Well....hopefully here:
Posted on 04/20/2006 12:45:55 PM PDT by hipaatwo
Jerry Doyle XXXXX XXXXXXXX Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX t Fax: XXX-XXX-XXXX Email: XX@XX.COM
April 17, 2006
BY FEDEX
The Honorable George V. Voinovich, Chairman The Honorable Tim Johnson, Vice Chairman The Honorable Pat Roberts The Honorable Daniel Akaka The Honorable Craig Thomas The Honorable Mark Pryor United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics XXX Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Re: Ethics Complaint Against Senator Harry Reid of Nevada
Dear Senators:
I. Introduction.
This letter serves as my formal complaint, under the provisions of the Senate Ethics Manual, Appendix C (Rules of Procedure, Senate Ethics Committee), Part II (Supplementary Procedural Rules), Rule 2 (Procedures for Complaints, Allegations or Information), against Senator Harry Reid of Nevada for improper conduct reflecting upon the U.S. Senate and the general principles of public service (See Senate Ethics Manual, Appendix E).
II. Background.
A. Casinos of Native-American Tribes.
(1) Native-American casinos produced $18.5 billion in annual revenues in 2004 – a figure well in excess of the $10.6 billion generated by traditional gambling venues in Nevada. Native-American gambling has spread to well over 320 locations as tribes have
maneuvered in several states and Washington, D.C. to capitalize on gambling opportunities.
(2) The tribes have hired lobbyists to help them with political backing for their own casinos and to fend off casino rivals, both Native-American and non-Native-American casinos. Spending on Washington lobbying by the tribes – most of which is on gambling issues – has increased dramatically.
B. Lobbyists for Native-American Tribes.
(1) Mr. Jack Abramoff and Mr. Michael Scanlon lobbied and conducted grass-roots political activities on behalf of Native-American Tribes. Mr. Abramoff ran the Government Affairs Department of Greenberg Traurig, a Washington, D.C. law firm. Mr. Scanlon owned Capitol Campaign Strategies, a firm that provided grassroots political support in the form of coalition building, letter writing and telephone campaigns.
(2) Mr. Abramoff convinced some of his tribal clients to retain Mr. Scanlon’s firm; Mr. Scanlon then allegedly charged exorbitant fees; and Mr. Scanlon then allegedly split these exorbitant fees with Mr. Abramoff.
(3) The accounting, bank and tax records of Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon reportedly indicate that, between 2001 and 2004, six Native-American Tribes paid more than $66 million to Mr. Scanlon’s company, Capitol Campaign Strategies. Among the six tribes were the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (California), the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe (Michigan), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Louisiana Coushattas, the Tigua Indians of El Paso, and the Pueblo Sandia Tribe of New Mexico.
(4) The same accounting, bank and tax records indicate that Capitol Campaign Strategies then paid Jack Abramoff personally and Kay Gold, a company owned and controlled by Mr. Abramoff, over $21 million. The $21 million appears to be half of Capitol Campaign Strategies profit from its Native-American client revenue over three years.
(5) The $66 million figure does not include tribal payments for lobbying services performed by Greenberg Traurig. For example, the Choctaw Indians’ allegedly paid over $7 million in lobbying fees over a five-year period. The $66 million does not include substantial payments made by the tribes directly to other entities owned or managed by
Mr. Abramoff, such as the Capitol Athletic Foundation which received more than $2 million from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe and the Louisiana Coushatta Tribe. The $66 million does not include the substantial political and dubious charitable contributions that the tribes made at Mr. Abramoff’s direction.
C. “Off-Reservation” Native-American Casinos.
(1) Normally, the land on which a tribe operates a casino under the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (NIGRA) must be part of the tribe’s reservation (trust land). However, it is possible to obtain and place into trust land that was not part of the original reservation; and, if the intended use for such a parcel of land is gambling, then a specific process must be followed.
