Abramoff: The House That Jack Built - A comprehensive look at the potential scope of the “biggest scandal in Congress in over a century“: Jack Abramoff *
List of Republicans involved in the Culture of Corruption - Many of tham still in office and running for re-election in 2010 or 2012.
SunCruz
Sen. Conrad Burns +
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. Bob Ney *
Adam Kidan *
Neil Volz
Tigua Casino
Sen. John Cornyn
Rep. Bob Ney * +
Rep. Don Young
Ralph Reed
Michael Scanlon *
Neil Volz
Mariana Islands
Sen. Conrad Burns +
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. John Doolittle
Rep. Don Young
President Bush +
Saginaw Funding
Sen. Conrad Burns +
Sen. Byron Dorgan +
Rep. J.D. Hayworth +
Choctaws
Grover Norquist
Ralph Reed
Capital Athletic Foundation
Julie Doolittle *
Coushatta Campaign
Rep. Roy Blunt +
Rep. Eric Cantor +
Sen. Thad Cochran +
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. John Doolittle
Sen. John Ensign
Sen. Charles Grassley
Rep. J. Dennis Hastert +
Rep. Ernie Istook +
Sen. Trent Lott
Sen. Harry Reid
Rep. Pete Sessions
Rep. David Vitter +
Rep. Roger Wicker
Grover Norquist
Cronyism
Sen. Conrad Burns +
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. John Doolittle
Rep. Bob Ney * +
Grover Norquist
Tony Rudy
Neil Volz
J. Steven Griles
Susan Ralston
Favors
Rep. Bob Ney * +
Rep. Richard Pombo +
Rep. David Vitter +
Rep. Don Young
Doug Bandow
Italia Federici
Timothy Flanigan
J. Steven Griles
Gale A. Norton
Susan Ralston
Trips
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. John Doolittle
Rep. Tom Feeney +
Rep. Bob Ney *
Ed Buckham
Susan Hirschmann
Ralph Reed
David Safavian
Mashpee
Rep. Richard Pombo +
Gifts
Rep. Tom DeLay +
Rep. John Doolittle
Sen. Tom Harkin +
Rep. J.D. Hayworth +
Rep. Bob Ney * +
Rep. Don Young
* denotes individuals who have been subponaed, indicted, or found guilty in the Abramoff investigation.
+ denotes individuals who have returned donations from Abramoff, his clients, or his partners.
Methodology: Members of Congress were included if they received over $10,000 from Abramoff, his clients or his partners and have allegedly done favors for Abramoff, his clients or his partners. Members who were acting on behalf of a constituent in their state were excluded, even if those constituents were Abramoff clients. Certain members who received less than $10,000 in Abramoff were included because of extensive allegations of favors done for Abramoff.
Jack Abramoff
Former Lobbyist
INVESTIGATION — ABRAMOFF PLEADED GUILTY TO THREE FEDERAL FELONY COUNTS: Abramoff pleaded guilty in federal court on Jan. 3, 2006, “to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion.” [Bloomberg, 1/3/06]
INVESTIGATION — ABRAMOFF PLEADED GUILTY TO TWO MORE FELONY COUNTS: Abramoff “pleaded guilty in federal court…to conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from his 2000 purchase of a gambling boat fleet [SunCruz Casinos].” [Associated Press, 1/4/06]
INVESTIGATION — ABRAMOFF INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, AND INTERIOR DEPARTMENT: “The FBI, the Justice Department’s public integrity section and the Interior Department inspector general are investigating Abramoff’s lobbying practices, focusing on tribal clients that paid him and a public relations associate $82 million between 2001 and 2003. Among the areas investigators are examining, former Abramoff associates and tribal representatives said, are whether legislative favors were granted in Congress in exchange for tribal campaign contributions, and whether Abramoff opened doors on Capitol Hill by wooing congressional aides with the promise of jobs, as well as tickets to sporting events, trips, meals and other gifts.” [Washington Post, 9/28/05]
CONTRIBUTIONS — ABRAMOFF GAVE OVER $127,000 TO REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES: “Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show. At the same time, his Indian clients were the only ones among the top 10 tribal donors in the U.S. to donate more money to Republicans than Democrats. ” [Bloomberg, 12/21/05]
