Culture of Corruption Continues Without Delay

June 9, 2006

Today, disgraced former Republican House Leader Tom DeLay is resigning from Congress, although he leaves a legacy of scandal in his wake. In addition to his indictments in a case involving political money laundering in Texas, DeLay is believed to be under investigation in the case against convicted former Republican superlobbyist Jack Abramoff. Two former DeLay aides and Abramoff have pleaded guilty to corruption charges and are cooperating with federal investigators. [Houston Chronicle, 6/9/06]

"For the last twelve years, Tom DeLay helped create the Republicans' culture of corruption in Washington, DC," said Democratic National spokesman Luis Miranda. "But even with DeLay's departure, the Republican culture of corruption still has a strong grip on Washington. This Republican culture of corruption stretches from the Bush White House, with investigations into David Safavian, Scooter Libby and Karl Rove, through the K Street Project, to the Republican-controlled Congress with both Bob Ney and Bill Frist under investigation. It is also the GOP’s abuses of power like tax breaks for the energy and pharmaceutical companies, while doing nothing to stop sky-rocketing gas prices and health care costs that put the interests of their party ahead of what’s good for America. Together, America can do better. Democrats remain committed to real ethics reform, and to restoring honest leadership and a government as good as the people it serves."

GOP'S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION STILL STRONG

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER BILL FRIST (TN)
Frist Subpoenaed By SEC On Suspicion That He Violated "Insider Trading Laws." "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist... has been subpoenaed to turn over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the subpoena within the past two weeks, after initial reports that Frist, the Senate's top Republican official, was under scrutiny by the agency and the Justice Department for possible violations of insider trading laws." [Washington Post, 10/13/05]

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN BOEHNER
In Wake Of DeLay Scandals, Boehner Had No Plan To Change Lobbying Rules. John Boehner became House Republican Leader after Tom DeLay stepped down amid a swirl of ethics problems. In an interview with the Washington Post shortly after taking his new post, Boehner "emphasized that he has no plan to change lobbying rules." He also said that he would not seek a ban on "provisions in spending bills that fund lawmakers' pet projects," also known as earmarks. [Washington Post, 2/4/06]

Boehner's Ethics Agenda A "Joke." "Do you remember, back when the spotlight was on Jack Abramoff, how House Republican leaders pledged to get tough on lobbyists? Well, you may; apparently they don't. The House plans this week to take up the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, a watered-down sham that would provide little in the way of accountability or transparency. If the Senate-passed measure was a disappointment, the House version is simply a joke -- or, more accurately, a ruse aimed at convincing what the leaders must believe is a doltish public that the House has done something to clean up Washington." [Washington Post, Editorial, 4/25/06]

SEN. CONRAD BURNS (R-MT)
Burns Pushed Interior Department To Build School For Wealthy Indian Tribe and Abramoff Client; Received $152,000 From Abramoff and Clients. In 2004, Conrad Burns pressured the Department of Interior to award the Saginaw Chippewas of Michigan $3 million from a program that was designed to fund schools for cash strapped American Indian tribes, despite the fact that the Saginaw Chippewas were considered one of the richest in the United States. The tribe had donated over $150,000 to Burns' campaign and political action committees, including 42 percent of the total funds raised by his leadership PAC, Friends of the Big Sky Fund. Burns was chairman of the Interior Appropriations subcommittee which gave him the power to control funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, making him a valuable asset for Abramoff. [AP, 3/1/05; tray.com]

REP. BOB NEY (R-OH)
Ney Attempted to Insert Tigua Provision Into Unrelated Legislation. Ney attempted to help re-open the casino of the Tigua Indian tribe represented by disgraced former GOP superlobbyist Jack Abramoff by attempting to slip a provision into the Help America Vote Act, which Ney's committee had jurisdiction over. Tigua had paid Abramoff and his associate Michael Scanlon $4.2 million in an effort to reopen their casino. [Washington Post, 12/26/04; 11/18/04]

Ney Agreed To Introduce Language To Conference Committee To Lift Federal Gaming Ban. Bob Ney, in his capacity as Chairman of a Congressional Conference Committee said that he would "introduce and seek passage of legislation that would lift the existing federal ban against commercial gambling in order to benefit a client of Abramoff, a Native American Tribe in Texas." At the time Abramoff represented the Tigua tribe of Indians, a tribe whose casino he was trying to reopen, after successfully ensuring its closure for one of his other tribal clients. [Factual Basis for the Plea of Tony C. Rudy, 3/31/06]

