McCain fundraiser RALPH REED - The Man Who Wasn’t There

The Man Who Wasn’t There
http://citizensforethics.org/node/33775


19 Aug 2008 // Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition and an associate of the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was a no-show at a fund-raiser for Senator John McCain in Atlanta on Monday night, even though Mr. Reed had sent out e-mail messages asking people to attend. Mr. Reed’s absence quickly threw Senator Barack Obama’s campaign, which had seized on Mr. Reed’s ties to Mr. McCain, into I-told-you-so jubilation.

“Faced with the embarrassing prospect of holding a fund-raiser with one of Jack Abramoff’s closest associates, the McCain campaign scrambled today to scratch Ralph Reed from tonight’s program,” Tommy Vietor, an Obama spokesman, said in a statement. He added that “the real question isn’t why Reed isn’t showing up, but why a so-called reformer would invite him at all.”

Mr. Abramoff, the once-powerful lobbyist who pleaded guilty to fraud charges, had arranged for Mr. Reed to be paid several million dollars by Indian tribes .........

http://citizensforethics.org/node/33772

18 Aug 2008 // John McCain raised more than $1.75 million for Republicans Monday at a fundraiser that became high profile after a political operative connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff promoted it.

The event was promoted by Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition. McCain's campaign said it was organized by the Republican National Committee -- not Reed, who was linked to the Abramoff scandal that McCain investigated in the Senate.

McCain didn't note the issue during his 22-minute appearance. Instead, he thanked donors to the Republicans' umbrella campaign fund. ........