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Tribal council rejects Burns donation
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council has rejected a $111,000 donation from the campaign of Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., according to the council's vice chairman.
James Steele Jr., also chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said Tuesday that the council voted not to accept the donation, which was made up of contributions from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his associates and his tribal clients.
Steele declined to elaborate on the reasons why the council rejected the money.
Burns said in December that he would give away and return $146,700 in donations to avoid the appearance of improper connections to the lobbyist, who pleaded guilty in January to federal conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud charges.
Abramoff also admitted conspiring to defraud American Indian tribes, which he sometimes directed to make contributions to lawmakers.
Burns returned some of the funds directly to Abramoff's tribal clients. But campaign chairman Mark Baker said last week that they were not able to return some of the larger donations because the Burns committee they donated to has since shut down. A total of $111,000 was designated for the Montana-Wyoming tribal council instead.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council has rejected a $111,000 donation from the campaign of Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., according to the council's vice chairman.
James Steele Jr., also chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said Tuesday that the council voted not to accept the donation, which was made up of contributions from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his associates and his tribal clients.
Steele declined to elaborate on the reasons why the council rejected the money.
Burns said in December that he would give away and return $146,700 in donations to avoid the appearance of improper connections to the lobbyist, who pleaded guilty in January to federal conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud charges.
Abramoff also admitted conspiring to defraud American Indian tribes, which he sometimes directed to make contributions to lawmakers.
Burns returned some of the funds directly to Abramoff's tribal clients. But campaign chairman Mark Baker said last week that they were not able to return some of the larger donations because the Burns committee they donated to has since shut down. A total of $111,000 was designated for the Montana-Wyoming tribal council instead.
