign announced that it would contribute $2,000 in donations from American Indian tribe clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to a New York charity.[48]
- U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Ernest Istook (R-OK)
On January 9, 2006, Rep. Ernest Istook announced he is giving $23,000 that was donated to his re-election campaign or his PAC to the Boy Scouts of America. This is in addition to $6,000 in Abramoff-related donations given to Indian health research last month. In December 2005, Rep. Ernest Istook, said he would donate a $1,000 campaign donation he received from Abramoff to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for Indian health research. A $5,000 donation to a political action committee Istook was involved with will also be given to the OMRF.[49]
- U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio(D-OR)
On January 9, 2006, the office of Rep. Peter DeFazio announced he will return $1,500 he received from out-of-state Indian tribes represented by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.[50]
- U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
As the Virginia Democratic Party called on all Virginia Republicans in Congress to dump Abramoff's contributions, Virginia Representative and chief deputy Republican whip Eric Cantor announced that he would donate almost 10,000 of Abramoff money to charity on January 4.
- U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis, III (R-VA)
At the same time, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that "Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-11th, planned to give to charity money from the Abramoffs and tribal clients, possibly totaling $4,500, according to an aide who was uncertain of the exact amount.
- U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Rep. J. Randy Forbes planned to give to charity $1,000 from the Abramoffs;
- U.S. Senator John W. Warner (R-VA)
and Sen. John W. Warner, $1,000, from an Indian tribe."[51]
Campaign contributions to be kept
[edit]Some politicians who received campaign contributions from Abramoff's clients, but not from Abramoff himself, have decided to keep donations.
- President George W. Bush (R)
On January 4, 2005 President George W. Bush announced that his campaign will donate $6000 to the American Heart Association. The $6000 is the sum of the donations by Abramoff, Abramoff's wife, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. The more than $100,000 in Bush Pioneer money raised by Abramoff, but not directly contributed by Abramoff will not be returned.[52]
- U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ)
Rep.J.D. Hayworth the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff. These donations Hayworth has said he will keep because they were given independently of Abramoff's influence. He donated to charity $2,250 he got directly from Abramoff.
- U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Senator Martinez has so far decided not to return $250,000 raised at a fundraiser co-chaired by Abramoff.
- U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Patty Murray received $35,000 from tribal donors who once used Abramoff's services. Murray will not return the donations, saying in a letter to the Seattle Times, "I will not rush to scapegoat those tribes who have already been victimized by Jack Abramoff."
- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Sen. Harry Reid received $61,000 from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff's firm, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations.[31]
- U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem, who received $36,000 in donations from Abramoff clients, says he's keeping the money. A Rangel spokesman says Abramoff's guilty pleas won't affect Rangel's decision.[53]
- U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)
Rep. John Doolittle, who is the fifth highest recipient of Abramoff-directed money and has gotten more money from this source than any two Democrats combined,[citation needed] has refused to return the donations, explaining that the money is his.[citation needed]
- U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Rep. Randy Forbes was not a major receiver of funds, but has kept the $2,000 from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, $1,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and $1,000 from the Tigua Indian Reservation.[54]
- U.S. Rep Charles H. Taylor (R-NC)
Over several years, Taylor's campaign received approximately $3,000 total[citation needed] in donations from now convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his firm, and one of his clients. Several editorials in the Asheville Citizen-Times have called on Taylor to explain his relationship with Abramoff, which he has so far chosen not to do, other than to claim he did nothing wrong and wasn't going to give up the money he received from Abramoff.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Rutland Herald: Rutland Vermont News & Information". Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ^ "Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006". Capital Eye. Archived from the original on 2006-02-25. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
- ^ "One More Look at the Washington Post Clown Show..."]". Archived from the original on 2006-04-19. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
- ^ "Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k". therawstory. Archived from the original on 2006-08-31. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
- ^ "Coming to the Hill: Lots of hearing-room drama". Christian Science Monitor. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 6 January 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
- ^ Balz, Dan; Bimbaum, Jeffrey H. (January 4, 2006). "Case Bringing New Scrutiny To a System and a Profession". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Susan Schmidt and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum (December 26, 2004). "Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising". Washington Post.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "AP: DeLay used lobbyist's concert skybox". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey (May 4, 2005). "Democrats' Travel Costs Linked to Lobbyist". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Grimaldi and, James V.; Smith, R. Jeffrey (March 12, 2005). "Gambling Interests Funded DeLay Trip". The Washington Post. p. A01. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey (April 24, 2005). "DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card". The Washington Post. p. A01. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ Schmidt, Grimaldi, Susan, James V. (October 13, 2006). "Ney Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Abramoff Pleads Guilty to 3 Counts". Washington Post. January 3, 2006. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ "CNN.com - Hastert donates Abramoff-linked money - Jan 3, 2006". CNN. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2006.
