Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Abramoff Updates

Mr. Abramoff is scheduled to enter more guilty pleas today, this time in Florida.

And more news on Abramoff's dirty GOP dealings...

AP: Bush to Give Up $6,000 Linked to Abramoff
President Bush's re-election campaign is giving up $6,000 in campaign contributions connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who faced more guilty pleas as part of a broad-ranging political corruption investigation...

...Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney '04 re-election campaign, earning the honorary title "pioneer" from the campaign. But the campaign is returning only $6,000 directly from Abramoff, his wife and one of the Indian tribes that he worked to win influence for in Washington....

Ohhh, George, not you too! Say it ain't so!

ThinkProgress notes that the Wall Street Journal is reporting that "Mr. Abramoff says he has information that could implicate 60 lawmakers". That's a lot of corruption. As posted yesterday, ThinkProgress has a rundown of some of the involved people here.

And NewsMeat has a detailed look at who took what and how much- Jack Abramoff's federal campaign contributions

(Number of matches in a search for "Democrat" on that page... ZERO)

And the Washington Post takes a look at the system that created Mr. Abramoff: Case Bringing New Scrutiny To a System and a Profession
...Jack Abramoff represented the most flamboyant and extreme example of a brand of influence trading that flourished after the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives 11 years ago. Now, some GOP strategists fear that the fallout from his case could affect the party's efforts to keep control in the November midterm elections.

Abramoff was among the lobbyists most closely associated with the K Street Project, which was initiated by his friend Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), now the former House majority leader, once the GOP vaulted to power. It was an aggressive program designed to force corporations and trade associations to hire more GOP-connected lobbyists in what at times became an almost seamless relationship between Capitol Hill lawmakers and some firms that sought to influence them.

Now Abramoff has become a symbol of a system out of control...


And the Christian Science Monitor expects lot of Washington drama in general this year:
Coming to the Hill: lots of hearing-room drama-

Probes of war policies will begin amid ethical scrutiny of members

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