Lobbying Colors GOP Contest
Rivals for DeLay Post No Strangers to K St.
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 11, 2006; Page A01
In years past, when the House has recessed for its winter break, Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has decamped for warmer climates and a sailing trip to the Caribbean with some of the city’s top lobbyists, including Henry Gandy of the well-connected Duberstein Group and Timothy McKone of SBC Communications.
Over the summer, they discussed a trip for this year as well, Boehner said yesterday, but last week the lobbyists weighed anchor without him, content to communicate by telephone while the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee rushed to Washington for a high-stakes run to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) as House majority leader.
The annual vacation, dubbed a “boys’ trip” by detractors, points to an issue underlying the current House leadership race: Both Boehner and his rival for majority leader, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), have extensive ties to the same K Street lobbying world that stained DeLay’s reputation and spawned the Abramoff corruption scandal.
Washington Post
Poll: Public Uneasy With GOP Leadership
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 13 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Dissatisfied with the nation’s direction, Americans are leaning toward wanting a change in which political party leads Congress — preferring that Democrats take control, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Democrats are favored over Republicans 49 percent to 36 percent.
The polling came as disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to tax evasion, fraud and corruption charges and agreed to aid a federal investigation of members of Congress and other government officials.
President Bush’s job approval remains low — 40 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll, with only one-third saying the country is headed in the right direction. Bush also remains low on his handling of Iraq, where violence against Iraqis and U.S. troops has been surging.
“I just don’t like the direction our country is going in,” said Steve Brown, a political independent from Olympia, Wash. “I think a balance of power would be beneficial right now.”
Yahoo News
House GOP Calls for DeLay Replacement
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay’s hopes of reclaiming his position as House majority leader suffered a potentially fatal setback on Friday as a growing number of fellow Republicans called for new leadership in the midst of a congressional corruption scandal.
“It’s clear that we need to elect a new majority leader to restore the trust and confidence of the American people,” said Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, as two fellow Republicans circulated a petition calling for new elections.
Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., whose own hold on power appears secure, signaled he would not stand in the way of elections that could produce changes in several leadership posts.
“This is consistent with the speaker’s announcement … that House Republicans would revisit this matter at the beginning of this year,” said his spokesman, Ron Bonjean, referring to the petition drive.
Yahoo News
Prosecutor Broadens DeLay Inquiry
Data on GOP Donation to U.S. Family Network Demanded
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 6, 2006; Page A05
The Texas prosecutor who secured an indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) on money-laundering charges broadened the scope of his inquiry into election spending yesterday, demanding documents related to funds that passed through a nonprofit organization, the U.S. Family Network.
The group, which was founded in 1996 by DeLay’s then-chief of staff, Edwin A. Buckham, received $500,000 in 1999 from the National Republican Congressional Committee and used some of the money to finance radio ads attacking Democrats. The Federal Election Commission fined the party in 2004 for its role in the funding.
The prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, sent subpoenas yesterday to Buckham; the group’s former president, Christopher Geeslin; the NRCC; and the treasurer of DeLay’s leadership political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority.
The subpoenas asked for all documents related to the $500,000 contribution, including any correspondence involving DeLay or Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials and other crimes this week. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the largest donors to the U.S. Family Network were all associated with Abramoff. They contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the group before it folded in 2001.
Washington Post
So much for ol’ Tom being cleared in time to return to his leadership role for the start of the next congressional session.
Bush to Give Up $6,000 In Abramoff Contributions
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 5, 2006; Page A01
Republican Party officials said yesterday that President Bush will give up $6,000 in campaign contributions connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, joining an expansive list of politicians who have shed more than half a million dollars in tainted campaign cash.
The announcement came as Abramoff pleaded guilty in a second criminal case, acknowledging that he conspired to defraud lenders in the purchase of a fleet of Florida casino boats five years ago. The court appearance in Miami came a day after Abramoff pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Washington to defrauding Indian tribe clients of millions of dollars, conspiring to bribe members of Congress and evading taxes.
Washington Post
President Bush, got $6,000 directly from Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan for the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign, which is being donated to the American Heart Association. Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the campaign, so the $6K donation is largely symbolic. They’re keeping the real cash. Call it dirty money.
The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail
Nonprofit Group Linked to Lawmaker Was Funded Mostly by Clients of Lobbyist
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 31, 2005; Page A01
The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.
During its five-year existence, the U.S. Family Network raised $2.5 million but kept its donor list secret. The list, obtained by The Washington Post, shows that $1 million of its revenue came in a single 1998 check from a now-defunct London law firm whose former partners would not identify the money’s origins.
Washington Post
Smells like maybe Tom is full of shit to me.