(2) In recent years, Native-American gambling has been seen as a solution to economic revitalization for many communities. Many cities have approached tribes and offered opportunities to operate a casino in exchange for something the city wants or needs. Additionally, many rural tribes looking for a better location to operate a casino have approached cities and suggested a mutually beneficial relationship. There have been very few successful attempts to create “off reservation” urban casinos.
III. Senator Reid’s Intervention on Behalf of Native-American Tribes Not Indigenous to Nevada.
A. Intervention in California.
(1) While Senate Majority Whip (1999 – 2000), Senator Reid sponsored a bill that would have stopped a California Native-American Tribe from opening an “urban off-reservation” gambling operation near Oakland, California. Such an “urban off-reservation” gambling site located in the San Francisco Bay area would have posed substantial competition to Nevada gambling operations (both tribal and non-tribal) and to an Abramoff-related client, namely, the California Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
(2) Federal Election Commission records indicate that Senator Reid’s Searchlight Leadership Fund received $7,500 from the Agua Caliente Tribe. (See: Enclosure A)
(3) Federal Election Commission records indicate that Senator Reid received $2,000 from the Agua Caliente Tribe. (See: Enclosure A)
(4) Republican strategist and lobbyist Scott Reed, however, helped lead a drive to block Senator’s Reid’s bill.
B. Intervention in Michigan.
(1) In 2002, Senator Reid blocked a proposal that would have paved the way for an “off reservation” casino in Michigan that would have been in direct competition with casinos operated by an Abramoff-related client, namely, the Saginaw Michigan Chippewa Tribe.
(2) Federal Election Commission records indicate that Senator Reid’s Searchlight Leadership Fund received $10,000 from the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. (See: Enclosure A)
(3) Federal Election Commission records indicate that Senator Reid received $4,000 from the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. (See: Enclosure A)
C. Intervention in Louisiana.
(1) In 2001 and 2002, Washington lobbyist and GOP Fundraiser Jack Abramoff assisted the Louisiana Coushatta Tribe in blocking the establishment of an “off-reservation” casino by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians.
(2) The Coushattas, who had been running a casino for seven years, seemed to be having trouble getting Louisiana Governor Mike Foster’s office to renew their expired gambling compact. Lobbyist Abramoff ensured that every tribal vendor and employee understood that their business was at risk unless the compact was renewed. The result was that some 30,000 letters were sent to Governor Foster who eventually renewed the contract.
(3) But to the Coushattas chagrin, Governor Foster subsequently awarded a separate compact for an “off-reservation” casino gambling operation to the neighboring Jena Band of Choctaw Native-Americans. Although the Jena Band retained Patton Boggs for legal help in Washington, D.C., and Machal Inc. (the developer that backed the Jena Tribe) retained Barbour, Griffith & Rogers for lobbying assistance at the Department of Interior on land issues, the Jena Band was ultimately outmaneuvered by the Coushatta Tribe and Lobbyist Abramoff.
(4) Specifically, the Coushattas and Lobbyist Abramoff mounted a letter-writing campaign to state officials, federal officials and Members of Congress. Numerous members of the U. S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate responded to the
referenced letter writing campaign by drafting their own letters on behalf of the Louisiana Coushatta Tribe and in opposition to the Jena Band of Choctaws.
(5) Senator Reid and Senator Ensign drafted/signed a joint letter dated March 5, 2002 and addressed to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. The letter states that “(t)he Jena Band Compact establishes a dangerous precedent for location of tribal casinos virtually anywhere in any state where gambling is legal. This would destroy the careful balance Congress created when it gave tribal casinos certain advantages over other gaming establishments but with certain limits on their locations.” (See: Enclosure B)
(6) The next day, March 6, 2002, the Louisiana Coushatta Tribe promptly issued a $5,000 check to Senator Reid’s tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. (See: Enclosure A) A second tribe represented by Lobbyist Abramoff (the Mississippi Choctaw) also promptly sent an additional $5,000 to Senator Reid’s Searchlight Leadership Fund. (See: Enclosure A)
(7) Ultimately, Senator Reid received approximately $40,000 - $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations from the following Non-Nevada Tribes between 2001 and 2004. (See Associated Press Article dated November 17, 2005 - Enclosure C.)