Abramoff Wined and Dined Ney. Abramoff provided Ney with numerous tickets for sporting events and concerts, and provided him with regular meals and drinks at his restaurant, Signatures. Ney also used Abramoff's MCI Center box for fundraisers and his chief of staff was later hired by Abramoff. Abramoff's fundraising log shows an event for Ney at MCI Center on March 15, 2001. [Washington Post, 12/26/04; Plea Agreement between DOJ and Abramoff, 1/3/06]

Abramoff Gave Donations To and For Ney. Abramoff contributed $4,000 to Ney's personal campaign committee in 2000 and provided a $10,000 donation to the NRCC at Ney's request. [Plea Agreement between DOJ and Abramoff, 1/3/06]

Ney Awarded Contract To Abramoff Client Through "Highly Politicized Process." In 1999, the House of Representatives decided to place a series of cell phone antennas in the Capitol and House Office Buildings, in order to improve cell phone coverage. LGC Wireless was awarded the contract, and LGC proceeded to work with Capitol officials for a year on a plan for the implementation of the new system. In 2001, Ney became Chairman of the House Administration Committee. Soon after, LGC was removed from the project and replaced by Foxcom Wireless, an Israeli telecommunications company and an Abramoff client. Foxcom had paid Abramoff $280,000 for lobbying and had donated $50,000 to Abramoff's charity, The Capitol Athletic Foundation. [Washington Post, 10/18/05]

• Capitol Officials Expressed Surprise At Sudden Change in Policy. "We were really surprised, given all the work we put in with LGC in designing the system," said Henry F. 'Bud' Collins Jr., the senior network systems engineer for the House. 'Then, all of a sudden this other company showed up. We had to go through this whole thing again.'"

SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA)
Santorum Runs K Street Project For GOP - Hand Picks Republicans To Fill High-Level Lobbyist Positions. Santorum runs the K Street project where he "vets the hiring decisions of major lobbyists." The K Street project, created by conservative movement leader Grover Norquist and indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, seeks to place Republicans in high-level corporate and lobbyist positions. As of June 2003, Santorum had successfully placed "33 of 36 top-level Washington positions he [was] monitoring." All positions went to Republicans. As the Washington Post reported, Santorum's colleagues resorted to "intimidation and private threats" to bully lobbyists who try to maintain good relations with both parties. [New York Times, 6/27/03; Washington Post, 6/26/03; US News & World Report, 10/17/05; Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/9/06]

• Santorum Worked To Expand Reach Of The K Street Project. In May 2002, Santorum hosted a private meeting in the Capitol where two dozen lobbyists and staffers got a thick list of lobbyists, some with their party affiliation and past political jobs already identified. The meeting's attendees were asked to help fill in the blanks, and told them his own staff would research the political contributions. [Washington Post, 6/10/02]
  
• Santorum Discussed Consequences Against MPAA When It Hired A Democrat. When Democrat Dan Glickman took over the Motion Picture Association of America, Santorum said he wasn't sure hiring Glickman was "effective" to the movie industry's approach "if they are going to reach across the aisle." A few weeks later, Santorum started discussing consequences for the movie industry in response to its decision to hire Glickman. "Yeah, we had a meeting and, yeah, we talked about making sure that we have fair representation on K Street," Santorum said. "I admit that I pay attention to who is hiring and I think it's important for leadership to pay attention." A few weeks after that, the House removed about $1.5 billion in motion picture industry tax cuts from a pending bill. Glickman then hired a former aide to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and gave $500 to Santorum's campaign. [Wall Street Journal, 8/24/05, Roll Call, 7/21/04, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/4/05]

GROVER NORQUIST OF AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM, A GOP INTEREST GROUP
Norquist and Abramoff Arranged for Pay to Play Meetings For Bush and the Choctaw and the Coushatta. "An arrangement involving two Indian tribes, the head of an anti-tax organization and a lobbyist now under criminal investigation - plus $50,000 - secured Indian leaders a private audience with President Bush... At the behest of Abramoff, two Indian tribes - the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and Mississippi Band of Choctaw - paid $25,000 each to Norquist's group to underwrite a 2001 event that included a private meeting with Bush. Two other entities, which the group declined to identify, also helped underwrite the event. 'The exposure would be incredible and would be very helpful,' Abramoff wrote to one of the tribe's attorneys in asking for the donation. 'One of the things we need to do is get the leaders of the tribe (ideally the chief) in front of the president as much as possible.'" [AP, 6/8/05]

DAVID SAFAVIAN, FORMER CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICIAL AT OMB
Safavian Arrested In Connection With Abramoff Probe. The Bush Administration's chief contracting and procurement official at OMB, David Safavian was arrested on charges of making false statements to an ethics official, making false statements to the General Services Agency's Inspector General, and obstruction of a GSA-IG investigation. [Washington Post, 9/20/05; DOJ Release, 9/19/05]

