Jack Abramoff

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House GOP Votes to 'Effectively Kill' Ethics Watchdog

Office of Congressional Ethics will lose authority

(Newser) - Did the swamp just vote against drains? House Republicans bucked party leaders Monday night with a vote that the New York Times reports will hobble and "effectively kill" their independent ethics watchdog. Under a change that comes as part of a rules package for the 115th Congress, which will...

Abramoff: Reforms Won't Stop 'Bribery' in Congress

Tells CBS he had once pull with 100 lawmakers

(Newser) - Lobbyists still “own” Congress, according to Jack Abramoff, dismissing the “faux reform efforts” passed in the wake of the scandal that landed him in prison . “The system hasn’t been cleaned up at all,” Washington’s most infamous ex-peddler of influence tells 60 Minutes in an...

Feds End Tom DeLay Probe
 Feds Clear Tom DeLay 
Aug 16, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

Feds Clear Tom DeLay

Six-year investigation quietly closes without charges

(Newser) - Tom DeLay is probably doing a little dance right now. The Justice Department has informed DeLay that it has ended its six-year investigation into his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and won’t be filing any charges. “This was one of the longest and expensive and thorough investigations...

Abramoff Working at Pizzeria
Abramoff Working
at Pizzeria
Jun 22, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

Abramoff Working at Pizzeria

Disgraced lobbyist helps with marketing from halfway house

(Newser) - It's a far cry from his old perk-filled life, but it sure beats prison: Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is in a halfway house and helping a Baltimore pizzeria with marketing and strategy, reports the Baltimore Jewish Times . Abramoff served 43 months in prison for his shady lobbying practices in DC,...

Primary Foe Makes McCain Look Like the Smart Choice
Primary Foe Makes McCain Look Like the Smart Choice
Michael Gerson
Apr 20, 2010 10:51 AM CDT

Primary Foe Makes McCain Look Like the Smart Choice

Even tea partiers shouldn't vote for toxic JD Hayworth

(Newser) - Tea Party activists don't like John McCain, but they'd better vote for him, because tea partier primary opponent JD Hayworth is “toxic,” writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . Hayworth's main claim to fame is his crusade against Mexican immigration—and not just the illegal kind. He pledged...

Blue Dogs Aren't Centrists, They're Greedy

(Newser) - Blue Dog Democrats might represent more socially conservative constituencies than their liberal brethren, but that's no reason to take pro-corporate stances on everything from the mortgage market to health care reform. Thomas Frank has a simpler explanation: They're in it for the cash. The Blue Dogs are "champion fundraisers,...

Spacey to Play Jailed Lobbyist Abramoff

DC scammer looking forward to telling his side

(Newser) - Kevin Spacey met with lobbyist-extraordinaire-turned-convict Jack Abramoff yesterday to discuss the actor’s portrayal of him in the upcoming Casino Jack, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports. The jailed Abramoff, convicted of scamming American Indians out of millions in casino money, is reportedly a huge Spacey fan. “For two guys who...

Abramoff's Golfing Buddy Gets a Mulligan
Abramoff's Golfing Buddy Gets a Mulligan
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 10:49 AM CST

Abramoff's Golfing Buddy Gets a Mulligan

Official's second trial is 'fine final parable' of Bush years: Milbank

(Newser) - Ex-Bush administration official David Safavian began a second trial yesterday, “or, as his golfing buddies might call it, a mulligan,” Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post. When Safavian’s original 2006 corruption conviction in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal was overturned, prosecutors indicted him again. Their case...

Casinos Staked Fortunes on Friendly Gambler Mac

Industry blossomed with help from legislation by life-time gamer

(Newser) - Life-time gambler John McCain is behind more casino legislation than any other lawmaker, and has helped Indian gambling become a $26 billion industry, reports the New York Times. Though the Arizona senator has called lobbyists “birds of prey,” he has enjoyed close links to casino lobbyists. He once...

Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years
 Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years 
Sep 4, 2008 5:39 PM CDT

Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years

Corrupt lobbyist sentenced 3 years after guilty plea; he's already serving time

(Newser) - Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years in prison today for his role in a massive corruption scandal that shook the upper echelons of Washington, the Post reports. The sentence means that Abramoff, who traded ritzy junkets and gifts for political favors, will remain in prison until 2012....

Court Tosses Conviction in Abramoff Affair

Ruling says feds were overzealous in case against GSA official

(Newser) - A key conviction in the Jack Abramoff scandal was reversed today, as a federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department overreached in its prosecution of David Safavian. The onetime chief of staff at GSA provided inside information on government-owned properties to Abramoff; he was convicted of lying to multiple...

More White House Links to Abramoff Revealed

Lobbist had closer ties to administration than its report admitted

(Newser) - The White House didn't go far enough in probing its links with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a new report from a House committee. The report reveals 70 more contacts between Abramoff's team and White House figures than had been previously acknowledged—including four extra meetings with President Bush,...

Senate Hopeful Hyped Notorious Worker Policy

Schaffer pegs support for program to '99 Abramoff junket

(Newser) - A Republican vying for Colorado's open Senate seat has said the Mariana Islands’ guest worker program—infamous for reports of forced abortion, slavery and child prostitution—should be a “model” for national immigration overhaul. Bob Schaffer’s support dates from a 1999 trip arranged by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff,...

Reynolds Joins Parade of Departing Republicans

'The last few years have not been fun for him'

(Newser) - New York Rep. Tom Reynolds became the 22nd House Republican to announce his retirement yesterday. Reynolds, a Dennis Hastert protégé once seen as a potential Speaker, was tainted by an embezzlement scandal on his watch as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “The last few years have...

Doolittle Steps Down After FBI Raid
Doolittle Steps Down After
FBI Raid
Apr 20, 2007 5:54 AM CDT

Doolittle Steps Down After FBI Raid

Yields Appropriations seat under Abramoff probe pressure

(Newser) - Republican John Doolittle has ceded his coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee—a week after FBI agents made a surprise raid on his Virginia home. Doolittle and his wife, Julie, a consultant, are under investigation for their ties to besmirched fundraiser Jack Abramoff.

15 Stories