(i) Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (California) contributed $19,500 to Senator Reid between 2001 and 2004.
(ii) Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana (Louisiana) contributed $5,000 to Senator Reid between 2001 and 2004.
(iii) Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (Mississippi) contributed $7,000 to Senator Reid between 2001 and 2004.
(iv) Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (Michigan) contributed $19,000 to Senator Reid between 2001 and 2004.
IV. Public Relations Response of Recipient Lawmakers.
A. Initial Response.
Senator Reid and other lawmakers stated that their intervention on behalf of Lobbyist Abramoff’s tribal clients – the Louisiana Coushattas, the Mississippi Choctaws
and other assorted tribes – had nothing to do with Lobbyist Abramoff and that any donations they contemporaneously and/or subsequently received from Abramoff’s tribal clients was a mere coincidence. Specifically, they alleged that opposition to the expansion of tribal gambling prompted their letters to Secretary Norton, even though they continued to accept donations from casino-operating tribes.
B. Senator Reid Fails to Disgorge Abramoff-Related Tribal Contributions.
(1) Senator Reid has refused to return any of the approximately $40,000 - $66,000 that he received from Abramoff-related tribes while serving on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
(2) Eddie Ayoob, who was Senator Reid’s legislative counsel from 1997 - 2002 and was assistant finance director on Senator Reid’s 1998 Senate campaign, was hired by Abramoff to work at Greenberg Traurig. He now currently works at Barnes & Thornberg, another Washington law firm.
(3) Nevertheless, Senator Reid asserts that he has never met Abramoff and that the lobbyist has “not given me a penny.” More specifically, Senator Reid asserts: “Don’t try to say I received money from Abramoff. I’ve never met the man, don’t know anything.” Additionally, Senator Reid stated: “I’ll repeat, Abramoff gave me no money. His firm gave me no money. He may have worked for a firm where people have given me money. But I have - I feel totally at ease that I haven’t done anything that is even close to being wrong. And I’m going to continue doing what I’ve done for my entire tenure in Congress. My record - any money that I’ve received - it’s a federal law. You can look who gave it to me, how much, when they gave it to me, and what their occupations are. So don’t lump me in with Jack Abramoff.” The inference is that the tribal donations were unrelated to any of Jack Abramoff’s lobbying efforts.
C. Greenburg Traurig Records Surface
(1) John Solomon of the Associated Press reported on February 9, 2006 that billing records from Abramoff’s lobbying firm – Greenburg Traurig – provide details of multiple meetings between Abramoff’s lobbying partners, Senator Reid and members of Reid’s staff. (See Enclosure D)
(2) The Greenburg Traurig records reportedly reflect that over a three-year period Senator Reid collected nearly $68,000 in donations from Abramoff’s firm, lobbying partners and clients. These records provide an additional level of detail and contribute to an understanding of the overall timeline of Senator Reid’s activities in light of contributions made to him and his organizations. They establish a pattern of behavior evidencing apparent quid pro quo actions by Senator Reid and his Senate office staff.
(3) In 2001 alone there were reportedly nearly two dozen phone contacts between Reid and Abramoff’s offices. These sorts of contacts resulted in Reid intervening on behalf of Abramoff’s tribal clients (collecting donations each time), as detailed above.
(4) According to the lobbyists billing records, contacts with Senator Reid and his office were for the expressed purpose of timing and actions concerning legislation before the Senate and upon which Senator Reid was expected to take a specific action or vote in a certain way. Cash flowed to Senator Reid following these contacts, based upon his exercise of his official duties.
V. Impact of Jack Abramoff’s Guilty Plea.
A. Lawmakers’ Ethical/Legal Exposure.
According to Abramoff’s guilty plea, his political contributions were aimed at winning specific favors, such as torpedoing legislation or securing federal contracts.
