More Bad News for the GOP

[Oh, Gee!!]

Granted, this isn't nearly as evil as getting a blowjob, but it's still pretty bad.


Lobbyist admits kickbacks, influence peddling
Abramoff agrees to cooperate in corruption probe

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/03/abramoff.plea/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges, agreeing to cooperate in a federal corruption probe in Washington.

Abramoff, 46, admitted that he did not disclose receiving kickbacks on payments from Native American tribes to a partner's public relations firm.

He also acknowledged that some of his money did not go to charities, as he had reported, but paid for a golf trip to Scotland.

Abramoff's plea agreement could spare him the maximum 30-year sentence if he provides valuable assistance in the corruption investigation. (Read the plea agreement -- PDF)

"Words can never express my sorrow and profound regret," Abramoff told U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle.

"Nor can they express my sadness and regret for my conduct," he added. " I ask for forgiveness and redemption from (the) Almighty."

As part of the deal, Abramoff agreed to cooperate with the IRS on his tax evasion charge and pay the agency $1.72 million. He also agreed not to dispose of assets and to pay restitution, estimated at $25 million, according to the plea agreement.

Ripple effect
Court documents filed Tuesday describe how Abramoff and business partner Michael Scanlon cheated clients of Abramoff's lobbying firm by urging them to use Scanlon's PR firm -- which in turn paid Abramoff kickbacks. (Read a summary of the charges -- PDF)

Abramoff is a longtime associate of several top GOP leaders, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Americans for Tax Reform director Grover Norquist, and former Christian Coalition chief Ralph Reed.

Abramoff's cooperation deal could have a wide-reaching effect in Washington. (View a report on what Abramoff said and its potential impact -- 2:37)

A source close to the investigation said investigators are currently looking at about half a dozen members of Congress. Another source, a senior government official told CNN the probe involves about two dozen lawmakers and staffers.

Sources told CNN's Ed Henry that the former lobbyist may have thousands of e-mails in which he describes influence-peddling and explains what lawmakers were doing in exchange for the money he was putting into their campaign coffers.

A source close to the investigation said investigators are looking at about half a dozen members of Congress.

Sources said Abramoff has been cooperating with the Justice Department for months without any kind of plea deal. He will not be sentenced until his cooperation is complete, the source added.

Kickback scheme detailed
The court documents allege Abramoff deprived his clients of his honest services by overcharging them to fund the alleged kickback scheme with Scanlon.

Listed in the court documents are a four Native American tribes that contracted Abramoff's services. The documents said the tribes gave millions of dollars to Scanlon's firm, which then paid Abramoff 50 percent of the profits it made.

According to the documents:


Starting in 2001, Abramoff persuaded a Louisiana tribe to pay nearly $30.5 million for "grass roots work" to a Scanlon company, which, in turn, kicked back nearly $11.4 million to Abramoff.


In 2001, Abramoff also persuaded a Mississippi tribe to give nearly $14.8 million to Scanlon, who funneled nearly $6.3 to Abramoff.


A Michigan tribe gave $3.5 million to Scanlon's firm in 2002; $540,000 ended up in Abramoff's pocket.


Also in 2002, a Texas tribe gave $4.2 million to Scanlon, and nearly $1.9 million found its way to Abramoff

According to e-mail obtained by a Senate committee, Abramoff made a fortune from the tribes while privately mocking tribal leaders as "monkeys" and "morons."

Influence peddling alleged
Scanlon, a 35-year-old public relations executive and onetime aide to DeLay, pleaded guilty in November to a single conspiracy count as part of a deal with the Justice Department. He agreed to pay about $19.7 million in restitution for kickbacks he admitted receiving, and promised to testify against Abramoff.

Prosecutors allege that from 1997 to April 2004 Abramoff schemed with Scanlon and others to enrich himself through the kickbacks, raised by charging fees that "incorporated huge profit margins."

Abramoff and others allegedly "would cause clients to falsely believe that some of the fees charged were being used for specific purposes" when the money "was used for their own personal benefit," the document said.

Prosecutors also detailed a "stream of things of value" given to an unnamed congressman, identified in the court documents as Representative No. 1, and members of his staff.

The items listed include a "lavish" golf trip to Scotland, tickets to sporting events and other entertainment, meals at Abramoff's "upscale" Washington restaurant, and campaign contributions to the representative and his political action committee in exchange for a series of actions by that representative.

The Justice Department would not identify the congressman. But government sources have said he is Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, chairman of the House Administration Committee.

Ney denies wrongdoing
In the court documents, prosecutors alleged Abramoff, Scanlon and others got the lawmaker "to perform a series of official acts."

According to the documents, the acts included supporting bills, placing statements in the Congressional Record, meeting with the lobbyists' clients and supporting a client of Abramoff's in a bid to win a contract for wireless telephone service for the House of Representatives.

Ney is known to have entered comments in the Congressional Record against a man standing in the way of an Abramoff project -- a 2000 casino fleet purchase -- and he took a 2002 golf trip to Scotland that Abramoff sponsored.

"At the time I dealt with Jack Abramoff, I obviously did not know, and had no way of knowing, the self-serving and fraudulent nature of Abramoff's activities," Ney said Tuesday in a statement.

