Lawmakers Frantic as Abramoff Prepares to Sing, More Republicans in Jeopardy Than Dems

Bloomberg reported today, that Members of Congress are now biting their fingernails, as former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, appears close to a deal with federal prosecutors.
Previous news reports have indicated that 20+ lawmakers and White House staff members may find themselves in the slammer before the dust settles.

Some 220 lawmakers received at least $1.7 million in political donations from Abramoff, his associates and nine tribal clients between 2001 and 2004, according to a review of Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service records. Of those, 201 are still in Congress. Republicans received $1.1 million, or 64 percent of the total.

``When this is all over, this will be bigger than any (government scandal) in the last 50 years, both in the amount of people involved and the breadth to it,'' said Stan Brand, a former U.S. House counsel who specializes in representing public officials accused of wrongdoing. ``It will include high-ranking members of Congress and executive branch officials.''

Other Inducements

Several lawmakers are giving back the money they took in from Abramoff's clients and associates. Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, the top Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said Dec. 13 he was returning $67,000 in donations.

Scanlon's plea agreement suggests investigators also are looking at Abramoff's use of his Washington restaurant, sporting-event skyboxes and golf trips as inducements for favors from members of Congress.

A cooperating Abramoff would be ``the insider who will describe every event, every phone call, every cup of coffee and conversations at golf outings,'' said Joshua Berman, a partner at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal in Washington who until 2004 was an attorney in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, which is leading the prosecution. ``The paper records won't tell you what was discussed at the fourth hole. Abramoff can.''

A 2002 golf trip to Scotland was one of the gifts Scanlon pleaded guilty to offering Ney, who heads the House Administration Committee.

White House Official

David Safavian, the former top procurement officer at the White House, was indicted in October for making false statements about business his agency had with Abramoff before taking part in the same golf trip. The trip cost Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation at least $166,634, according to financial records released in November by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The complete story may be found here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=amdn73iOlYaE&refer=top_world_news