Democrat (Dorgan) on Panel Probing Abramoff to Return Tribal Donations

WAPO says money return shows "how broadly the political stain of Abramoff's money is spreading on Capitol Hill." Only at the end of the article do find that Dorgan aides say the senator is guilty of nothing, having only attended a March 2001 fundraiser in Abramoff's skybox, after being told it belonged to the Choctaws. While he did press the Interior Department in 2003 to decide whether the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts deserved federal recognition (around the time he accepted at least $11,500 from an Abramoff partner representing the tribe) the aide said "they had a pretty good case. They had been waiting 29 years for a decision." And Dorgan did push to fully fund an Indian school construction program in 2002, around the time he collected $20,000 from Abramoff clients who wanted the program. But, the aide said, Dorgan has always supported school construction funds, and the program does not aid any specific tribe. "I have worked for many years to improve the lives of American Indians," Dorgan said.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301582_pf.html

Democrat on Panel Probing Abramoff to Return Tribal Donations

By Jonathan Weisman and Derek Willis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 14, 2005; A04

The senior Democrat on the Senate committee investigating former lobbyist Jack Abramoff announced this week that he will return $67,000 in donations from Indian tribes represented by the indicted Republican.

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.), vice chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, said he has never met Abramoff, nor did he advocate any program backed by Abramoff's tribal clients that he would not have otherwise embraced. But his move, reported yesterday in the Forum of Fargo, N.D., illustrates how broadly the political stain of Abramoff's money is spreading on Capitol Hill.

"I have returned all contributions to my campaign committee and my leadership political action committee from tribes represented by Mr. Abramoff's law firm and from individuals employed by his law firm during the time he was at the firm," Dorgan said in a statement. "Even though those contributions were legal and fully reported as required by law, I will not knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken."
Aides conceded that the senator did advocate for programs pushed by Abramoff's clients around the time he was accepting tens of thousands of dollars from associates and clients of the lobbyist.

Dorgan's reimbursement came as a number of lawmakers move to amend campaign disclosure forms to reflect in-kind contributions from Abramoff and his clients, particularly the use of Abramoff's MCI Center skybox.<snip>

:bounce:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/politics/14dorgan.html
December 14, 2005
Democrat Returning Donations From Abramoff's Tribal Clients
By PHILIP SHENON

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 - The ranking Democrat on the Senate committee investigating the Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff announced on Tuesday that he was returning $67,000 in political contributions from Mr. Abramoff's former partners and Indian tribe clients.
The lawmaker, Senator Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, has been accused of hypocrisy by Republicans for having not acknowledged the contributions from Mr. Abramoff's clients while at the same time sharply criticizing him in hearings of the Senate panel, the Indian Affairs Committee.

"Even though those contributions were legal and fully reported as required by law, I will not knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken," Mr. Dorgan said in a statement emphasizing that he had never received a direct contribution from Mr. Abramoff himself.

Mr. Abramoff is now the subject of a federal grand jury investigation in Washington focused on whether his lobbying operation corrupted public officials, including members of Congress, to get them to perform official acts for Indian tribes and their gambling operations. His former lobbying partner Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to bribe public officials.

While Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon urged their Indian tribe clients to shower most of their political contributions on Republicans, they also urged the tribes to be generous with some Democrats, including Mr. Dorgan and others who might be able to assist on legislation that the tribes sought. Mr. Dorgan has served on the Indian Affairs Committee since 1993.
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