Ney's office said he has "never done anything illegal or improper and the allegations in this plea agreement do not change this fact."

The statement continued, " Whenever Congressman Ney took official action, he did so because of his understanding of the merits and facts of the situation and not because of any improper influence from Jack Abramoff or anybody else."

Ney continues to cooperate with the investigation "to separate truth from fiction," his office said.

Ney is the only member of Congress to disclose that he has been subpoenaed as part of the investigation -- a step required under House rules.

Lawyer: Florida plea expected
Abramoff's name also surfaced earlier this year amid ethics questions about DeLay, a longtime friend. The Washington Post has reported DeLay took two expensive overseas trips that Abramoff and other lobbyists bankrolled -- a violation of House rules, if true.

DeLay has denied wrongdoing, calling the report "just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass me."

DeLay, who himself is facing money laundering charges, was forced to step down from his leadership position in September after he was indicted on conspiracy charges that were later dropped.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday the acts that Abramoff has reportedly acknowledged are "unacceptable and outrageous."

McClellan added, "If laws were broken then he must be held to account and punished for what he did."

Abramoff will also plead guilty Wednesday to charges in Florida, said Neal Sonnett, his Miami attorney. Those charges stem from Abramoff's role in the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos, a fleet of offshore gambling boats.

In the Florida case, Abramoff and a partner, Adam Kidan, are accused of falsifying a $23 million wire transfer to obtain $60 million in financing. Kidan pleaded guilty last month.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, Kelli Arena, Ed Henry, Kevin Bohn, Paul Courson and Rich Phillips contributed to this report.

[SA210]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b381/livindeadboi/JB/republican_seal_cuffs.jpg

[boutons_]

"on conspiracy charges that were later dropped."

and on money laundering charges, that are not dropped.

[SA210]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b381/livindeadboi/JB/delay_redemption.jpg

[xrayzebra]

And then you have this:

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...


Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 11:50 a.m. EST
Harry Reid Caught in Abramoff Plea Deal?





Jack Abramoff Pleads Guilty to Fraud


This morning's announcement that Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has reached a plea bargain deal with the Justice Department has reporters salivating over what they hint is going to be a Republican mega-scandal.

But it turns out that the most prominent player in Abramoff's web of influence was reportedly none other than the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid.

In a little-noticed story in November, The Associated Press revealed that Reid had accepted tens of thousands of dollars from an Abramoff client, the Coushatta Indian tribe, after interceding with Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton over a casino dispute with a rival tribe.

Reid "sent a letter to Norton on March 5, 2002," reported the AP. "The next day, the Coushattas issued a $5,000 check to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. A second tribe represented by Abramoff sent an additional $5,000 to Reid's group. Reid ultimately received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004."

Questioned about the donations last month by "Fox News Sunday's" Chris Wallace, Reid immediately turned testy.

"Don't try to say I received money from Abramoff. I've never met the man, don't know anything," he insisted.

When Wallace protested: "But you've received money from [one of his Indian tribe clients]," the top Democrat shot back: "Make sure that all your viewers understand - not a penny from Abramoff. I've been on the Indian Affairs Committee my whole time in the Senate."

When the Fox host pressed again on the Abramoff-linked donations, a flustered-sounding Reid continued to stonewall, saying: "I'll repeat, Abramoff gave me no money. His firm gave me no money. He may have worked [at] a firm where people have given me money. But I have – I feel totally at ease that I haven't done anything that is even close to being wrong."

================================================== =============

Ah, what a tangled web we weave, we first we deceive.........Careful what you wish
for cause it just might come back to bite you in the rear. Like most of the stuff
the dimm-o-craps come up with. This is going to be an interesting New Year, isn't
it....

[Oh, Gee!!]

Xray, you crazy old bastard.

[xrayzebra]

Xray, you crazy old bastard.

The only part of the statement above that is correct is "old". The other
adjective and noun fit you to a tee. :elephant

[Oh, Gee!!]

full of piss and vinegar

[JohnnyMarzetti]

I hate those Bush bastards!!! :cuss

[xrayzebra]

full of piss and vinegar

Yeah, but out of beer, dead-gum-it! :depressed :lol

[SA210]

Xray, you crazy old bastard.

Isn't Xray one of the last Titanic survivors?

[Oh, Gee!!]

Xray is from the old school.

[xrayzebra]

Xray is from the old school.

So far back that I can remember when they really did have Democrats
instead of a bunch of radicals who call themselves dimm-o-craps. LBJ
was the beginning of end for the Democrats. Him and his bread and
guns crap. He was so damned crooked they had to screw him into the
ground when he died.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Back when you could go to dinner and a movie with a nickel in your pocket and still get change back.

[xrayzebra]

Back when you could go to dinner and a movie with a nickel in your pocket and still get change back.

Well not that far back, but I could go to a movie for 9 cents when I was
a kid and get popcorn for a nickle. Heck the big deal in my youth was
getting old enough to go to the midnight movie on Saturday night, you
got to see what was on that week and what was coming the next week,
all for the price of one ticket. Now, I know that doesn't sound like much
now, but that was a big deal in my day. Like cold watermelon and cantaloupe
with a scoop of ice cream in the cantaloupe.

[ChumpDumper]

So what about the charges against the Republicans, X?

