Let's say, for example, that Abramoff wanted Congress to bestow a tax break on his client, Brown-Forman, maker of Jack Daniels whiskey. He knew that a newspaper op-ed written by him wouldn't influence lawmakers. Instead, Abramoff would prevail upon people such as Grover Norquist, head of the nonprofit ATR, to write an op-ed in favor of such legislation, or to make phone calls to lawmakers.Norquist is one of the most influential conservatives in Washington, a friend of presidential adviser Karl Rove and the host of a weekly breakfast for movers and shakers. When he talks, the GOP listens.In return for Norquist's writing an article or lobbying lawmakers to oppose taxes on booze, the Senate report states, Abramoff would "donate" $25,000 or $50,000 to ATR. Through this scheme, the company bought the ideological clout of Norquist's group to support its goals.
Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to a colleague, "What is most important, however, is that this matter is kept discreet. We do not want the opponents to think that we are trying to buy the taxpayer movement." (click on title)The Speaker of the House, Republican Representative Dennis Hastert, has precided over the most corrupt House of Republicans in recent history.Senate report questions tax status of groups linked to Abramoff (click on)WASHINGTON (AP) — Five non-profit groups, including one of President Bush's biggest supporters, may have broken tax laws and put their tax-exempt status at risk by helping convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a Senate Finance Committee report concludes.The 600-page report issued Thursday was prepared by the committee's Democratic staff. Majority Republicans, however, had agreed to its release and joined with Democrats in issuing subpoenas for documents and e-mails cited in the report.Among the groups named as possibly taking money from Abramoff clients and funneling it into his lobbying efforts on their behalf were Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste and the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy.Tax-exempt groups are barred by law from being paid to lobby or do public relations.
Americans for Tax Reform is headed by Grover Norquist, a key ally of Bush and a longtime associate of Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser.The report said Norquist's group accepted $1.5 million from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, one of Abramoff's clients. More than two-thirds of that money was then passed to Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed as part of Abramoff's lobbying efforts to block a rival tribe's proposed casino in Alabama.Nell Rogers, a planner for the Choctaws, told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that the arrangement was never intended as a contribution to support ATR's general anti-tax work. She quoted Abramoff as saying Norquist's group had instead agreed to be a conduit for getting money to Reed, provided that ATR got a fee.Tom DeLay was trying a publicity stunt and now it's backfired. What goes on in DeLay's mind is beyond comprehension. What is he doing 'dancing' with a NOW divorced woman? Hm?
Tom DeLay's Candidate Quicksteps Out of 'Dancing' (click on)
Shortly before the show debuted, DeLay sent out a blast e-mail, asking his supporters to vote for Evans on the dancing competition series because she had been a strong supporter of the Republican Party and "represents good American values in the media" while "ultra liberal talk show host Jerry Springer" does not.
In divorce papers filed Thursday, Evans contends hubby Craig Schelske cheated on her, verbally abused her, drank excessively and often watched porn in their house. In a news release yesterday, Schelske "adamantly" denied the allegations.
It's amazing. The entire feasco is just amazing. DeLay should be sitting in a jail cell right next to Jack Abramoff. I am assuming Jack is in jail by now.
Getting a Grasp of His Reach (click on)Two years after the Abramoff scandal came to light, details of his influence in the White House, not just Capitol Hill, continue to surface.
By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer
9:58 PM PDT, October 14, 2006
Washington -- For five years, Allen Stayman wondered who ordered his removal from a State Department job negotiating agreements with tiny Pacific island nations — even when his own bosses wanted him to stay.Now he knows.
Newly disclosed e-mails suggest that the ax fell after intervention by one of the highest officials at the White House: Ken Mehlman, on behalf of one of the most influential lobbyists in town, Jack Abramoff.The e-mails show that Abramoff, whose client list included the Northern Mariana Islands, had long opposed Stayman's work advocating labor overhaul in that U.S. commonwealth, and considered what his lobbying team called the "Stayman project" a high priority."Mehlman said he would get him fired," an Abramoff associate wrote after meeting with Mehlman, who was then White House political director.
Ney is like one of eight Republican House Congressman found guilty in the Abramoff Scandal.Ney admits guilt in Abramoff scandal (click on)WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in an election-year scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration.
Standing before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of lobbyist Abramoff and his clients.
The Ohio Republican did not immediately resign from Congress, and within minutes, Republican and Democratic leaders vowed to expel him unless he steps down. The White House also called for Ney's resignation.
And of course we can't forget, the pedophile turned Republican House Representative to have a 'safe harbor' other than becoming a pedophile priest. Namely. Mark Foley.Key Republican says GOP mishandled Foley matter (click on)WASHINGTON -- A congressman who is a key figure in the House page scandal said yesterday that Republicans have mishandled the matter.
``I think there's stuff that everybody would have done differently" in hindsight, said Representative John M. Shimkus, Republican of Illinois, after he testified for more than three hours before the House Ethics Committee. The panel is investigating former representative Mark Foley's sexually tinged Internet communications with teenage pages over several years.
Shimkus chairs the board that oversees the House page program, and he intervened last fall to stop Foley from e-mailing a former congressional page who considered the contacts inappropriate. Shimkus said he voluntarily testified before the House investigators to help them uncover ``who knew what, when, and where."
Shimkus kept the two other House Page Board members, including the panel's sole Democrat, in the dark when he confronted Foley last fall. He did so, he says, to follow the wishes of the boy's parents, who wanted the matter to remain private and wanted Foley to stop sending the boy overly friendly e-mails.
Democrats have criticized Shimkus for not informing Representative Dale E. Kildee, Democrat of Michigan, a longtime member of the Page Board, after learning of the incident involving Foley.
Then there was just frank disregard for the nation's security by The Bush White House where Richard Armitage, Karl Rove and I. Scotter Libby romped with journalists to distract the country way from Bush's lies regarding Iraq. And for outing a CIA Agent, endangering this country for a political agenda, Richard Armitage and his band of renowns has little to no price of treason to pay.The Man Who Said Too Much (click on)A book coauthored by NEWSWEEK's Michael Isikoff details Richard Armitage's central role in the Valerie Plame leak.Sept. 4, 2006 issue - In the early morning of Oct. 1, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell received an urgent phone call from his No. 2 at the State Department. Richard Armitage was clearly agitated. As recounted in a new book, "Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War," Armitage had been at home reading the newspaper and had come across a column by journalist Robert Novak. Months earlier, Novak had caused a huge stir when he revealed that Valerie Plame, wife of Iraq-war critic Joseph Wilson, was a CIA officer. Ever since, Washington had been trying to find out who leaked the information to Novak. The columnist himself had kept quiet. But now, in a second column, Novak provided a tantalizing clue: his primary source, he wrote, was a "senior administration official" who was "not a partisan gunslinger." Armitage was shaken. After reading the column, he knew immediately who the leaker was. On the phone with Powell that morning, Armitage was "in deep distress," says a source directly familiar with the conversation who asked not to be identified because of legal sensitivities. "I'm sure he's talking about me."
