Abramoff, clients gave thousands to (Republican) California officials

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/13551398.htm

LOS ANGELES - Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff or Indian tribes he once represented donated tens of thousands of dollars to members of Congress from California, and some returned the money or will donate it to charity, officials said.

The California list was headed by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, whose political committees received $54,500 from Abramoff or the tribes, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group that analyzed political contributions from 1999 to 2005.

The largest donation to Pombo, $10,000, came from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, the report said.

He was followed by Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Rocklin, whose political committees banked $50,000, the center said. Four other state representatives received $10,000 or more from Abramoff or tribes he had represented.

As Abramoff pleaded guilty to a second set of felony charges in as many days, this time in Florida, numerous congressional Republicans as well as President Bush shed campaign donations linked to the once-powerful lobbyist.

...more REPUBLICANS named in article...

only $6K. A pioneer contributes $100K.

Guess BushCo needs the dough since their Iraqi oil isn't flowing as well as they figured.

from the 2000 campaign. They were charges related to the recount. Sounds like a $300K in-kind contribution to me.

I'll try to locate source and link.

Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/abramoff_florida_recount_bush_505.htm

excerpt:

There’s a backstory that lurks behind Bush’s decision to stand by DeLay. It involves Greenberg Traurig, the firm that employed the powerful lobbyist who paid for palatial DeLay junkets, and Abramoff staffers, who were footsoldiers in the Florida recount. Greenberg Traurig has yet to receive more than $314,000 in legal fees charged to a Bush committee during the 2000 Florida recount, RAW STORY can confirm.

As a corporation, Greenberg’s unpaid tab represents a massive in-kind campaign contribution, far larger than anything that went unreported by DeLay. But it appears to be legal: corporations are allowed to donate any amount to the nebulous type of committee employed during the recount. It would, however, violate the committee's self-imposed $5,000 contribution limit from individual donors.

Bush’s recount committee doled out some $8 million, much of it to Hill staffers who made the jaunt to the Florida battlefield. But they couldn’t find the money for their telegenic counsel.

<snip>

Four of Abramoff’s colleagues—all of whom have left Greenberg in the wake of investigations surrounding Abramoff’s activities—were foot soldiers in the Florida recount. Two of them bragged of their recount work on their official online Greenberg biographies, which have since been removed.

Shawn Vasell noted that he was a “team leader” in Broward and Duval counties in his bio; Duane Gibson was photographed in the acclaimed “Brooks Brothers riot” of Republican operatives outside the Miami-Dade County polling headquarters; Todd Boulanger boasted of being on the Broward and Duval recount team in his profile. Also on the ground was former DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy.

...more...

Makes that $6,000 contribution Bush plans to return look pretty paltry.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenberg_Traurig

excerpt:

9. Bush still owes Greenberg firm nearly one million dollars for work done by dozens of lawyers and paralegals--leaving some to question why a Republican candidate would hire a Democratic lawyer from a Democratic firm ...
"Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k. White House directs queries to RNC," The Raw Story, May 5, 2005:
"Greenberg Traurig has yet to receive more than $314,000 in legal fees charged to a Bush committee during the 2000 Florida recount ... As a corporation, Greenberg’s unpaid tab represents a massive in-kind campaign contribution, far larger than anything that went unreported by DeLay. But it appears to be legal: corporations are allowed to donate any amount to the nebulous type of committee employed during the recount. It would, however, violate the committee's self-imposed $5,000 contribution limit from individual donors. ... Greenberg’s leadership has apparently declined to press the issue. Jill Perry, Greenberg’s director of marketing and public affairs, declined to comment," according to The Raw Story's John Byrne, May 5, 2005.

To this list can be added:
10. U.S. presidential election, 2004:
"Dubya's Mouthpieces," FlaPolitics Blogspot, August 10, 2004: "With the Democrats threatening to file lawsuits in anticipation of post-presidential election fallout, Republicans are amassing their own team of legal eagles, headed in Florida by Gov. Jeb Bush's former deputy general counsel. ... Hayden Dempsey, who left Bush's office to join the prominent Greenberg Traurig firm last year, confirmed Monday he has been tapped as the statewide chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign's legal defense team," Lawyers for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. See Lawyers for Bush-Cheney.
"Here We Go Again. Bush and Kerry presidential campaigns assemble armies of lawyers in Florida, expecting Election Day voting problems and ..." Conrad & Scherer, August 16, 2004.
"OF COUNSEL: POLITICS: READY, AIM...HIRE -- Florida Trend column by Pat Dunnigan (http://www.fltrend.com), October 2004: Barry Richard "has agreed to represent the Bush-Cheney ticket again should litigation arise."

...more (and lots of embedded links)...

PR guy as a campaign manager?

What, are they sure they are just going to steal the election?

i KNEW he'd be in this one!