[gtownspur]

LEt there be charges against the republicans. It's not like the american people are dumb enough to give power back to the democrats.

[xrayzebra]

So what about the charges against the Republicans, X?

Oh, back to the original thought. This thing is going to be a black eye on
all of Congress. Republicans and Dimm-o-craps alike. It is going to be
really, really interesting to see how many try to get a lid on everything,
cause there are so many of the Congress involved. They, even those
not directly involved, don't like what the American public has known for
years, but just didn't want to hear the truth. See my little signature on
my post. It is very, very true. Everyone in Washington knows/knew what
was going on. But pols really practice that little saying: scratch my back
and I'll scratch yours. Like old shaky Bird said about the Senator from
Alaska, man I love you, but I just have to uphold the Constitution, yeah,
you believe that I have a bridge in Laredo I would like to sell you.

[Oh, Gee!!]

LEt there be charges against the republicans. It's not like the american people are dumb enough to give power back to the democrats.


they won't have a choice once every repug is in prison

[gtownspur]

um, yeah you got 1 year left to put all republicans in prison before the midterms, not counting the new incoming republicans coming in.

Also, if you only think republicans commit white collar crimes, then you're clueless and are chasing petty dreams.

Me thinks you're not as bipartisan-moderate as you try to picture yourself. You're just another partisan tool.

[Ocotillo]

link (http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_firedoglake_archive.html#11363163582177 4149)

The airwaves are full of the obedient and the credulous this morning trying to tar the Democrats with Jack Abramoff's filthy lucre, so let's set the record straight for those too busy sucking down hairspray fumes to pay full attention. As Media Matters noted when the NYT's Anne Kornblut pimped this crap on Hardball:
Appearing on the December 16 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Kornblut falsely claimed that Abramoff had given contributions to Democrats. Yet a Media Matters for America search of the Center for Responsive Politics database of campaign contributions did not find any contributions from Abramoff to Democrats or Democratic leadership political action committees.

Although Kornblut amended her statement to claim that Abramoff "had his clients donate to Democrats," her comment falsely suggests that Republicans and Democrats are equally enmeshed in the scandal surrounding Abramoff. In fact, while Democrats have received contributions from Abramoff's lobbying groups and his clients, Kornblut's statement ignores the difference between accepting contributions from groups linked to Abramoff, which is legal and proper, and taking contributions in exchange for official actions, which is illegal, and which is at the heart of the ongoing investigations.
Bloomberg:
Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show.

If Reid did anything improper, throw him from the train. It will be worth it because for every Dem that is implicated with this sleaze bag there will be 30 Republicans.

[SA210]

um, yeah you got 1 year left to put all republicans in prison before the midterms, not counting the new incoming republicans coming in.

Also, if you only think republicans commit white collar crimes, then you're clueless and are chasing petty dreams.

Me thinks you're not as bipartisan-moderate as you try to picture yourself. You're just another partisan tool.
You are however a BI-Participating Homo.

[boutons_]

The New York Times

January 4, 2006

News Analysis

Tremors Across Washington as Lobbyist Will Aid Inquiry
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - As a high-flying Republican lobbyist, Jack Abramoff has long been known as a mover and shaker in Washington. But when he cut a deal with federal prosecutors on Tuesday, he shook up this town as never before.

Not long ago, Mr. Abramoff was perhaps Washington's most aggressive - and, at $750 an hour, most highly compensated - deal maker, a flamboyant man who moved fluidly through the nexus of money and power. Now his decision to cooperate in a broadening corruption and bribery investigation has thrust him into the role of a corporate insider turning against the company that claimed just to be doing business as usual.

Even before Mr. Abramoff left the federal courthouse on Tuesday in a trench coat and fedora, nervous lawmakers of both parties, and even the White House, began trying to distance themselves from him.

Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois announced that he would donate to charity $69,000 in campaign contributions directed to him by Mr. Abramoff.

The plea bargain also had immediate ripple effects for a lawmaker who was once Mr. Abramoff's closest ally in the Republican leadership, Representative Tom DeLay of Texas. Mr. DeLay, indicted on a count of money laundering in a separate campaign-related case in Texas, is trying to regain his post as House majority leader, but Mr. Abramoff's plea complicates his prospects.

Mr. Abramoff, 46, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion, and prosecutors said he used campaign contributions, lavish trips, meals and other perks to influence lawmakers and their aides. Court papers filed on Tuesday singled out just one member of Congress, "Representative No. 1," identified elsewhere as Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio.

But that was cold comfort on Capitol Hill, where there was a sense of lawmakers and lobbyists' waiting for the other shoe to drop. In a city whose history is rife with scandal and the political price it exacts, from the F.B.I. sting operation known as Abscam to the savings and loans collapse involving "the Keating Five," some experts feared that the Abramoff investigation would eclipse all the rest.

While Mr. Abramoff is most closely linked to Republicans, even Democrats, many of whom also benefited from his largesse, acted skittish.

"We're talking about people who have longstanding careers in Congress who took contributions from somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who knew Jack Abramoff," said a Democratic Congressional aide who insisted on anonymity so as not to drag his boss into the scandal. "Now they're panicked. The hope is that this investigation will root out the wrongdoing without innocent people getting hit with the ricochet."

