Emails expose sordid tale of political corruption
Fussnoten
If you want to understand about the Abramoff scandal, look at the emails online at the McCain Indian Affairs hearing, writes journalist Robert Scheer.
Associated Press, Controversial Lobbyist had Close Contact with Bush Team, USA Today, May 6, 2005 (updated May 7, 2005). See also Bush Assistant Labor Secretary Worked on Troubled Abramoff Accounts Worth Millions of Dollars, "TheRawStory", January 4, 2006.
In the March 6, 2005 AP story, the reporter adds:
"Most of the contacts were handled by Abramoff's subordinates, who then reported back to him on the meetings. Abramoff met several times personally with top Interior officials, whose Office of Insular Affairs oversees the Mariana Islands and other U.S. territories." Along with the contacts with top Interior Department officials, the reporter notes that there are records of at least 196 contacts between Abramoff's team and Bush administration officials in the period from February through November 2001.
Philip Shenon, Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting, New York Times, November 9, 2005
James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt, Dorgan Tangled in Abramoff Web, Washington Post, Monday, December 5, 2005. Grimaldi and Schmidt write, "In 2001, Dorgan held a fundraising event in an MCI Center skybox during a hockey game. The fundraiser was organized by Smith and the skybox was leased by an Abramoff company. Dorgan acknowledged to the AP that in the fall of 2003 he pushed Congress to approve legislative language urging government regulators to decide whether the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts deserved federal recognition. About the same time, Dorgan met with the tribe's representatives and Michael D. Smith, an Abramoff associate."
It is reported that Dorgan has since returned $67,000 to Indian tribes.
Justice Department News Conference on Abramoff Guilty Plea, "The Washington Post,", Tuesday, January 3, 2006l