Ex-Senate aide charged in Abramoff scandal

[TacticalPeek]

Source: UPI

Ex-Senate aide charged in Abramoff scandal

Published: Feb. 21, 2009 at 12:24 PM

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A former aide to Mississippi Republican
Sen. Thad Cochran has been charged with accepting more than $25,000 worth of gifts from a now-convicted lobbyist.

Ann Copland, 52, was charged in U.S. District Court in Washington with one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud for accepting meals and event tickets from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Saturday.

Copland, who worked for Cochran for 29 years until last year, is accused of using her position to try to persuade members of the legislative and executive branches to take actions, including "inserting, protecting, removing" items in spending bills.

In e-mails between Copland and the Abramoff team, the discussion of event tickets often accompanied requests for official action or information on legislation.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/02/21/Ex-Senate_aide_charged_in_Abramoff_scandal/UPI-36961235237068/

[L. Coyote]

1. "worked for Cochran for 29 years until last year..." kick & REC

[MADem]

2. Greedy little shit. Guess Jacko is still singing! nt

[starroute]

3. Abramoff and Cochran

Cochran wasn't a consistent Abramoff ally, but he was very helpful at times to some of the Mississippi tribes which were Abramoff's clients.

In 1997, Cochran added one sentence to an appropriations bill that exempted the Mississippi Choctaw from oversight by the National Indian Gaming Commission. This made the Choctaw the only tribe allowed to self-regulate their own gambling operations.

Then in Mrch 2002, Cochran signed a letter drafted by Abramoff which went to Interior Secretary Gail Norton on behalf of the Mississippi Choctaws and the Coushattas, asking her to reject a request by the Jena Choctaws to set up their own competing casino in Louisiana.

[DCKit]

4. Yet they're charging staff members?

Parallels to the War on Drugs....

Next week, they'll be arresting bank tellers in the sub-prime scandal.

[DemoTex]

5. Bingo! Abu Ghraib redux.

Get them bad apples!