Lobbyist Confirms Talks With Reids Office (contacts were incidental)

[sabra]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/02/10/national/w190422S92.DTL

Lobbyist Confirms Talks With Reids Office

One of Jack Abramoff's ex-colleagues confirmed Friday he contacted Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's office on behalf of the influential lobbyist but said he doesn't believe Abramoff's billing records accurately reflect the extent of his work.

Ronald Platt, a lobbyist who worked with Abramoff at the Greenberg Traurig firm between 2001 and 2004, said he contacted Reid's office in 2001, as the billing records show, about the timing of minimum wage legislation affecting Abramoff's Northern Mariana Islands client.


...


"These contacts were incidental, insofar as I simply bumped into Reid staffers at Democratic Party functions or occurred incidental to discussions regarding my clients, not Abramoff's," Platt said. "Any contacts that I may have had in regards to Abramoff's tribal clients would have been similarly incidental."

As for the 21 contacts listed in the billing records, Platt noted Abramoff has pleaded guilty to defrauding clients and said the references in the AP story were inaccurate. He was not more specific.

[Rose Siding]

1. Platt's the one Josh Marshall called as soon as the first story hit

No reporter had even TRIED to contact this key player about the story before they ran it.

So, Abramoff's staff billed clients when they ran into someone in a hall?! Thieves.

[sabra]

2. as usual the blogs are the real MSM...

peace

[madfloridian]

3. The media spin has been amazing.

"These contacts were incidental, insofar as I simply bumped into Reid staffers at Democratic Party functions or occurred incidental to discussions regarding my clients, not Abramoff's," Platt said. "Any contacts that I may have had in regards to Abramoff's tribal clients would have been similarly incidental."

[Rose Siding]

4. What are the odds these facts will EVER cut through the spin that

"Democrats did it TOO"? :(

[madfloridian]

5. Like blm said today, we have to work together on this.

Whenever Media Matters calls someone out on these things, we need to use their links to write. Rapid Response is good on this, too.

If we sit back and let others do it, it won't get done.

Here is the link, all kinds of good stuff.
http://mediamatters.org/

[Judi Lynn]

6. Lobbyist confirms talks with Reid's office

Posted 2/11/2006 11:03 AM Updated 2/11/2006 11:05 AM

Lobbyist confirms talks with Reid's office

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Jack Abramoff's ex-colleagues confirms he contacted Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's office on behalf of the influential lobbyist but says he does not believe Abramoff's billing records accurately reflect the extent of his work.
(snip)

"These contacts were incidental, insofar as I simply bumped into Reid staffers at Democratic Party functions or occurred incidental to discussions regarding my clients, not Abramoff's," Platt said. "Any contacts that I may have had in regard to Abramoff's tribal clients would have been similarly incidental."

As for the 21 contacts listed in the billing records, Platt noted Abramoff has pleaded guilty to defrauding clients and said the references in the AP's story were inaccurate. He was not more specific.

Platt acknowledged he input his own time entries into his firm's billing system and that "any time billed to the Northern Marianas was to simply monitor the progress of the legislation." He said any help he provided with Abramoff's client ended in late 2001.
(snip/...)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-11-abramoff-reid_x.htm

[Debi]

7. How many times does this story have to be posted?

Lobbyists lobby...that's what they do. Did anything improper happen? Did Reid change his position? Change his vote? NO!!!! :eyes: spinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspinspin

[DS1]

8. They've pulled out all the stop - misleading headline

It says yes, we talked, just like everyone talks while passing in the hallways, and Abramoff says himself that the numbers are bullshit

[Kagemusha]

9. Hmm... actually, this implies something I did't realize before.

Platt's saying that if Abramoff billed the tribes on the basis of Platt having done serious, extensive work - that is, WITH REID - then Abramoff was misrepresenting the work and defrauding the tribes by playing up the results.

Given this, the emphasis of the headline is quite misleading.

[Debi]

10. Abramoff mislead his tribal clients????? WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?

That's the story that the MSM should be focusing on.....

[kurth]

11. Abramoff-Reid Abramoff-Reid Abramoff-Reid Abramoff-Reid Abramoff-Reid

See the pattern in the news???

Democrats need to throw this shit back at them.

[Debi]

12. Like this??

Abramoff-Bush-Delay-Bush-Libby-Bush-Scanlon-Bush-Cunningham-Bush-etc., etc., etc.

[Gelliebeans]

13. k&r