Gramaldi & Schmidt: Abramoff, Reed, DeLay, Norquist tribal shenanegans

"It is an extraordinary story of betrayal."

See DU prior coverage:

Ralph Reed to run for Lt. Governor (Georgia forum) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=146&topic_id=1732

Ralph Reed files to run for Lt. Governor (GD) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3060984

Abramoff, Lobbyists, and Extremists Pay Tribute to Tom Delay's Record (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1779427

10 Former House Republicans Express 'Grave Concern' about GOP Leadership' (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1726917

Noam Scheiber: THE DELAY ETHICS REPORT--COMING SPRING '06! (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1752660

Damning Abramoff emails courtesy of Senate Indian Affairs Committee (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1752627

Motherload of DeLay scandal information (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1711159

Delaygate: Abramoff Faced Earlier Billing Inquiry (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1695050

'Complex, tangled web' of political deals listed (GDP) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1576681

James V. Grimaldi is on CSPAN Jounral today at 9:30AM. If you missed it watch reruns or stream at www.cspan.org.

Susan Schmidt was the lead WP investigative journalist on the Whitewater and Lewinsky "scandals"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062200921.html

Panel Says Abramoff Laundered Tribal Funds
McCain Cites Possible Fraud by Lobbyist

By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 23, 2005; A01

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff used money from a Mississippi tribal client to set up bogus Christian anti-gambling groups and to fund pet projects including gear for a "sniper school" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to documents released yesterday by Senate investigators. The revelations came in e-mails and testimony made public yesterday by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee at its third hearing on the activities of Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, a public relations executive and former spokesman for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Abramoff, who is also at the center of a corruption investigation by the Justice Department, laundered tribal money by directing the Indians to donate to tax-exempt groups that the lobbyist later used for his own purposes, the Senate committee said. One project involved Abramoff's effort to arrange for military equipment, including night-vision goggles and a "jeep," for the sniper training conducted by a high school friend. Aaron Stetter, a former Scanlon employee, testified that Scanlon and Abramoff sought to whip up opposition to casinos proposed by rival tribes by setting up bogus Christian phone banks. He said callers would identify themselves as members of groups such as the Christian Research Network or Global Christian Outreach Network and urge voters to contact their representatives.

Material released yesterday also appeared to undermine assertions by former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed, now a candidate for Georgia lieutenant governor. Reed has acknowledged receiving $4 million from Abramoff and Scanlon to run anti-gambling campaigns in the South. Reed has said he did not know where the funds were coming from, but e-mails suggest that he was aware that some of the money he was getting came from the casino-rich Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Other e-mails presented at the hearing -- obtained from Abramoff's former law firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP -- showed that Abramoff and his lobbying team discussed how they would "pump up" their bills and expense accounts to the Choctaws by tens of thousands of dollars a month, raising new questions about the law firm's failure to rein in the lobbyists. The committee chairman, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said investigators had uncovered possible mail and wire fraud that should be pursued by the Justice Department, as well as tax issues that would be of concern to the Internal Revenue Service. The Justice Department already is looking into more than $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees Abramoff and Scanlon received from tribes around the country.

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Said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.): " 'Gimme five' means 'I'll take a cut of this.' " "I'm past anger and bitterness," Rogers, the Choctaw official who had worked most closely with Abramoff, told the committee. "It is an extraordinary story of betrayal."

Why aren't these guys posting bail right now?