Mr. Abramoff's plea bargain is scary to Washington's power brokers precisely because he was so entangled with so many of them.

His ties to Grover G. Norquist, a leading conservative strategist and president of Americans for Tax Reform, and Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition who is now a candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, date from his college days.

He once worked as a lobbyist alongside David H. Safavian, who was the head of the White House procurement office until just before his arrest last fall in the Abramoff investigation. And Mr. Abramoff's former personal assistant once worked for Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist.

At the White House, administration officials have been reluctant to comment on the case, referring questions to the Justice Department and declining to defend Mr. Safavian. But on Tuesday morning, the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, denounced Mr. Abramoff's actions.

"What he is reportedly acknowledging doing is unacceptable and outrageous," Mr. McClellan said. "If laws were broken, he must be held to account and punished for what he did."

Some Democrats saw the plea bargain as good political news. They are trying to build their 2006 midterm campaigns around what they call the Republican "culture of corruption" and say Mr. Abramoff taps into that theme.

Minutes after his deal was announced, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which tries to help elect Democrats to Congress, trumpeted the news on its Web site. "Breaking News: Jack Abramoff to Plead Guilty," the headline said.

Publicly, Republicans insisted that they were not worried.

"I think there may have been some nervousness, but after reading the plea agreement today and seeing that only one person was named, there's got to be a little bit of relief out there," said Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But privately, some said they were concerned that the Justice Department might try to interpret bribery statutes more broadly than in the past. They fear a lesser standard of proof could ensnare lawmakers, lobbyists and aides, current and former.

"There's a lot of talk coming out of various quarters that the Justice Department is going to pursue a different definition of bribery, meaning that if somebody were to give a gift or a campaign contribution in the same time period as a member took an official action, that in and of itself would constitute bribery," said a former Republican leadership aide who insisted on anonymity. "That scares the bejesus out of people."

A one-time Hollywood filmmaker, Mr. Abramoff began his rise in Republican power circles in the 1980's, when he was chairman of the College Republicans National Committee. His staff included Mr. Norquist and Mr. Reed.

In 1994, when the Republicans reclaimed the House after 40 years, Mr. Abramoff rose to power with them. He used his contacts with Mr. DeLay and other prominent Republicans to build a lucrative lobbying and business enterprise that, at its peak, included a fancy restaurant, Signatures, with a special kosher kitchen. His primary clients were Indian tribes, which he has now acknowledged bilking.

From complimentary meals at his restaurant to lavish golfing trips to Scotland, including one taken by Mr. Ney and another by Mr. DeLay, to lucrative skybox tickets at Washington sports events, Mr. Abramoff's largesse seemed to know no bounds.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, an organization that tracks campaign contributions, he has directed more than $4.4 million since 1999 to candidates and campaign committees. The money came mostly from Mr. Abramoff's clients, but also directly from him and from a casino boat company that he once owned.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Mr. Hastert said the speaker would join a growing list of members of Congress who have returned or donated money given them by Mr. Abramoff.

:lol :lol :lol Hastert is bastert
"The speaker believes that while these contributions were legal, it is appropriate to donate the money to charity," said the spokesman, Ron Bonjean.

Mr. DeLay, whose former press secretary, Michael Scanlon, was Mr. Abramoff's business partner and has also been indicted in connection with the investigation, has been working furiously to resolve the Texas case before the House reconvenes on Jan. 31.

The intent was to clear his name and forestall any call for leadership elections. But Republicans say even a legal victory in Texas could be overshadowed by Mr. Abramoff's case.

A spokesman for Mr. DeLay said that the lawmaker had nothing to fear from Mr. Abramoff's plea and that it should not be a factor in whether he should resume his position as majority leader.

"Mr. DeLay has been very clear that all of his actions were properly vetted and they were promptly and publicly disclosed in accordance with House ethics rules," the spokesman, Kevin Madden, said. "So there is no reason for him to be concerned."

The investigation is prompting people inside and outside Congress to change their behavior.

(... the entire fucking system is $$$corrupt from top to bottom, east to west. )

Mr. Hastert has raised the possibility of new ethics training for lawmakers.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gifhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gifhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gifhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smilol.gif

Paul Miller, president of the 700-member American League of Lobbyists, said lawmakers and lobbyists were "taking a step backward and assessing how they are doing business and how they are operating."

Even as Mr. Miller acknowledged that Mr. Abramoff's case had tarnished his industry, he took pains to dispute the idea that Mr. Abramoff deserved the description "superlobbyist," so often bestowed on him in a city where money and influence speak louder than words and where when the mighty fall they fall hard.

"Jack Abramoff," Mr. Miller said, "is nothing more than a supercrook."

Carl Hulse contributed reporting for this article.

