Abramoff makes plea deal, will cooperate

ap on San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 1/3/06 | Mark Sherman - ap

[MNJohnnie]

Amazing how no one sees the HUGE problem this is going to cause for the Democrat Senate Leadership. No matter how much they try to cypress the News Democrat Senators such as Byron Dorgan (D-ND) are up to their necks in this scandal.

[NormsRevenge]

Lobbyist, Prosecutors Said Close to Deal - Jack Abramoff ^ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1549542/posts

Key word Abramoff

[ncountylee]

Plus Reid was on the feed!

[NormsRevenge]

But Dorgan gave the money back as did many others so far,.

EXCEPT for Harry Reid and Charlie Rangel and I'm sure others who will claim .. "I never met the man." "He never oput a check in my hand." etc.

[pointsal]

Will Senator Dorgan be able to keep his "hair" in place when this scandal blows through town?

[NormsRevenge]

But Dorgan gave the money back as did many others so far,.

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Not that makes one wit's bit of difference to me nor should it to others.

True campaign finance reform and an end to corruption starts at home and in the hearts of those who say they only seek to serve the public, imo.

Yeah, Right!

[airborne]

Abramoff's cooperation would be a boon to an ongoing Justice Department investigation of congressional corruption, possibly helping prosecutors build criminal cases against up to two-dozen lawmakers of both parties and their staff members.

Two dozen? Oh, boy. This is going to get covered up real good.

[nightowl]

Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday a couple of weeks ago hit up Harry REid about his links to Abramoff and his clients and asked Reid about the $67,000.00 he had received. Of course, the little creep, Reid, was indignant saying "don't try to connect me to this"... DUH

[NormsRevenge]

An aide delivers a message to U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), (R) at the start of a U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Iraq reconstruction November 3, 2003. Dorgan said on Tuesday he had returned $67,000 in contributions from clients and co-workers of Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the center of the scandal. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

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U. S. Representative Bob Ney, R-Oh speaks on election reform to an audience at Cleveland State University, in Cleveland, in this Nov. 30, 2005 file photo. A popular Republican in a district that voted overwhelmingly for President Bush last year, Ney has been subpoenaed in an investigation into whether lobbyist Jack Abramoff tried to defraud Indian tribes out of millions of dollars. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak/File)

[samadams2000]

Goodbye Reid, Goodbye Doorgan, Goodbye McCaine.....One can only dream....

[NormsRevenge]

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is seen on Capitol Hill, November 1, 2005. Reid called the Republican-led Congress 'the most corrupt in history' on Sunday, and distanced himself from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, at the center of an escalating probe. (Jim Young/Reuters)

[Cboldt]

Goodbye McCaine....

McCain has been on the other side of this one, e.g. ...

June 22, 2005 · Sen. John McCain holds the third of four hearings on lobbyist Jack Abramoff's suspicious dealings with Indian tribes. Senate hearings have already revealed that he billed six Indian tribes $66 million for his services. Witnesses are expected to tell the panel about more tribal money that allegedly went astray.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4713708

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Asked to explain Abramoff's request and what she did with it, Federici responded: "We work with people every day with varying levels of decorum." It was a response that drew a puzzled scowl from McCain, who said at one point: "Your answers are so bizarre."

Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel

[samadams2000]

I would trade Dorgan for McCain....hahahahahahahah. Talk about Win-Win.

[NormsRevenge]

Key Events in the Abramoff Investigation

The Associated Press

Here is a timeline of key events in the Jack Abramoff investigation:

2005:

• Dec. 13-22: Five members of Congress — Rep. Ernest Istook (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla.; Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan.; Sen. Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record), D-Mont.; Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), R-Mont.; and Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D. — return or give away campaign donations they received from Abramoff.

• Dec. 15: Abramoff associate Adam Kidan reaches plea bargain with federal prosecutors on fraud charges arising from a 2000 deal to buy casino boats.

• Nov. 21: Abramoff associate Michael Scanlon, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pleads guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials.

• Oct. 5: David Safavian, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, is indicted on charges he made false statements and obstructed a federal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Abramoff.

• Aug. 29: Abramoff pleads innocent to Miami fraud charges.

• Aug. 11: Abramoff and associate Adam Kidan indicted by a Miami federal grand jury on fraud charges in the casino boat deal.

___

2004:

• Sept. 29: Abramoff refuses to answer questions from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee about his work on behalf of American Indian tribes and casino issues. The Senate committee's staff concluded after a seven-month investigation that Abramoff and his business partner, Michael Scanlon, had charged six tribes in six states a total of $66 million for lobbying and may have manipulated at least two tribal elections to ensure they would get contracts with tribes.

___

2003:

• Abramoff donates more than $100,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign.

___

2000:

• Abramoff and Kidan purchase the SunCruz Casinos fleet of gambling boats. According to the 2005 Miami indictment, prosecutors say the pair faked a $23 million wire transfer to make it appear that they were making a significant contribution of their own money into the deal. Based on that transfer, lenders Foothill Capital Corp. and Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. agreed to provide $60 million in financing for the purchase.

[Rakkasan1]

if it comes too close to a ranking dim, Mr.A better watch out, he could end up another Vince Foster...

[postghost]

AP Bias Alert!

From the linked article: "Any such plea agreement likely would secure the Republican lobbyist's testimony against several members of Congress..."

Truth in advertising should demand they be renamed the Press Associated with the Democratic Party

[Rudder]

Ney is my congressman and is generally highly regarded here in red Ohio, but it looks like he's in deep doo-doo now.

[NormsRevenge]

ap article also on 'net as

Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Cooperate

[tubebender]

The cBS Radio news just reported on this and they have Bush impeached, removed from office and deported to Iraq....