This cartoon appeared in today's Tribune. Could someone, SOMEONE, please tell me specifically what DeLay did wrong? I have heard lots of muss and fuss, and lots of suggestions and chest thumping, but no real violations. And don't jump all over me quite yet...I am not a huge DeLay fan. But I do want to know what all the fuss is about in this case.
2 comments:
Tommy hasn't done anything worse than your beloved bigot Conrad Burns:
Abramoff advised the Interior Department—which oversees Indian
affairs—during the Bush transition in 2001. His tribal clients gave
more than $300,000 to a conservative environmental group founded
by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.
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http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/abramoff_florida_recount_bush_505.htm
The Raw Story
May 5, 2005
Jack Abramoff and Bush
George Bush has largely ducked the scandals surrounding Jacki Abramoff, but he was certainly a beneficiary of the lobbyist’s fundraising:
Abramoff was a Bush Pioneer, raising more than $120,000 for the 2004 presidential campaign.
He had the largest lobbyist accounts of any Pioneer, at $26 million.
In his Greenberg Traurig biography, which has since been stripped, the firm wrote, “Jack is directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures and is one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates.”
Those close to Abramoff—including his partner Michael Scanlon, a former DeLay press secretary who is also being investigated for lobbying deals—bragged about their access to the president.
"Jack has a relationship with the President," Scanlon told the New Times Broward-Palm Beach in February 2001. "He doesn't have a bat phone or anything, but if he wanted an appointment, he would have one."
Abramoff was a member of the Republican National Committee executive body from 1981-1985. The tribal lobbyist advised the Interior Department—which oversees Indian affairs—during the Bush transition in 2001. His tribal clients gave more than $300,000 to a conservative environmental group founded by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.
A lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe, one of the clients allegedly bilked by Abramoff, told Newsweek Monday that tribal leaders had "three or four" meetings at the White House—including one with Bush and a second with Rove—after making a $25,000 donation to Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform at Abramoff's request. Norquist’s group later confirmed that he had arranged White House meetings for tribal leaders.
Another tribe, the Louisiana Coushattas paid Greenberg Traurig $1.76 million in the latter half of 2001. According to the New York Times, a month after Greenberg received the payment, the Bush White House blocked a rival tribe's attempt to construct a gaming facility near the Coushatta casino.
A Coushatta official told the Times he thought the administration’s decision was a direct result of Abramoff’s fees.
A third tribe, Abramoff’s former client the Mississippi Choctaws, gave $25,000 five days after the inauguration to the Bush inaugural committee.
Abramoff’s spokesman did not return an email seeking comment Thursday.
A criminal investigation into Abramoff’s affairs is ongoing, and indications suggest queries are heating up. Norquist and Ralph Reed were recently subpoenaed by Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
The paper trail, many believe, is in email messages retained by Abramoff and his former firm. Greenberg Traurig has provided a spate of emails to McCain.
Through it all, Greenberg has effectively flown below the radar. A 5,278-word profile in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine failed to name Abramoff’s former employer once. But the fallout for the firm has been sizable: revenue has halved, and Abramoff’s exit was followed by an exodus of other lobbyists.
Information about Abramoff’s relationships with the Interior Department and members of Congress continues to trickle out from various sources, primarily to the Washington Post.
All that cut 'n paste and "Delay" is only mentioned once.
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