* Copyright 2006The New York Times Company

[Hook Dem]

Well now...... , let the hammer fall
Democrats Don't Know Jack???
<http://www.nrsc.org/newsdesk/document.aspx?ID=1362>


“It’s very odd that Democrats at the national and state levels have sought to exploit the Abramoff matter for political gain, while in the process throwing countless congressional Democrats under the bus’ said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).” (Charles Hurt, “Dorgan Returns Abramoff Money,” The Washington Times, December 14, 2005)

An NRSC Report Shows That Nearly 90 Percent Of Senate “Democrats Have Taken Abramoff-Related Money.” “The NRSC has begun circulating among fellow Republicans new reports showing that all but five of the chamber’s 44 Democrats have taken Abramoff-related money. In addition, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have taken more than $1.2 million, according to records provided to The Washington Times.” (Charles Hurt, “Dorgan Returns Abramoff Money,” The Washington Times, December 14, 2005)

“The NRSC Report Is Part Of A New Counteroffensive By Republicans To Neutralize An Issue That Democrats See As Central To Electoral Gains In 2006.” (Charles Hurt, “Dorgan Returns Abramoff Money,” The Washington Times, December 14, 2005)

“If The Democrats Are Alleging That Republicans Are Guilty Of Any Wrongdoing, They’re Sitting In The Same Boat.” “Democrats have run two television advertisements in Montana, castigating Burns for his activities on behalf of Abramoff, but as the lobbyist’s taint spreads, its political impact may dissipate, said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “If the Democrats are alleging that Republicans are guilty of any wrongdoing, they’re sitting in the same boat”’ he said. “It just becomes a nonstarter.’” (Jonathan Weisman and Derek Willis “Democrat On Panel Probing Abramoff To Return Tribal Donations,” The Washington Post, December 14, 2005)

Tribal Clients And Associates Of Jack Abramoff Have Contributed Over $3.1 Million To Democrat Party Interests Between 1997 And 2004. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com <http://www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com> , Accessed December 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com <http://www.tray.com> , Accessed December 2005)

National Democrat Party Affiliated Committees Received Over $1.2 Million From Indian Tribe Clients And Lobbying Associates Of Jack Abramoff. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com <http://www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com> , Accessed December 7, 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com <http://www.tray.com> , Accessed December 7, 2005; Internal Revenue Service Website, www.irs.gov <http://www.irs.gov> , Accessed April 21, 2005)


The Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Received Over – $430,000
The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Received Over – $629,000
The Democrat National Committee (DNC) Received Over – $177,000


Incumbent Senate Democrat-Affiliated Campaign And Leadership Committees Received Over $729,000 From Indian Tribe Clients And Lobbying Associates Of Jack Abramoff*. (Campaign Finance Analysis Project Website, www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com <http://www.campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com> , Accessed December 7, 2005; Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com <http://www.tray.com> , Accessed December 7, 2005; Internal Revenue Service Website, www.irs.gov <http://www.irs.gov> , Accessed April 21, 2005)

40 Of The 45 Members Of The Senate Democrat Caucus:

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500
Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765
Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000
Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750
Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000
Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000
Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000
Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000
Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500
Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941
Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500
Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250

[Oh, Gee!!]

Hook Dem, you're old. Old like Xray.

[boutons_]

The whole system is totally $$corrupt. By definition, no politician is "innocent" :)

The "culture of (Dem) corruption" the "Repug revolution" claimed to overthrowing was/is nothing but a culture of institutionalized, perennial Dem+Repug corruption.

But Abramoff was very clearly in the Repug boat, running a huge Repug slush fund. DeLay was rowing that boat, too.

As the party in dominant power in the WH and both chambers for the past 5 years, the Repugs will be seen, and perhaps convicted, overwhelmingly to be guilty of the largest corruption and abuses.

The aggressive, immediate, oh-so-predictable defense of sliming the Dems to be as guility as the Repugs (instead of the Repugs aggressively proving their own innocence) is just the Repugs indicting themselves.

[ChumpDumper]

An NRSC Report Shows That Nearly 90 Percent Of Senate “Democrats Have Taken Abramoff-Related Money.Great. How much of that was illegal? He didn't plead guilty for making legal contributions.

[Duff McCartney]

full of piss and vinegar

At first he was just filled with vinegar.

[Nbadan]

Someone needs to get off the sauce and do their home-work, BUT surely not the mass media

http://americablog.blogspot.com/abramoffdonation2.gif

[Nbadan]

ou can tell THIS to all the people who think that Abramoff was an "Equal Money Dispenser".

"In Gang of Five, Nina J. Easton recounts a story from the early-1980s heyday of the College Republicans, under the lead of Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed (And Jack Abramoff). According to Easton, before sending out campus recruitment teams, Reed and other CR leaders would require members to memorize the infamous speech from the film Patton, substituting the word "Democrats" for the word "Nazis": "The Democrats are the enemy. Wade into them! Spill their blood! Shoot them in the belly!" One year, the CR's Christmas card even featured a photo of Patton standing atop a hill, binoculars in hand, under the message: "Merry Christmas from the Front." "

"It is not our job to seek peaceful coexistence with the left. Our job is to remove them from power permanently." - Jack Abramoff

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abramoff)

[ChumpDumper]

"Rich Political Action Committee"

Doesn't get much more descriptive than that, does it?

[xrayzebra]

You just got to love it. No one really gives a damn about what has happened, do
they? So long as my bull doesn't get gored. I hope they stick all the crooks,
repubniks and dimm-o-craps so far under the jail house they never get out. It is
OUR government, dummies, that is involved. I just wished to hell that they would
pass term limits on all pols, federal, state, county and city. Everyone puts them up
on a dumb pedestal and think they know all things about all things. BS, most have
a hard time finding their way to their office everyday. About the worst thing that
ever happened was letting them stay in session all year in Washington, the only
salvation for Texas is the fact our Legis. only stays in session 120 days every other
year. Thank God. They do enough damage in that short of time. Look at Charlie
Gonzales, he just fills a seat and votes according to what he is told by the dimm-o-craptic leadership (that is a joke, like he is).

