Senate Report: Five NGOs Sold Clout to Abramoff

[carzen]

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.

.......

Officers of the groups "were generally available to carry out Mr. Abramoff's requests for help with his clients in exchange for cash payments," said the report, issued by the Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee after a one-year investigation.

.......

The report states that the groups probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange or writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."

The groups are Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform; the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, which was co-founded by Norquist and Gale Norton before she became Secretary of the Interior; Citizens Against Government Waste; the National Center for Public Policy Research, which was a spinoff of the Heritage Foundation; and Toward Tradition, a religious group founded by Abramoff friend Rabbi Daniel Lapin.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. I would be nice to see

the IRS actually do something with these findings. Like pull their 501c.

[babylonsister]

2. What a tangled, crooked web we're going to witness

being taken apart, strand by strand. And it's looking to be really dirty; I hope every head involved rolls!

[AlCzervik]

3. When will Norquist get perp walked?

[femrap]

4. Oh, I can't wait to see that!

Do you know that he is one short little turd? About 5'5"....just like Cheney and Rummy. What is it with this short regime....bunch of Napoleons, I guess.

[sofa king]

21. Napoleon was taller, then.

Napoleon was 5' 2" in French inches, which were not the same as English inches. He was actually 5' 6" in English inches, or just about average height for his time.

Nevertheless, Napoleon was still an asshole, just like Cheney and Rummy.

Since some smartass is bound to bring this up, Bonaparte doesn't get a whole lot of help in the conversion department when it comes to his wanker. Most accounts describe it as small, though death and mummification of the member in quesiton might account for some of the shrinkage.

[Octafish]

5. GOP's quid pro quo glow is showing.

The report states that the groups probably violated their tax-exempt status by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange or writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."

[williesgirl]

6. WP - Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to Abramo

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.

snip

The groups are Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform; the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, which was co-founded by Norquist and Gale Norton before she became Secretary of the Interior; Citizens Against Government Waste; the National Center for Public Policy Research, which was a spinoff of the Heritage Foundation; and Toward Tradition, a religious group founded by Abramoff friend Rabbi Daniel Lapin

snip

The report states that the groups probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange or writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."




More "culture of corruption" news.

[iconoclastic cat]

7. Every day is now a Friday news dump! nt

[pk_du]

8. Oooh...Norquist and Amy Ridenour heading for the slammer

..now there's a thought to brighten my day!

[aquart]

9. I won't believe it's true until it happens.

But perhaps I should buy some champagne and just save it in case.

[Demeter]

10. This Actually Saw the Light Of Day!

America is a little freer than it was this morning! It's like the first robin in spring, you gotta feel a little hope!

[pepperbear]

11. oh snap......it's all so simple when you follow the bouncing $. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

12. kick

[Mnemosyne]

13. knr 5# n/t

[immoderate]

14. Is Norquist going to jail?

--IMM

[LetsThink]

15. Ummmm! Tax Strategists in Bad Spot...... with Conservative Ads..

... about tax policy. They could end up with a bunch of $$$ expensive ads which make their R candidates look like they are aligned with the bad guys..... ha-he-he-he-he-ha-ha! Is it mean of me to giggle a little? Am I too hopeful?

Wonder if Grover can get Chinese takeout from a cell?

[RedEarth]

16. .....KR

[IWantAChange]

17. DNC potential talking points just keep getting stronger.....

it should be interesting to see what the political talk shows Sunday morning choose to talk about - the GOP is providing a Greek restaurant menu of choices.

[civildisoBDence]

18. Downpressor man, where you gonna run to?

When you run to the rocks, the rocks they will be melting.
When you run to the sea, the sea it will be boiling.
--Peter Tosh

I guess that's the way it goes in HELL, sport.

Newsprism

[NashVegas]

19. Is Grover Being Strangled in a Bathtub?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[elaineb]

20. Not yet, but we all know bathtubs can be a bit slippery to stand in.

Especially ones filled with foul, dirty water, like the one that these "gentlemen" are sharing.

Be careful, Grove, don't slip and hit your head. Don't want to fall fate to the same consequence you wished on our country's government!

[nealmhughes]

22. These are the neocons at their worst: anti-environent, anti-worker, anti-

everything except for war and personal power and greed and ripping off Indian tribes.

A more sordid bunch has never been found in one place since the final days of Nicholas Romanov II in Petersburg...

[Doctor_J]

23. Grover needs a vacation in Guantanamo

His pink, pudgy self would be a big hit there. Or any other real prison.