Posted on 01/03/2006 3:09:31 PM PST by LouAvul
Translation: We don't know who will be hit.
This is the way Newsmax is reporting it:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/1/3/115231.shtml?s=et
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 11:50 a.m. EST
Harry Reid Caught in Abramoff Plea Deal?
This morning's announcement that Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has reached a plea bargain deal with the Justice Department has reporters salivating over what they hint is going to be a Republican mega-scandal.
But it turns out that the most prominent player in Abramoff's web of influence was reportedly none other than the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid.
In a little-noticed story in November, The Associated Press revealed that Reid had accepted tens of thousands of dollars from an Abramoff client, the Coushatta Indian tribe, after interceding with Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton over a casino dispute with a rival tribe.
Reid "sent a letter to Norton on March 5, 2002," reported the AP. "The next day, the Coushattas issued a $5,000 check to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. A second tribe represented by Abramoff sent an additional $5,000 to Reid's group. Reid ultimately received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004."
Questioned about the donations last month by "Fox News Sunday's" Chris Wallace, Reid immediately turned testy.
"Don't try to say I received money from Abramoff. I've never met the man, don't know anything," he insisted.
When Wallace protested: "But you've received money from [one of his Indian tribe clients]," the top Democrat shot back: "Make sure that all your viewers understand - not a penny from Abramoff. I've been on the Indian Affairs Committee my whole time in the Senate."
When the Fox host pressed again on the Abramoff-linked donations, a flustered-sounding Reid continued to stonewall, saying: "I'll repeat, Abramoff gave me no money. His firm gave me no money. He may have worked [at] 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."
The three things he is accused of do not touch on bribing government officials, they all have to do with cheating his clients. While it is bad to associate with people who cheat their clients, it's not the same as criminal activity.
If any republican or democrat actually took money from Abramoff or any other lobbyist in exchange for votes, they should be thrown out of office.
This is actually a better time for this to happen than in 6 months. Certainly the republicans who actually committed crimes know who they are already, and can be pretty sure they will be caught. So they can resign, and new republican candidates can be presented in the primaries.
Since most congressional districts are uncompetitive, having a new candidate without ties to corruption should be sufficient to overcome any Abramoff fallout.
If this happened later, we'd have to pull a Torricelli and force our candidates to quit, and get some judges to overturn election laws to put our new candidates on the ballots, so it would be harder.
I don't actually expect my congressman to investigate every person he deals with to ensure they aren't committing any criminal acts. Actually, I'd be concerned for our privacy if it was general practice for politicians to investigate people who requested hearings with them.
Fellow FREEPER'S we need to start a ripple effect on the Involvement of RATS in this Abramoff crap. Let the word out on TABS great info. I just emailed Polipundit, Hedgehog, Malkin, RedState, Powerline etc... with Tabs great List of Dem 's. We need to take down Harry Reid.
I imagine a lot of charities will come into a windfall in the coming weeks...LOL
I agree. If Frist and Speaker Haesert are not in front of the Cameras tonight explaining the Dem's Involvement in this scandal, then we should throw them out of leadership tommorrow. NO Trent Lott wimpy crap this time folks. We need to play dirty and street fight with the RATS.
LOL. I also noticed on Tradesports that GOP control of Congress for 2006 elections has gone up 5 points over the weekend.
We need Sean Hannity to take apart Harry Reid, not wimpy Chris Wallace.
Again, (like Chris Matthews' HARDBALL), no mention that the Republicans also control the Department of Justice too, the government agency who is fiercely going after republicans. You'd think that would deserve some attention, considering how different this is from the Clinton/Reno Justice Department.
Well, we need to keep the House in 06....Michael Barone said on Fox last night that there is not much hope for the rats to retake the House...the Senate may be close though...
The law is stupid.
Politicians have to have money to run campaigns.
So long as they don't take it for themselves and buy mink coats, why do we care so much about it?
We have a byzantine campaign finance law that makes it extremely difficult for politicians to get the money they need for campaigns. And so we have these lobbyists and operatives do it for them. Then just about every politician and lobbyist ends up either an indicted or unindicted criminal violator of the campaign finance laws.
The result? Cover-ups and more dishonesty and corruption.
I don't care who broke these laws. They are too complicated to obey, and anyone who really obeys them will lose to the guy who doesn't. It's a stupid law which should be broken. They all break it. They should repeal it, but until they do, color me completely indifferent as to who is indicted, or accused, or on the list, or why.
If a politician isn't on THIS list, he's on some other list and just hasn't been caught yet. They do what they have to do to get elected, and replacing them with others doesn't make the place any more honest. This is a bad law chewing up public servants, and I don't blame anybody for breaking it. It ought to be broken. The Supreme Court says the law is constitutional, so this is another example of a bad constitutional law that I, personally, do not care if is broken, and don't want to see anyone prosecuted for breaking it.
If we are not careful about these ridiculous legal witch hunts and the criminalization of politics, we are going to end up in Sulla's Republic, and we are going to richly deserve it too.
Stop the madness.
Cease fire!
I'm wondering - were most Americans polled while the impeached *Serial Perjurer was selling military secrets to the Chicoms for campaign contributions?
Right Mystery. Barone is very credible. I think in the Senate a lot will hinge on Trent Lott. Santorum could make a good comeback because Casey is a horrible Campaigner living on his family name. Barone also said last night that Senate DEM leaders have told the Pelosi moonbats and Marxists in the House to stop talking Impeachment.
If we no longer have Senatorial elections and revert back to the Statehouses appointing their Senators, then this money spigot from lobbyists to Congress will dry up. I can't see that kind of money flowing to the House of Representatives who are elected by populations of less than 100,000 each. Besides, there are 435 of them, which is too many to have effective lobbying during election time, especially with gerrymandered districts.
Eliminating the Senatorial elections is the cleanest way to go.
-PJ
-PJ
Reno was an absolute joke and kneepad girl for Bubba Clinton. We got revenge when the homely B#@ch lost her own party's nomination in the FLA Gov race in 2002.
Chris Matthews Brother is going to run as a GOP LT.GOV candidate with Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania.
This list is Just the perfect gift for all my DUmmie freinds. :)
This should shut them up. Now to find a way to make sure it is emailed to every address on the net......at least once a week until te election.
Only $6,250? C'mon, the lady has to eat!
Is this scandal limited to only the current years? Or could the Clinton Admin be involved too?
It's hard to believe with all the money and influence up for grabs the Clintons could stay away.
Our representatives have given whoring a whole new meaning.
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.