http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/229692_lapin23.html?dpfrom=theadThursday, June 23, 2005
Lobbyist, rabbi plot to trick private club
In e-mails, Abramoff asked Lapin to help pad his resume
By CHARLES POPE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON -- In September 2000, before he became a target of federal investigations, Jack Abramoff was blazing a trail as a super lobbyist for Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis, bringing in millions of dollars in fees and earning a reputation as one of the town's premier influence traffickers.
So it wasn't surprising that Abramoff was nominated to join the Cosmos Club, one of Washington's most selective private clubs. For Abramoff, it was a major honor and yet another avenue to pursue his trade.
But Abramoff worried that his resume wasn't substantial enough to compete with a membership that includes senior government officials, ambassadors, Nobel Prize winners and business leaders.
The solution, Abramoff decided, was Mercer Island rabbi and Seattle talk show host Daniel Lapin.
Lapin is far more than a local rabbi. He is a major player in the conservative religious movement, well known for his Toward Tradition, an organization that has a goal of "working to advance our nation toward the traditional Judeo-Christian values."
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