Reply #91: ABRAMOFF Self-Convicted Felon Drops Political A-Bomb On Republican Party

[L. Coyote]

Jack Abramoff: The A-Bomb Drops On Washington
January 5, 2006
http://www.billpress.com/columns/010506.html

Meet Jack Abramoff. President of the national College Republicans. Top Republican lobbyist in Washington. A Bush “Pioneer,” who raised over $100,000 for the 2000 Bush for President campaign. Member of the Bush-Cheney transition team. Friend and ally of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay and other top Republicans in the House and Senate.

Meet Jack Abramoff: Self-convicted felon. First-class schmuck. Poster boy for the Republican Party.

Abramoff admits milking his clients for tens of millions of dollars, and delivering very little in return. He also admits showering members of Congress with free meals and drinks, campaign cash, golf outings, and luxury junkets to England, Russia, South Korea, and the North Marianas Islands. Now, in order to spend less time behind bars, Abramoff has dropped the A-bomb on official Washington, agreeing to name members who accepted gifts in return for official acts benefiting his clients.

That’s made many a Republican in Washington sweat like a pig, starting with the ill-fated Tom Delay, already indicted in Texas on unrelated charges of laundering campaign funds. Delay enjoyed Abramoff-paid junkets to England, Scotland, Russia — and then to the North Marianas, after which he blocked legislation cracking down on sweatshops and sex shops in the American territory. Then there’s Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, who accepted $150,000 from Abramoff — and immediately reversed his vote on the Marianas legislation from yes to no. And Ohio Congressman Bob Ney, who agreed to introduce legislation sought by, and placed statements in the Congressional Record in praise of, Abramoff clients.

No sooner did Abramoff plead guilty of wire fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to break the law than the Republican spin machine went into high gear, peddling two lines of bull: ....................