- ^ "EPluribus Media Community || for the Record: Jack Abramoff contributed no campaign money to Democrats". scoop.epluribusmedia.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-03-30. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060117/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_abramoff;_ylt=AgN3zRwO.HpQ8PDKGKqPX82yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA [dead link ]
- ^ "The Pimping of the President". www.texasobserver.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey (April 24, 2005). "DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "Ney sets up defense fund on Abramoff". Archived from the original on 2007-02-11. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
- ^ "United States v. Jack A. Abramoff" (PDF). United States District Court for the District of Columbia. January 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-05 – via The Washington Post.
- ^ "MSN". Archived from the original on 2005-12-04.
- ^ "A Donor Who Had Big Allies". Los Angeles Times. 8 January 2006. Archived from the original on 14 August 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
- ^ a b c d e http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050818/NEWS03/508180435/1007/BUSINESS [dead link ]
- ^ a b "Archived copy". www.billingsgazette.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2004. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Business interests interview Supreme Court candidates".
- ^ "Capital Eye". www.capitaleye.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "McCain defends Vitter as tribe cries foul". Archived from the original on 7 September 2005.
- ^ "Bay Area news, technology, jobs, cars & real estate". Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ a b https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020901208_pf.html [dead link ]
- ^ a b "Las Vegas News | Breaking News & Headlines". Archived from the original on 2006-01-10. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ "Media Matters - Dobbs repeated AP report that omitted key facts about Reid's alleged connections to Abramoff". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on 2006-02-13. Retrieved 2006-02-11.
- ^ "Media Matters - AP left out key facts in report linking Reid, Abramoff". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on 2006-02-13. Retrieved 2006-02-11.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.talkingpointsmemo.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Grimaldi, James V.; Schmidt, Susan (December 5, 2005). "Dorgan Tangled in Abramoff Web". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "12-1-05 - News Release: Statement by Senator Dorgan on Ap Story on Abramoff Investigation: Byron Dorgan, Senator for North Dakota". dorgan.senate.gov. Archived from the original on 26 January 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=111260§ion=News [permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Dorgan returns Abramoff money". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ "Harkin pays tribe for his use of skybox". Archived from the original on 2005-12-27.
- ^ "CNN.com - Bush, congressmen to donate Abramoff contributions - Jan 4, 2006". CNN. Archived from the original on 2006-01-10. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ "House GOP eyes ban on free trips for lawmakers - the Boston Globe". Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ Maxwell, Scott (January 26, 2006). "Chronicler of Florida weirdness speaks his mind". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2006-02-19.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-05-16. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "San Jose Mercury News - 404". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1205/285514.html [permanent dead link ]
- ^ "New York City News Radio Station - WINS-AM | 1010 WINS". Archived from the original on 2006-02-11.
- ^ "Give tainted money back to donors » Editorials » the Norman Transcript". Archived from the original on 30 January 2013.
- ^ "Newsreview.info - Serving Roseburg & Douglas County, Oregon - News". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-01-26.
- ^ http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128769109214&path=!news&s=1045855934842 [dead link ]
- ^ "Bush, congressmen to donate Abramoff contributions". CNN. Archived from the original on January 10, 2006 – via AP.
- ^ "1010 WINS - ALL NEWS. ALL THE TIME.: Clinton's Campaign to Donate Abramoff Money". Archived from the original on 2006-02-11. Retrieved 2006-01-24.
- ^ "Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999-2006". Capital Eye. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20.
- Sargent, Greg (January 27, 2006). "Dems Don't Know Jack". The American Prospect Online. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved January 28, 2006.
- "Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006". Capital Eye. January 12, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-01-10. Retrieved February 7, 2006. Very useful searchable database.