B. Senator Reid and Senator Ensign Request A Preemptive Investigation By the Senate Ethics Committee to Clear Their Reputations.
(1) Both Senators Reid and Ensign disclosed on January 3, 2006 that they asked the Senate Ethics Committee for an opinion on their 2002 letter, which they argue is ethical and proper. Representing a state with legalized gambling, they said it was not unusual for them to fight Indian tribes trying to expand gaming. They also disclosed that they wrote a similar letter in 2003.
(2) More specifically, the Senators stated: “Our March 5 letter was consistent with this long-standing policy goal and any suggestion that the letter was motivated instead by political contributions is baseless.” Senator Ensign further stated: “We know what we did was right and fine and within ethics rules, and we wanted a stamp of approval from the Ethics Committee.”
(3) Senator Reid’s position is that “There is absolutely no connection between the letter and the fundaising. The only connection was Senator Reid has consistently opposed any effort to undermine the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
(4) The revelations of the Abramoff scandal shed a very different light on the motives and intentions behind the March 5 letter and his other actions, leading one to reasonably infer that an inappropriate quid pro quo occurred.
C. Senate Obligations Independent of the Ongoing Department of Justice Investigation.
The Department of Justice investigation into the Abramoff scandal is focusing on a “first tier” of lawmakers and staffers, prominent among them: Senator Harry Reid, according to a January 11, 2006 article in The Washington Times. The Committee should not defer investigative activity pending the outcome of any Department of Justice. In this instance, it is imperative that the Committee exercise its independent, innate authority. It is particularly critical that the Committee investigate Senator Reid, as he is the Minority Leader. Any criminal inquiry does not relieve the Committee of its affirmative obligation to act when it becomes aware of credible reports addressed in the Senate Ethics Manual, Appendix C (Rules of Procedure, Senate Ethics Committee), Part II (Supplementary Procedural Rules), Rule 2 (Procedures for Complaints, Allegations or Information).
D. Opaque Federal Election Commission Records.
The FEC Records for the Searchlight Leadership Fund for the period 2000 - 2002 are seemingly incomplete and/or inaccurate. Specifically, no tribal contributions are listed or enumerated. These gaps in contribution records are a result of a loophole for campaign donations by Native American tribes. Tribes may lawfully give millions of dollars in political campaign contributions based upon a 2000 Federal Election Commission ruling that does not bind the tribes’ aggregate donations. “PoliticalMoneyLine” – an online, non-partisan campaign finance analysis group has estimated that tribes funneled $25 million into political campaigns between 2000 and 2005. Documenting and correcting this “disclosure gap” should be part of your investigation.
VI. Conclusion.
I hereby request that the Senate Ethics Committee investigate any and all Abramoff-related tribal donations to Senator Reid, and any actions performed by Senator Reid for Mr. Abramoff, his associated firms or his clients.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Jerry Doyle
Cc: The Honorable Harry Reid Robert Walker, Esq. – Ethics Committee Counsel
I certify that I am a resident of the State of Nevada, county of Clark.
______________________ Jerry Doyle
Where do you think that this will go?????
ping
I have no idea. I'm listening to his show now. They are hand delivering it also but unfortunately he's using Judical Watch.
Is this talk show host Jerry Doyle?
Yep. He lives in Nevada and doesn't like Reid one bit.
rut-roh
OK...when will he step down...tic tic tic
I like Jerry Doyle, but can only get him in the winter on a Dallas station.
Dingy Hairy Reid is very concerned
No where. It looks to me that he was protecting Nevada gambling interests as he should.
Thank you for posting this.
I listen online
www.910knew.com
It is bad enough that Reid is on the take, but he is for sale cheap.
Dingy Harry will probably slide. The man is so greasy he could slide uphill.
:-)
Refresh my memory please ... who is Jerry Doyle ??
Well ... this complaint will go nowhere
Wouldn't that be sweet!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.