• Safavian Accused of Lying About Abramoff Contacts, At Least Three Times. "The complaint alleges that Safavian lied about his contacts with Abramoff on three occasions after his initial false pledge to the GSA ethics officer. The first was during a 2003 investigation by GSA's inspector general, who was responding to an anonymous tipster's hotline complaint; the second was in a March 17, 2005, letter to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; and the third was during an FBI interview on May 26, 2005" [Washington Post, 9/20/05]

Safavian Provided Hands on Assistance to Help Abramoff Lease GSA Property Before Trip to Scotland While Lying to GSA Ethics Officer. While he was the GSA chief of staff in August 2002, Safavian took part in a trip to Scotland hosted by Jack Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation. In the days leading up to his trip with Abramoff, Safavian had extensive contact with him regarding his business with GSA. In July of 2002, they discussed the need for possible "Hill pressure" to close the deal on the office space in the Old Post Office building. On the same day that Safavian discussed the golf trip with the GSA ethics officer, assuring him that Abramoff had no business with GSA, Safavian emailed Abramoff from his personal computer, the email advised Abramoff on how to "lay out a case for this lease." The day before the Scotland trip Safavian arranged for a meeting between Abramoff's wife and business partners and GSA officials to discuss the lease. [Washington Post, 1/21/05; Washington Post, 9/20/05]

NEW HAMPSHIRE PHONE-JAMMING SCANDAL
2002 New Hampshire Phone-Jamming Scandal Potentially Involves White House. On Election Day in 2002, a telemarketing company was hired by New Hampshire Republican operatives to jam the phone lines of five Democratic get-out-the-vote centers and one fire fighters union center in New Hampshire. As the plan was developed, implemented and began to unravel, people involved made dozens of telephone calls to a White House phone number in the political department, which was run by current RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman. [AP, 4/11/06]

• Abramoff and Mehlman Linked to Criminal Phone Jamming Scheme. When he was White House Political Director, Ken Mehlman's office received dozens of calls from convicted phone-jammer James Tobin, who was sentenced to ten months in prison (Mehlman is now the Chairman of the Republican National Committee.) Four people have now received criminal sentences in the case, but the RNC and White House refuse to answer critical questions about who in Washington was involved in the case. Worse still, Jack Abramoff's tribal clients appear to have directed thousands of dollars to the New Hampshire Republcian Party. "[T]two of his tribal clients made inexplicable contributions to the NHRSC in October 2002. The Mississippi Choctaw cut a check on Oct. 10 for $ 10,000; according to FEC records, it was deposited on Oct. 28 along with a $5,000 check from the Agua Caliente. Together, the contributions total $15,000, approximate to the $15,600 the NHRSC paid for the jamming. There are no Indian tribes in New Hampshire. If Abramoff wasn't somehow a party to McGee's scheme, why did he direct money at New Hampshire? It is just one more open question emerging from McGee's brilliant idea, which continues to shine an unwelcome light on the Republican Party almost four years later." [In These Times, 6/06]

TOM NOE
Noe was Regional Chairman of Bush Cheney Campaign and Frequently Spoke with Rove. As a regional chairman of the campaign, Mr. Noe had frequent contact with Karl Rove, the architect of the President's re-election. And Ohio, it turned out, was the pivotal state in the election, narrowly pushing President Bush to victory. [Toledo Blade, 4/28/05]

• Bush Thanked Noe for "His Leadership". On October 29, 2004 at a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, Bush singled out Noe for his work on the campaign. Bush said, "I want to thank the grassroots activists. I want to thank my friend Bernadette Noe and Tom Noe for their leadership in Lucas County." After the speech, Bush and the first lady met with Noe and his wife backstage, to thank them for their "work on the campaign." [Toledo Blade, 10/30/04; Bush Remarks, 10/29/04]

Noe Plead Guilty To Illegally Funneling Money To The Bush-Cheney Re-Election. Tom Noe later plead guilty to federal criminal charges that he illegally funneled more than $45,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004. Noe admitted that he gave tens of thousands of dollars to two dozen people so they could then contribute it to the Bush-Cheney campaign, helping him achieve the elite "pioneer" fundraising status. Yet President Bush has so far refused to return any more than the $6,000 that Noe and his wife directly contributed. Noe's status as a pioneer helped him garner appointments to federal government commissions, and gave him access to President Bush, Karl Rove and other leading Republicans. [Toledo Blade, 6/1/06]

Noe Was Recommended to Coinage Advisory Committee by Hastert and Nominated by Secretary of Treasury John Snowe. On April 23, President Bush signed into law the "American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act of 2003" (Public Law 108-15), which established the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). According to a Treasury Department press release Noe was recommended by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and nominated by Snowe. [Treasury Department Press Release, 5/16/03]