Lobbyist Paid by Pakistan Led U.S. Delegation There

WASHINGTON, May 7 - Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the center of a federal corruption investigation, led a Congressional delegation to Pakistan in 1997 but failed to tell the group's sponsor or the lawmakers that he was a registered lobbyist for the Pakistani government, according to the sponsor and the two House members on the trip.

"I wish I'd known that he had a bias that way," said Representative Michael R. McNulty, Democrat of New York, who was on the trip. Gregg Hilton, whose now-defunct nonprofit organization, the National Security Caucus Foundation, sponsored the trip for Mr. McNulty and Representative Howard Coble, Republican of North Carolina, said he felt he had been "deceived" by Mr. Abramoff.
...
Later disclosure forms show that Mr. Abramoff and the firm lobbied aggressively on Pakistan's behalf, including repeated contacts with the offices of Mr. DeLay, a close friend of Mr. Abramoff's. Mr. DeLay has asked the House Ethics Committee to resolve ethics accusations involving his overseas travels with Mr. Abramoff.

Mr. Hilton provided a number of descriptions of Mr. Abramoff's role with the National Security Council Foundation, at one point denying that the lobbyist had a formal role and suggesting that the trip to Pakistan had never happened. Provided evidence to the contrary, he acknowledged that he had hoped Mr. Abramoff would donate money and join the board, but that he never did.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/politics/08abramoff.html?ex=1273204800&en=1ebac7633d836a96&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

The reasons for his lobbying are as despicable as they get.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/3131504

...Jack Abramoff is the once-high-flying lawyer-lobbyist at the heart of much of the recent disclosures about the House majority leader's own high flying on foreign trips.

Abramoff also is the focus of federal and congressional investigations into influence-peddling in relation to his big-bucks representational dealings (alongside a former DeLay aide) with Indian tribal casinos.

DeLay, R-Sugar Land, has denied any knowledge of the real source of funds that paid for foreign travel by himself and associates.

But DeLay defenders, both in Washington and Texas, are reading closely and with some trepidation the latest issue of Newsweek, which raises the question of whether Abramoff, if he faces indictment, might deal with prosecutors.

According to the Newsweek report (by Michael Isikoff, a leader in Lewinski reportage), Abramoff has been less than happy with denials from DeLay and associates.

"Those S.O.B.s," Abramoff is quoted as telling "a luncheon companion." "DeLay knew everything. He knew all the details."
...

this man has absolutely no morals

perfect companion for DeLay

May 8, 2005

Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the center of a federal corruption investigation, led a Congressional delegation to Pakistan in 1997 but failed to tell the group's sponsor or the lawmakers that he was a registered lobbyist for the Pakistani government, according to the sponsor and the two House members on the trip.

"I wish I'd known that he had a bias that way," said Representative Michael R. McNulty, Democrat of New York, who was on the trip. Gregg Hilton, whose nonprofit organization, the National Security Caucus Foundation, sponsored the trip for Mr. McNulty and Representative Howard Coble, said he felt "deceived" by Mr. Abramoff.

The trip to Pakistan and Mr. Abramoff's role in it came to light with the release of documents this week showing that he had also used his personal credit card to pay more than $350,000 in travel expenses for other Congressional trips, some of them sponsored by the National Security Caucus Foundation, which is now defunct.

<snip>

Lobbyists for foreign governments are required to register with the Justice Department. Disclosure statements filed by Mr. Abramoff and his former firm, Preston Gates & Ellis, show that the firm was retained by Pakistan in May 1995 to lobby to overturn sanctions barring delivery of American weapons to Pakistan if its government continued to pursue a nuclear weapons program. The initial six-month lobbying contract paid the firm a retainer of $165,000, plus expenses. A spokesman for Preston Gates had no comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/politics/08abramoff.html


Ah, the scandal that just keeps giving.