The e-mail that one state employee would like back, Padgett Wilson

[maddezmom]

Every now and again, the Jack Abramoff saga — already forgotten by many — jumps up in the most unexpected of places.

Abramoff is the high-powered Republican lobbyist whose connections with Indian tribes and their gaming operations proved such a problem for Ralph Reed in his ’06 bid for lieutenant governor.

In Washington, low-grade prosecutions continue. Robert Coughlin, a former member of the Justice Department, pleaded guilty last week to accepting thousands of dollars in meals and tickets from Abramoff.


~snip~

Ring, a former staffer in the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft, had tickets for the Dave Matthews Band that he was giving to the lawyers who helped his clients. Coughlin, who at one time worked with Ring at DOJ, had helped his friend make contacts with Justice Department staffers. “I have the suite filling up with DOJ staffers that just got our clients $16 million,” Ring said in an e-mail to a fellow lobbyist, Padgett Wilson.

Wilson’s e-mail reply asserted that Dave Matthews tickets weren’t enough of a reward. “As for those DOJ staffers, those guys should get anything they want for the rest of the time they are in office—opening day tickets, Skins v. Giants, oriental massages, hookers, whatever.” Wilson is now director of governmental affairs for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

more:http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/04/30/the_email_that_one_state_emplo.html

[Maddy McCall]

1. OUCH! What a stupid, stupid thing to put in writing.

[psychmommy]

2. jack abramoff scandal -the gift that keeps on giving

the tentacles on this story never stop surfacing. good story thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Here's a Wikipedia on Kevin Ring. What a genius. He fits right in there.

Kevin Ring
~snip~

Profiles
"In 2002 and 2003, he was named a 'Top Rainmaker' by The Hill newspaper in its annual rankings of Washington’s premier lobbyists. In addition to providing legislative counsel, Mr. Ring advises clients on participation in media, grassroots, and political campaigns.

"Before entering private practice, he worked for several years on Capitol Hill as a staffer in both the House of Representatives and Senate. In 1993, Mr. Ring joined the staff of U.S. Representative John T. Doolittle, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and an elected member of the House Republican leadership team. After his promotion to legislative director in 1995, he was charged with implementing the congressman’s legislative agenda and serving as a liaison to the House leadership.

"In 1998, Mr. Ring was named by then-U.S. Senator John Ashcroft to serve as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights Subcommittee that Sen. Ashcroft chaired. Among other duties, he advised Sen. Ashcroft on federal judicial nominations. He served there a year before returning to the House to become executive director of the Conservative Action Team (later renamed the House Republican Study Committee), a caucus of 70 House Republicans.

"Mr. Ring’s book, Scalia Dissents: Writings of the Supreme Court’s Wittiest, Most Outspoken Justice, was published by Regnery Publishing in November 2004. Mr. Ring graduated from The Morgan School. Mr. Ring earned his B.A. in political science from Syracuse University and graduated with honors from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Maryland Bar."

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_A._Ring