Posted on 08/22/2009 1:58:35 PM PDT by Palin Republic
Cooper was also regularly "comped" at Abramoff's restaurant, Signatures, the Justice Department claims. When getting a free meal, sometimes Cooper would pay for a soft drink on a credit card making "it appear that he had paid for his Signatures meals and drinks when actually he did not," the indictment says.
Prosecutors contend that in exchange for the largesse, Cooper used his influence to help Abramoff get federal funds from the Department of State and to help an Abramoff colleague trying to resolve a wage-and-hour investigation at Labor. In one e-mail, Cooper allegedly offered to "fix" problems related to the inquiry. Cooper "concealed" the gifts from Abramoff on personal financial disclosures filed with the government, the indictment says.
"We’re very disappointed the Department of Justice decided to go forward with these charges," Cooper's attorney Sol Wisenberg told POLITICO. "Horace Cooper is innocent and we look forward to our day in court. We intend to vigorously try this case."
The indictment also says that in his dealings with Abramoff in 2002 Cooper used a personal e-mail account that invoked his tie to Armey: armeyman@netscape.net. The former House majority leader is not charged or named in the indictment, besides the mention in the e-mail address.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
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