[Ocotillo]

Look at Charlie
Gonzales (Henry Bonilla), he just fills a seat and votes according to what he is told by the dimm-o-craptic (Bushevik) leadership (that is a joke, like he is).

[SA210]

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[boutons_]

January 5, 2006

Lobbyist's Guilty Plea Seen as Threat to DeLay Return

By CARL HULSE and ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 - House Republicans arranged an unusual monthlong January recess to give Representative Tom DeLay ample time to escape legal troubles in Texas and retake his post as majority leader. But a triumphant return was dashed this week when his longtime associate, Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to public corruption.

(... the Repugs stopped Congress for a month so DeLay could try to save his corrupt ass? )


The decision by Mr. Abramoff to cooperate in a broadening federal inquiry reaching deep into Mr. DeLay's inner circle led some influential Republicans on Wednesday to issue new calls for Mr. DeLay to abandon his goal of regaining his post. The scandal also emerged as a serious new distraction to the White House and Congressional Republicans as they seek to right themselves after a rocky 2005.

Leading Republicans warned in interviews that the scandal could threaten party dominance of the capital that extends from the White House to Congress to K Street unless Republicans move quickly to embrace ethics reform and show they will not tolerate criminal abuse of the substantial power they have been handed by American voters.

"The House and Senate leadership has to decide that they have got to aggressively deal with what I think is a much broader problem than just Abramoff: the lobbying process, the election process, the way this city has spun out of control," said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker. "I think the party will be in an uproar if they don't do something about it."

Mr. Gingrich was joined by others in publicly calling for House Republicans to permanently replace Mr. DeLay after the House reconvenes Jan. 31.

"They have got to hold new leadership elections," said Joe Gaylord, a veteran party insider who also urged a comprehensive overhaul of lobbying rules "from free meals to foreign money."

He added: "And if they're not tough enough on this to clean up what's going on, they are going to pay a price at the polls."

National Review, an influential conservative publication that has defended Mr. DeLay in his Texas court fight, on Wednesday encouraged him to step aside, drawing a distinction between what it saw as a partisan state-level prosecution and the inquiry by the Justice Department. It noted that not only have Mr. Abramoff and a former DeLay press secretary, Michael Scanlon, pleaded guilty but that other former senior DeLay aides are under scrutiny.

"Assuming that DeLay is cleared in Texas, it would be a substantial political risk for Republicans to bring DeLay back to the leadership while the Abramoff cloud is hanging over him, as it appears it will for some time to come," the publication said in an online editorial. "Why would they want to carry on under a formerly former majority leader, only to face the possibility of having to remove him from leadership yet again should he be further implicated in the Abramoff mess?"

As for Mr. DeLay, his aides and allies say his intention is still to win the Texas case and regain his leadership post and that he has done nothing wrong in his dealings with Mr. Abramoff.

"Mr. DeLay believes his support in the conference is strong," said a spokesman, Kevin Madden, referring to his House colleagues. "He doesn't back down when there are stories manufactured that attack him politically with charges that have no basis in fact."

Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Wednesday that Mr. DeLay is entitled to return to his post if he can dispose of the Texas money-laundering indictment that forced him to relinquish the leadership slot under House Republican rules. And as they left in December after a series of legislative wins, House Republicans seemed willing to give Mr. DeLay a chance to return.

But senior House Republicans, who would only speak privately about internal party affairs, said they sensed a shift against Mr. DeLay in light of the Abramoff plea and other disclosures. And they noted that Mr. DeLay could encounter new resistance in his effort to regain his position, particularly with important party voices joining the call. But they said there appeared to be no organized effort to act quickly given that House members are scattered across the globe during the recess and some are caught up in first clearing up their own links to Mr. Abramoff.

Lawmakers say Mr. DeLay owns one advantage in holding on to his post. Fifty House Republicans would have to publicly buck the powerful figure and sign a petition requesting a meeting to hold a new election. A secret ballot would then be held to vacate the post. The senior Republicans said they believed that the furor surrounding the Abramoff case could spur lawmakers to act and circulate a petition if Mr. DeLay does not decide on his own to relinquish the position.

Lawmakers and party strategists said that his absence could have serious ramifications for the Republican agenda heading into 2006 as exhibited by the struggles Republicans have encountered in advancing their priorities as 2005 came to a close. And they said that he would probably no longer have the same amount of residual clout he wielded in the immediate aftermath of the Texas indictment, when he retained an office off the Capitol floor and was closely consulted by the leadership and the chairmen of House committees.

The Abramoff scandal could also deprive House Republicans of the fund-raising power of Mr. DeLay, previously a celebrity draw on the campaign circuit, as they head into a year when they will face a stiff Democratic challenge to their thin majority.

"Tom has carried his load in helping the committee, but I think in this instance most of us recognize the challenges he has with a race at home and having to raise money for a defense fund," said Mr. Reynolds, who said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert was the House leader in attracting campaign aid.

