We never accepted" money directly from Abramoff. He raised $ for everyone.

[bigtree]

MARTINEZ FUNDRAISER PROMPTS QUESTIONS

Last week, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez made a point of returning $2,500 in campaign contributions from embattled Rep. Bob Ney -- an Ohio Republican whom convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff claims he bribed.

Martinez's office said at the time: "Senator Martinez wants to make it crystal clear to his constituents that he is not interested in any campaign donation that has even a hint of impropriety in this matter."

It turns out that Martinez kicked off his 2004 campaign for Senate with a fundraiser that wasn't just connected to Abramoff -- it was co-chaired by him.

As word about the $250,000 event leaked around Washington on Wednesday, the liberal Senate Majority Project pounced with a release titled: "HEY, MEL? SOMETHING ELSE YOU WANNA GIVE BACK?"

The answer, so far, is no.

Abramoff was one of several co-chairs of the event, meaning he helped round up donations, ranging from $1,000 to $4,000. Said Martinez spokeswoman Feehery of Abramoff: "He did fundraising for pretty much everyone."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-maxwell2606jan26,0,4941874.column?coll=orl-news-col



That's the same with Bush. Abramoff, a Bush Pioneer, raised $100,000 for the Bush campaign, but, they only 'returned' $6,000. I guess so long as they set up laundering donors like the RNC to run their cash donations through they can take money from criminals with impunity, and with no sanction.