WP,pg1: Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising (not reported to FEC)

[DeepModem Mom]

Tribal Money Linked to GOP Fundraising
Skybox Events Were Not Always Reported to FEC

By Susan Schmidt and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 26, 2004; Page A01


For most politicians, fundraising is a dreaded chore. But until recently, Rep. John T. Doolittle of California and other members of the House Republican leadership had adopted a painless solution: fundraising events in luxury sports boxes leased largely with the money of Indian gaming tribes, where supporters snacked on catered fare in plush surroundings as they watched the Wizards, Caps, Redskins or Orioles.

Doolittle, a Mormon, is an ardent opponent of casino gambling, so it is somewhat ironic that he would invite supporters to watch the Wizards play the Sacramento Kings from an MCI Center suite paid for by casino-rich Indian tribes. But the plaque at the door to Suite 204 did not say Chitimacha or Choctaw. It said "Jack Abramoff," a name synonymous with largesse and influence in the GOP-controlled Congress.

Until the power lobbyist's downfall this year, Abramoff spent about $1 million annually in funds largely provided by his tribal clients to lease four skyboxes -- two at FedEx Field and one each at MCI Center and Camden Yards. Season after season, he kept them brimming with lawmakers, staffers and their guests, part of a multimillion-dollar congressional care and feeding project that even the brashest K Street lobbyists could only watch with awe or envy....

***

A list of skybox fundraising events maintained by Abramoff at his former law firm, Greenberg Traurig, lists 72 events for members of Congress between 1999 and 2003. All but eight were put on for Republicans, many of them members of the House leadership. Some of the fundraising events, including Doolittle's, were not reported as required under federal election laws....Federal investigators are examining tens of millions of dollars in lobbying and public relations fees Abramoff obtained from the tribes. They are also looking into his dealings with members of Congress and their staffs, lawyers involved in the inquiry said. ...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26015-2004Dec25.html

[Gman]

1. Abramoff helps sustain the 2000 revolution

there will be no meaningful prosecution because he serves the revolution justly.

[The Zanti Regent]

2. Steno Sue, the Republican Ass Kisser, is at it again

Reading this article is a real hoot, ol' Steno Sue implies that Doolittle and Abramoff didn't mean it and she gives them the benefit of the doubt.

NOW, if this involved a stained blue dress, well, maybe Steno Sue would go back to being a reporter instead of a distorter.

[KoKo]

4. Jeff Birnbaum did most of the work....it's a pretty good article, actually

even mentioning a "mob style" murder, on page 2 which might have some interesting connections when it's investigated.

I'm sure much has been left out of the article...and much of this we DU'ers knew from other articles or investigating..but it's still worth a read for those who missed it. :shrug:

[sherilocks]

7. There is much involvement by organized crime

in Indian gaming. Here's another example of attempted murder from the Seminole tribe regarding the shooting of Jim Shore, the Seminole's legal advisor.

http://www.sptimes.com/2002/04/25/State/Tribe_s_attorney_has_.shtml

Prior to the murder attempt, Chairman James Billie was removed as leader with Jim Shore leading the effort to remove him.

http://pokermag.com/managearticle.asp?c=310&a=5150

The Seminole gaming operation was spearheaded by a non-Indian company connected with organized crime.

As you say KoKo,

"I'm sure much has been left out of the article...and much of this we DU'ers knew from other articles or investigating..but it's still worth a read for those who missed it."

The article doesn't even scratch the surface.

[KoKo]

9. Yep...

and I bet WaPo and others know all about it. But they prefer to write the kind of article "their readers" can understand and not get too worked up about.

I'd like to think this will have "legs" but not much in the last four years has had the ability to walk very far. :eyes:

[KoKo]

3. John Breaux(d-La.) and Harry Reid (D-nev.) mentioned in this investigation

On Page 3 of the artcile is the quote below. Wonder if Reid should be censured by the Senate Ethics Committee,for this.

(Snip)
Other Hill veterans joined Abramoff's lobbying team and entertained their former congressional colleagues in the skyboxes, including former aides for Doolittle, Sens. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), John Breaux (D-La.) and Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), and Young, the representative from Alaska.

[No Mandate Here.]

