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Don't you just love "Politics"?

the chief

Well-known member
SD governor signs anti-abortion bill

Vermont towns vote to impeach Bush

Delay wins primary despite allegations of corruption

Illinois' former governor Ryan waits for jury verdict on licenses for bribes scandal

Former Prez Clinton had hand in UAE ports scandal


DON'T YOU JUST LOVE POLITICS? :mad: :evil: :twisted:
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
Delay "only" won the Republican primary by 61%. That's his party and still almost 40% voted for virtually unknown candidates. It'll be interesting to see who the Dems come up with to run against him in November.

Two more Republican lawmakers have been named in the Abramhoff investigation, including Katherine Harris from FL. She's hired an attorney, but is insisting that she'll stay in the Senate race. I hope she does. :D If she gets out now, the Republicans might find a good candidate to replace her.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Abramoff calls his, Burns' staff 'close'
Vanity Fair interview full of false claims, senator's office says
By JENNIFER MCKEE
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA -- Jack Abramoff got "every appropriation we wanted" from Sen. Conrad Burns' committee, the former lobbyist said in the April edition of Vanity Fair magazine.

"Our staffs were as close as they could be," Abramoff said of the relationship between his and Burns' offices. "They practically used (Abramoff's restaurant) Signatures as their cafeteria."

Abramoff said, "It's a little difficult for him to run from that record."

Burns, who received nearly $150,000 in campaign donations from Abramoff, his associates and his clients, has repeatedly tried to distance himself from the lobbyist. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January on corruption-related charges stemming from his lobbying practices. Burns has since pledged to refund the money. Burns told a Montana television station he wished Abramoff had "never been born." Earlier this year, he ran television spots throughout the state saying Abramoff "ripped off" his American Indian clients and "lied to anybody and everybody," but never influenced Burns.

Regarding Burns' statement that he wished Abramoff had "never been born," the lobbyist said, "That's quite a statement coming from a pro-life Republican."

Burns, who is seeking his fourth term, has come under intense criticism from Democrats for his connections to Abramoff. Democrats already have run three TV ads condemning Burns, whose poll numbers have slipped.

Abramoff's comments about Burns are part of a larger article about Abramoff and are some of the former super-lobbyist's first comments about the scandal.

After initially declining to say anything about the article, Burns' office released a two-paragraph statement Wednesday afternoon, disputing Abramoff's comment about getting "everything we wanted" as untrue.

"Lobbyists do not submit requests to the committee, only members of the U.S. Senate can," the statement says. Burns' office said the only money Burns ever requested was either for Montana or came at the request of other senators. Burns remains chairman of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, the panel that holds the purse strings for many American Indian programs.

"This fact negates the entire Abramoff quote from Vanity Fair," the statement says.

James Pendleton, a Burns spokesman, said the statement referred to the fact that Burns' influential support for a $3 million school construction grant for an Abramoff client, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, came at the request of Michigan's senators, not Abramoff.

Records show Michigan senators did request the money.

The Gazette State Bureau reported in December that letters previously released by both Burns and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., show Burns was advocating for the program more than a month before he received any official request from Michigan's senators. Burns' first letter supporting the school construction program came within two months of receiving $75,000 from Abramoff's clients in the spring of 2002, records show.

Burns' letter mentioned the school construction program, which was sought by Abramoff clients, although not the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe directly. Only two schools in Montana are eligible for the program.

E-mails exchanged between Abramoff and his lobbying colleagues at the time show the lobbyist was clearly pushing for the $3 million expressly for the Michigan tribe. Burns pushed for the grant over the initial objections of the Interior Department.

Jason Klindt, a spokesman for Burns' re-election campaign, called the article part of Abramoff's "last hurrah."

"He is a pathological liar who has no credibility and belongs in jail," Klindt said, adding that Abramoff "will say anything to reduce his time in jail or give the appearance that he is a victim."

Abramoff has been cooperating with Justice Department investigators for about 19 months, said Andrew Blum, a spokesman for Abramoff's lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Blum declined to comment further on the Vanity Fair article, snippets of which were reprinted on the Drudge Report Web site, prompting a stir among online political journalists.

Unnamed sources cited in national newspapers have said Burns is among a handful of lawmakers under federal investigation. At least one Burns-Abramoff connection is part of the investigation: A 2001 Abramoff-funded Super Bowl trip attended by Burns' former Chief of Staff Will Brooke and Ryan Thomas, a former Burns staffer who worked on the senator's Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and recently quit.

Brooke, who is voluntarily cooperating with the investigation, confirmed to the Gazette State Bureau earlier that the trip is part of the investigation.

Besides the flap over the Saginaw Chippewa school, Burns has come under scrutiny for another issue involving Abramoff and his clients. In 2001, Burns changed his position on a bill dealing with labor and immigration standards on the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory near Guam. Burns, who had earlier not opposed an identical but unsuccessful measure, voted against the law after receiving $5,000 in donations from an Abramoff client.

Two members of Burns' staff later went to work for Abramoff: Brooke and Shawn Vasell, Burns' former statewide director who worked for Burns immediately after leaving Abramoff's firm and returned to Abramoff after working for Burns for about a year.

Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald said, "The latest development in the Burns-Abramoff investigation is a disappointment and an embarrassment for Montana."

Abramoff's comments came to light the same day Burns proposed a new plan to hem in lobbying and other potential ethical lapses in Congress. Burns proposes creating an independent auditing arm of the Senate Ethics Committee to perform regular, surprise audits of Senate offices to make sure senators are following ethical rules, including those around lobbying.

"This amendment, in combination with other proposals, will bring light to our code of ethics, focus on education and compliance, and help clear out the perception too many Americans have that their government is for sale," Burns said in prepared remarks for delivery on the Senate floor Wednesday.
 

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