Congressional Democrats plan an aggressive effort to make ethics a main backdrop of the election year, beginning with a series of events leading up to President Bush's State of the Union address later this month. They say they intend to make Mr. Abramoff a symbol of the dangers of one-party rule and Mr. DeLay's effort over the years to build strong ties between Republican lawmakers and the lobbying community through what became known as the K Street project.

"He's not an aberration," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, head of the House Democratic campaign effort, referring to Mr. Abramoff. "He's a super-sized version of what you get when you put the K Street project on steroids."

Mr. Reynolds and others disputed the notion that the scandal would hurt Republicans substantially in the mid-term elections, saying ast experience shows such troubles seldom spill over into other races.

"It all gets down to what is happening in that district and how that member is doing their job," Mr. Reynolds said.

Copyright 2006The New York Times Company

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[SA210]

:lol

[xrayzebra]

^^joke is on you dummy. Still stuck under that bridge.

[SA210]

^^joke is on you dummy. Still stuck under that bridge.

Go away old man. U can't argue with facts, so u resort to Gtown type repititions that don't change the fact that Bush is a lying moron who should be impeached for the thousands of lives lost and all innocent blood on his hands, for leading us into a BS war.

I'd be glad to be stuck under a bridge being a humbled citizen than an old low life, no substance, ignorant, selfish, greedy man like yourself. Under a bridge and humbled is better than that. Too bad you have to suffer the rest of your life being YOU.

[xrayzebra]

Go away old man. U can't argue with facts, so u resort to Gtown type repititions that don't change the fact that Bush is a lying moron who should be impeached for the thousands of lives lost and all innocent blood on his hands, for leading us into a BS war.

I'd be glad to be stuck under a bridge being a humbled citizen than an old low life, no substance, ignorant, selfish, greedy man like yourself. Under a bridge and humbled is better than that. Too bad you have to suffer the rest of your life being YOU.

OG, now you can see real anger. Elder abuse from a person who
has all that compassion for the "homeless" "disenfranchised" and "forgotten".
Should I feel something other than pity for someone stuck under a bridge? :depressed :angel

[Hook Dem]

Hook Dem, you're old. Old like Xray.
Which means that I have survived the likes of you and SA210! I'll be here when you're gone! :lol

[xrayzebra]

Which means that I have survived the likes of you and SA210! I'll be here when you're gone! :lol

We earned our stripes, wonder if they will earn theirs? :lol :lol

[Hook Dem]

We earned our stripes, wonder if they will earn theirs? :lol :lol
DOUBTFUL ! Flashes in the pan! :lol

[Oh, Gee!!]

You two should star in a sitcom together

[xrayzebra]

You two should star in a sitcom together

You want to sponsor us. We don't work cheap.

[SA210]

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[Ocotillo]

You two should star in a sitcom together

I thought they did?

http://web.inter.nl.net/users/C.Talboom/muppets/gif/statwald.jpg

[xrayzebra]

I thought they did?

http://web.inter.nl.net/users/C.Talboom/muppets/gif/statwald.jpg

I keep telling you, quit thinking, you always screw it up. :lol

[SA210]

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[boutons_]

It sounds like not IF, but WHEN will DeLay be permanently denied House leadership

==========================

After Abramoff, a GOP Scramble

DeLay's House Colleagues Anticipate a Leadership Shake-Up

By Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 6, 2006; A01

An internal battle is underway among House Republicans to permanently replace Rep. Tom DeLay (Tex.) as majority leader and put in place a new leadership lineup that is better equipped to deal with the growing corruption scandal.

Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt (Mo.) will ask House Republicans to make his temporary tenure permanent early next month if, as is likely, DeLay is unable to clear his name in the gathering corruption and campaign finance scandals, according to a member of the GOP leadership and several leadership aides.

The move would almost certainly touch off a GOP power struggle between Blunt, whose rise to power was heavily aided by DeLay and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.), and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John A. Boehner (Ohio), a former House leader who has been maneuvering for a comeback.

But other potential candidates could add unexpected twists, especially if rank-and-file Republicans decide that neither Blunt nor Boehner would present a fresh response to the corruption scandal triggered by Jack Abramoff, a GOP lobbyist with close ties to DeLay.

Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, recently said in an Internet chat that he had "no present intention of seeking any leadership position at this time" but that circumstances could change.

A potential bid by Pence, who has angered some members with what they consider grandstanding on a host of issues, has prompted some conservatives to reach out to the low-key Rep. John Shadegg (Ariz.) as an alternative. Rep. Zach Wamp (Tenn.) has announced his intention to run for a leadership post, saying yesterday that "the leadership of Congress needs to be above reproach." Other dark horses could emerge as members scramble for a consensus candidate.

Hastert appears secure in the speakership, despite his own ties to Abramoff-related fundraising and other activities. Abramoff's guilty pleas have renewed scrutiny of a letter the speaker sent to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton in June 2003 urging her to block a casino opposed by Abramoff's Indian tribe clients. The letter was sent just days after Abramoff's tribal clients contributed more than $20,000 to Hastert's political action committee at a fundraiser at Signatures, the swank restaurant the lobbyist owned at the time.