5. I'm a bit less cynical

There are references to Abramoff's ties to deLay in this article, and the MSM's pick up of deLay's slime is starting to showup more.

There is also a WaPo article about the college rethugs and their systematic shakedown of senior citizens (rather sad - one borrowed $ 5,000 to give them, after giving tens of thousands earlier)

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26026-2004Dec25.html>

They cannot remain teflon forever. Let's keep pushing -- perhaps it will make a diference. It is absolutely amazing to me, when I talk about issues like these, nobody has ever heard of them except those who receive real information from the net.

[starroute]

6. Jack Abramoff was chairman of the College Republicans

I noticed you also posted a story about them this morning. Abramoff was national chairman in the early Reagan years, from 1981 to 1985, at the same time that Grover Norquist and then Ralph Reed were executive directors.

(A decade earlier, Karl Rove had been executive director and then chairman of the organization, while his friend Lee Atwater succeeded him as director.)

Abramoff's been tangled up with all sorts of dirt over the years. He's still a director of the National Center for Public Policy Research, which a few months ago was sending out a Medicare scam letter using the same direct-mail solicitation firm (Response Dynamics) as the College Republican National Committee has been using for its fund-raising scams.

The only thing suprising about all of this is that these people keep thinking they won't get caught.

[KoKo]

8. Has anyone put the CPPR info about the Medicare Scam and Response

Dyanamics Mailings in the "Demopedia" section here on DU. Lots of work was done by you Starroute and others on the "Bozo's for Bush" threads a couple of months ago.

Reading the WaPo Article about the "College Republicans" brought to mind
how we DU'ers can do better research than those weenies at WaPo...

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Very interesting, starroute -- thanks!

[NVMojo]

10. this is so fucked up and twisted ....FUBAR ....actually

[Carl Brennan]

11. Hmmmm. I wonder what else is going on on these Indian reservations?

The Indio Reservation in Southern California was involved in the development of secret weapons and other illegal activities in the 80's. Out of that came INSLAW.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Has anyone heard anything about voting on NM reservations...

and whether there may have been some Republican influence there in November?

[Carl Brennan]

14. There was a "lockdown" at an Aztec school.

http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=14630&cat=EDUCATION
AZTEC, N.M. (AP) - Aztec school will lock the doors in its schools as a precaution against terrorism through Tuesday’s general election.
Aztec Superintendent Linda Paul says the district has not received any threats.
She says she put schools on heightened alert as a precaution.
Paul says classroom doors and exits to school buildings will be locked to monitor movement on campuses.
She says, however, schools will not be in a lockdown, and that the front doors of each building will remain open.
Visitors to schools at any time are requested to get a visitor’s pass from the office.
GOOGLE: TERRORISM+SCHOOLS+LOCKDOWN+ELECTION

[sherilocks]

15. Plenty going on at the Indian Reservations

and it looks like there is a tie between repugs and organized crime, from what I know about the Seminoles and what is reported in the WaPo. The St. Pete Times (FL) does some investigative reporting on local Indian gaming.

See if you can make any connections on this. The Seminoles can only allow gaming that is permitted by the state. That meant that slots weren't legal in FL, even on the reservations. However, in the 2004 election there was an amendment to allow slots on a few racetracks that failed, until they found a few extra votes in Broward County and then it mysteriously won. Watch to see if slots start springing up on all the reservations. Should be interesting.

[juliagoolia]

16. Bill Moyers hit them last month or so on this

http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/indiangaming.html

snip

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has, for nine months, been investigating charges that former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations executive Michael Scanlon manipulated Indian tribes and walked away with millions of dollars from "less than honorable" dealings.

snip
What's the story behind these accusations of exploitation, greed, and contempt? As profiled in NOW's segment "Double Dealing," Washington insider Jack Abramoff promised free assistance to the Tigua tribe, claiming he could help to reopen their tribal casino that had been shut down by the state of Texas. What the tribe didn't know was that Abramoff had worked as part of the anti-gambling lobby that helped close that very casino, and that he had a secret deal with Scanlon to share the profits
_________________

They are all pleading the 5th. They are lobbying both sides of the issue.. Talk about SLIME-SLUG-SCUMBAG of the GUTTER types