Several Honorable Members of
Congress and associates should be having some restless nights, or at least
serious conversations with their lawyers. The following have been
mentioned prominently in connection with Abramoff.
Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty!
The
Honorable Bob Ney (Republican-Ohio). He's the unnamed Congressman
in the Abramoff indictment; he already been subpoenaed; traveled to Scotland on the fancy gold trips with Abramoff. Proposed
legislation to help Abramoff clients, inserted unfavorable comments in the Congressional
Record about a business opponent of Abramoff; his former aide,
Neil Volz, hired by Abramoff, is under investigation. And Ney decided
to resign from House Administration Committee chairmanship--the committee
that oversees lobbyists. Ney's got his own page now. Check it
out.
The
Honorable Tom DeLay (Republican-Texas). Criminal
investigations are looking into whether Abramoff paid for trips DeLay may
have taken in exchange for favors for his clients. DeLay's former
press secretary, Mike Scanlon, was Abramoff's closest partner; Scanlon
has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the feds. Two other DeLay
aides, Tony Rudy and Ed Buckham, are being investigated. Quote DeLay
would probably like to take back: Jack Abramoff is "one of my
closest and dearest friends."
The
Honorable John Doolittle (Republican-California). Doolittle's
wife, Julie, did fund-raising work for Abramoff, and her company records
have been subpoenaed. A former Doolittle staffer, Kevin Ring, went to
work for Abramoff. Doolittle, along with many lawmakers, signed a
letter opposing the building of a casino in Louisiana that would threaten
the operations of an Indian gambling operation Abramoff represented. See
more on Julie and John on his own page.
The
Honorable Conrad Burns (Republican-Montana). Returned $150,000 in
donations. Took legislative action favorable to an Abramoff client in
the Northern Mariana Islands around time that he took $12,000 in
donation. His chief of staff, Will Brooke, and state director, Shawn
Vasell, went to work for Abramoff. Famous last words, from Burns to a
television station in Montana: "This Abramoff guy is a bad
guy. I hope he goes to jail and we never see him again. I wish
he'd never been born." [For other pearls of wisdom, check the Quote
Board]. Burns lost in a tight election in 2006.
Jan. 3, 2008: The
Justice Department announced that Burns was no longer a target of its
Abramoff investigation. Burns
said in a statement that he "never doubted that the baseless and
politically motivated charges leveled against me would be found to be
without merit." "My
family has paid a great price during this three-year period and we are
thankful it is now over," he said.
The
Honorable Byron Dorgan (Democrat-North Dakota). He's the only
Democrat thus far. Returned $67,000 in response to Associated
Press report that he collected Indian money near the time he took favorable
action for Abramoff clients. He's senior Democrat on Senate committee
investigating Abramoff's trial lobbying.
The Honorable Tom
Feeney (Republican-Florida) has been asked about his
dealings with Jack Abramoff, as part of its ongoing
investigation into the activities of the disgraced, convicted
lobbyist.
"Rep. Feeney considers this an embarrassing episode in his
17-year career as an elected official and an expensive lesson
for him as a public servant," said an official statement
from Feeney's office. Feeney was one of three House
members who accompanied Abramoff to Scotland on expensive
golfing trips. Stay tuned.
Source: John Dickerson, "Jack
Attack," Slate, Jan. 3, 2006. Mary Clare Jalonick, "Burns
No Longer Part of Abramoff Probe," AP, Jan. 3, 2008.
