NYT: Abramoff flipped; discussing plea deal (bye bye crooks)

[ProSense]

December 21, 2005
Lobbyist Is Said to Discuss Plea and Testimony
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates, people with detailed knowledge of the case say.

Mr. Abramoff is believed to have extensive knowledge of what prosecutors suspect is a wider pattern of corruption among lawmakers and Congressional staff members. One participant in the case who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations described him as a "unique resource."

Other people involved in the case or who have been officially briefed on it said the talks had reached a tense phase, with each side mindful of the date Jan. 9, when Mr. Abramoff is scheduled to stand trial in Miami in a separate prosecution.

What began as a limited inquiry into $82 million of Indian casino lobbying by Mr. Abramoff and his closest partner, Michael Scanlon, has broadened into a far-reaching corruption investigation of mainly Republican lawmakers and aides suspected of accepting favors in exchange for legislative work.


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/politics/21abramoff.html?

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

1. This should be making DeLay very, very, very unhappy and nervous.

Aw.

:nopity:

[Spinzonner]

2. Perhaps we should do some fund raising

and get him a lifetime pass on a airline that doesn't fly small planes

[Kingshakabobo]

3. OOOOOH BOY!

:popcorn:

[Hekate]

9. Mmmm. Pass the melted butter, please

You need some more salt?
:popcorn:

Hekate

[ClayZ]

14. mmmm mmmm mmmm!

[savemefromdumbya]

4. look what will crawl out of the hole in January?

[cally]

5. This just may be it...the scandal that destroys the

Republican cabal. Sing like a birdie, Abramoff!

[Skittles]

21. probably a few Dems too

f*** it; let the chips fall where they may

[Enraged_Ape]

25. I agree wholeheartedly

You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

I just want the bums out, and I frankly don't care who they are or what party they're with. This shit has gone on for far too long.

[newscott]

6. Holy crap!

[Warpy]

7. I don't trust him

He strikes me as amoral, a fanatic, and extremely hard to scare.

In short, a sociopath.

If he sings, he's only going to rat out a few token moderates and a lot of Democrats.

It's true, anybody involved in this vat of sewage is expendable, but I sincerely doubt the big money movers in this are going to be affected.

Then again, with the subpoena of Wilkes's records in the Delay case, I could be wrong. Laundering DOD contract money directly into RNC campaign coffers may have put some fear into this bunch.

In any case, this is an attempt at damage control, both to get his own sentence reduced and to reduce the harm to the sainted GOP.

Nobody's used the word "racketeering" yet. Big giveaway.

[Lexingtonian]

11. he happens to have

a pretty enormous paper trail. He was a frantic, fast-moving, energetic guy and there's stuff like days where he wrote up to 300 emails. None of that Meyer Lansky keep-it-all-under-your-hat stuff. Assembling all the evidence into the separate deals and manouvers is the hard part, not finding it.

All the people he 'worked' with also have lots of paper for the prosecutors to work off of. It's a mountain. And dozens of people to testify to what was done. It's just so much in aggregate that any sensible jury is not going to bother with the details scrupulously- he's guilty of all the charges (the prosecution can probably bring hundreds of money laundering charges alone) or of none.

Guys like Abramoff don't have ideological allegiances. In this gang, it's only about who rats out who first and for the most now.

[StClone]

12. My thoughts too

He will divulge the involvement of Dems (smear). The vast majority of corruption will involve (R)s but the Flying Monkey Brigade will squeal with glee that they all are involved thus absolving, in Freeperthink, the biggest scandal ever (after Voter Scam).

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

8. I believe some time ago he said he wasn't going down alone.

[Straight Shooter]

10. Heh heh.

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

I perceive this as good news, extremely good news. :7

[Maraya1969]

13. Following all this is like watching a really good movie in slow motion

[tblue37]

15. I hope they have very heavy security for him. (eom)

[bearfan454]

23. No shit !

Time for Poppy to get his old CIA mafia buddies to help in some "suicides".

[Historic NY]

16. Let the games begin............

a collective sound of turning stomachs was heard throughout the District. :wow:

[shanti]

18. hey, i want to know

dem OR repuke. the cancer needs to be cut out.

[AtomicKitten]

17. Oh, jeez, I just had an orgasm.

[caligirl]

19. Investigators are calling it the "wives club" Holy c----!

Prosecutors are also looking at how some former Congressional staff members landed their lucrative lobbying positions and at the role the wives of several lobbyists and lawmakers may have had in any influence scheme, a piece of the puzzle that investigators have begun referring to privately as the "wives' club.":popcorn: :popcorn:
:rofl: :web:

[ngGale]

20. Holy Cow...*WOW*...

this should be good. Abramoff, may be the one guy who is more dangerous than they are. If some Dems are brought down with the rest, it's okay by me. Wonder who the wives are? :popcorn:

[leveymg]

22. This should be Front-Page! K&R

Hugh! Just Hugh!

[MrBenchley]

24. This will go through Delay all the way to the Chimp

Big news!