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
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."
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.
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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.
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2003:
• Abramoff donates more than $100,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign.
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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.
McCain has first hand experience in political corruption since he was a part of the Keating Five who while taking all sorts of gratuities and bribes helped sink the Saving and Loan business.