CONTRIBUTIONS — 210 LAWMAKERS RECEIVED CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ABRAMOFF, HIS PARTNERS, AND HIS CLIENTS: “According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, 210 current members of Congress have received contributions from Abramoff, his Indian tribe clients or SunCruz Casinos since 1999.” [LA Times, 12/22/05]
GIMME-FIVE — SCANLON AND ABRAMOFF’S ‘GIMME-FIVE’ SCHEME: In a scheme the duo termed “gimme-five,” Abramoff advised tribes in Mississippi, Louisiana and Michigan to hire Scanlon’s company, Capital Campaign Strategies LLC, for grass-roots public relations work while hiding the fact that Abramoff would receive half the profits. The purpose of the scheme, the prosecutors allege, was to “enrich themselves by obtaining substantial funds from their clients through fraud and concealment and through obtaining benefits for their clients through corrupt means. Prosecutors detailed the alleged fraud perpetrated on four tribes, contending that Scanlon billed the four tribes $53 million and then kicked back $19 million to Abramoff.” [Washington Post, 11/19/05]
CRONYISM — ABRAMOFF TRADED JOBS FOR FAVORS: Federal prosecutors in the Abramoff investigation “are examining whether he brokered lucrative jobs for Congressional aides at powerful lobbying firms in exchange for legislative favors. … Prosecutors are trying to establish that ‘it’s not just a ticket to a ballgame, it’s major jobs’ that exchanged hands, the participant in the case said. Also under examination are payments to lobbyists and lawmakers’ wives.” [New York Times, 12/2/05]
COUSHATTA CAMPAIGN — DELAY ORGANIZED HASTERT, BLUNT, AND CANTOR TO BACK ABRAMOFF EFFORT: One of Abramoff’s tribal clients, the Coushattas, “opposed a plan by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians to open a casino at a non-reservation site, expected at the time to be outside Shreveport, La., not far from a casino owned by the Coushattas.” The Coushattas wanted to protect their income — “about $300 million a year.” Abramoff lobbied DeLay’s office to organize a June 10, 2003, letter to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton endorsing a view of gambling law benefiting the Coushattas. The letter was eventually co-signed by DeLay, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Deputy Whip Eric I. Cantor (R-VA), a “group of people, who do not normally weigh in on Indian issues.” Cantor received “roughly $4,500 [from Abramoff and his clients] in the period around which the letter was sent.” [Washington Post, 9/28/04; AP, 11/17/05]
SUNCRUZ — ABRAMOFF AND KIDAN INDICTED: In 2001, Abramoff and his partner, Adam Kidan, were embroiled in “acrimonious efforts” to buy SunCruz Casinos from Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis. “Boulis, millionaire founder of the Miami Subs sandwich chain, sold SunCruz to Abramoff and Kidan in September 2000.” To help along the sale, Abramoff had Ney criticize Boulis in statements placed in the March 30, 2000, Congressional Record, putting pressure on Boulis to sell. (Ney also praised Kidan as Suncruz’s new owner on the floor when the sale went through.) “Abramoff and Kidan were indicted [in August 2005] on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with a $60 million loan they obtained to purchase the casino company.” Boulis was killed on a Fort Lauderdale street on Feb. 6, 2001. Two of the three men charged had been hired as consultants by Kidan. [Washington Post, 12/26/04; Washington Post, 9/28/05]
SAGINAW FUNDING — BURNS BENT RULES TO HELP ABRAMOFF CLIENT: Abramoff lobbied Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), who oversaw the budget of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to help award “a $3 million government award for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan to build a school.” The federal funds were intended for “impoverished Indian tribal schools” and in 2003, the Interior Department ruled the Saginaw tribe too rich to participate. The Saginaws received the funding in 2004 when “Burns pressed for the appropriation over the objections of Interior officials.” Abramoff persuaded the Saginaws to donate $32,000 to Burns between 2001-2003. [Bloomberg, 11/21/05]; Washington Post, 3/1/05]