Abramoff's guilty pleas this week and pledge to cooperate with federal prosecutors in investigating members of Congress could significantly add to DeLay's legal problems. But the more immediate threat is the legal battle in Texas over his indictments on campaign finance violations. DeLay had hoped that the court battle with Travis County Prosecutor Ronnie Earle over the money-laundering charges would be well underway by now, if not over. Instead, the case is dragging on over multiple appeals and pretrial motions.

"I would have told you a month ago we'd be in trial by now, but that was before Ronnie Earle pulled his shenanigans with his frivolous appeals," said Dick DeGuerin, DeLay's lead attorney in the case.

Now, the Justice Department's bribery and corruption investigation has forced one former DeLay aide, Michael Scanlon, to plead guilty to corruption charges, while another, Tony C. Rudy, has been implicated in Abramoff's plea agreement.

Leadership aides and DeLay allies said that, in light of the Texas case and Abramoff's plea agreements, they now expect DeLay to soon renounce claims to the leadership post he was forced to relinquish under GOP House rules when he was indicted in September -- and certainly before a planned House Republican retreat on Feb. 9.

"The environment has changed. I don't even need to qualify that," said the GOP leadership member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he does not want to be seen as pressuring DeLay to step aside.

DeLay remains determined to reclaim his leadership position, and he is confident that he will be exonerated in Texas before early February, DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said yesterday. But there are few others who share that optimism, even among leadership members and aides who only weeks ago expressed the same confidence.

Since DeLay's indictment, Blunt has served as both House majority whip and acting majority leader.

The Missourian would enter a leadership election as the favorite to take DeLay's place as majority leader. And he has said his position in the Republican conference was significantly strengthened last month when he successfully steered through the House a $50 billion budget-cutting measure, legislation cracking down on illegal immigration and a provision forcing a 1 percent across-the-board cut in all discretionary spending outside of veterans programs.

But other members, particularly committee chairmen, are stressing the leadership's blunders, including the embarrassing defeat of a spending bill funding labor, health and education programs, and the initial pulling of the budget measure from House consideration for lack of votes.

Boehner has been angling for a top job for most of his eight terms in the House. In the early 1990s, he belonged to a group of young Republican crusaders who sought to publicize the names of more than 350 members with overdrafts at the House bank -- setting off a major political scandal. He rode on Newt Gingrich's coattails to rise in the Republican leadership, but he lost his job as conference chairman when the Gingrich era ended, after GOP losses in the 1998 midterm elections.

Rather than retreat, however, Boehner moved into a new realm, rising in 2000 to become chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he earned praise from Republicans and Democrats alike for his handling of the No Child Left Behind education legislation.

But Boehner's record has some blemishes that could be used against him by his opponents. In 1995, Boehner raised eyebrows by distributing campaign checks from tobacco lobbyists on the House floor. Since 2000, his political action committee, the Freedom Project, has raised $31,500 from four of Abramoff's tribal clients.

Such concerns could provide an opening for supporters of Pence or Shadegg. Alternatively, some leadership sources say discontented GOP members could draft a more experienced lawmaker, such as House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (Calif.), who would have the weight of his powerful panel and his big state delegation behind him. Appropriations Committee spokesman John Scofield dismissed such speculation, saying Lewis "likes the job he has."

Blunt's move for the position of majority leader would leave Chief Deputy Whip Eric I. Cantor (Va.) with a chance to claim the whip's post. But Cantor, too, would likely draw opposition.

One leadership source close to DeLay said some members hope to draft Rep. Mike Rogers (Mich.), a former FBI agent who specialized in public corruption cases, for that post to signal that the party is taking the Abramoff scandal seriously.

( GMAFB! Washington is PERMANENT scandal )

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

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[SA210]

^^^ :lol

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The New York Times

January 7, 2006

DeLay Steps Down as House Majority Leader
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:27 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay decided Saturday to give up his post as House majority leader, clearing the way for new leadership elections among House Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal, two officials said.

These officials said DeLay, R-Texas, was preparing a letter informing fellow House Republicans of his decision. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt the formal announcement.

DeLay is battling campaign finance charges in Texas and was forced to step aside temporarily as majority leader last fall after he was charged in his home state. He has consistently maintained his innocence and said he intended to resume his leadership post once cleared.

His about-face came amid growing pressure from fellow Republicans who were concerned about their own political futures in the wake of this week's guilty pleas by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, the party whip who temporarily has filled in for DeLay, was expected to run for majority leader.

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, a former member of the leadership, is also likely to run.

Elections are likely the week of Jan. 30, when lawmakers return to the Capitol.

DeLay intends to remain in Congress, these officials said, and plans to seek a new term in November.

( didn't somebody show he's now polls very poorly in his district? )

DeLay acted hours after a small vanguard of Republicans circulated a petition calling for leadership elections and citing DeLay's legal problems as well as his long ties to Abramoff.

* Copyright 2006 The Associated Press

[SA210]

coming soon,

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[Nbadan]

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[xrayzebra]

Are you having fun children? Can't wait for the real investigation that is coming.
You need to put down those comic books and enter the real world. You better
start worry about the security of this country and quit worrying about tarring some
silly politicians. The ones on the take have been there for years and believe me
when this is all said and done, there will be the some of the same ones still there.

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