It's interesting how this sleazy money trail of former Republican mega-lobbyist, Jack Abramoff - he of the Indian gambling scandal, the Tom DeLay scandal, the bank fraud scandal, and much much more -- touches so many prominent Virginia Republicans. For instance, wouldn't you just know that Virginia's own junior Senator, good ol' "Cowboy George" Allen, would be caught holding out his hand to the man whom Tom DeLay (also indicted) once called one of his "closest and dearest friends?" Hmmm...Please note the second entry on the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) document below, which shows Jack Abramoff - former head of the College Republican National Committee and close friend of Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, and Michael Scanlon, among others -- giving $1,000 to "Friends of George Allen" on 4/28/2000. Nice.
So what else was Mr. Abramoff up to in early 2000? According to the Center for Media and Democracy:
Abramoff and partner Scanlon are alleged to have engaged in a series of corrupt practices in connection to their lobbying work for various Indian Casino gambling tribes. The fees paid to Abramoff and Scanlon for this work are believed to exceed $85 million.
According to CNN, in early 2000:
...Abramoff arranged for the Choctaws [Indian tribe] to give ATR $1.15 million in installments. Norquist agreed to pass the money on to the Alabama Christian Coalition and another Alabama antigambling group, both of which Reed was mobilizing for the fight against the lottery. Reed knew the real source of the money was the casino-rich Choctaws. The antigambling groups say they didn't.On February 7, 2000, Abramoff warned [former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph] Reed that an initial payment for antilottery radio spots and mailings would be less than Reed thought. "I need to give Grover [Norquist] something for helping, so the first transfer will be a bit lighter," Abramoff wrote.
The transfer was apparently lighter than even Abramoff expected. In a note to himself on February 22, Abramoff wrote, "Grover kept another $25K!" Norquist claims he had permission.
In addition, according to CNN:
Of the $7.7 million Abramoff and [indicted former Tom DeLay aide Michael] Scanlon charged the Choctaw for projects in 2001, they spent $1.2 million on their behalf and split the rest in a scheme they called "gimme five."
OK, so George Allen was given $1,000 by Jack Abramoff in early 2000, the same time that Abramoff was embroiled in what would later become known as the Abramoff-Reed-Indian Gambling Scandal. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. But it's fascinating that, according to a December 2002 Time Magazine article ("Playing the Political Slots: How Indian casino interests have learned the art of buying influence in Washington"):
Virginia Republicans George Allen and John Warner...introduced a package deal for six Virginia tribes?despite the opposition of the [Bureau of Indian Affairs], which says the bill would permit the tribes to bypass regular channels and allow them "to avoid the scrutiny to which other groups have been subjected.
As I said, it's fascinating. But I'm sure there's no connection here. None whatsoever. NosireeGeorge! But just to be sure, it would be nice if Senator Allen could explain why he was receiving thousands of dollars from Jack "Indian Casino Gambling" Abramoff and his former lobbying firm while pushing for legislation that could lead to Indian casino gambling right here in Virginia. It would also be nice if Senator Allen would return the money he got from Abramoff.
[Note: It also turns out that George Allen received money from the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying and consulting firm run by former senior aides to Tom DeLay, and with which "Abramoff shared some of his high-paying clients," according to the Washington Post. On 4/26/05, Allen received $1,000 from Tony C. Rudy, "DeLay's deputy chief of staff until 2001, when he took a job with Abramoff." According to TPM Cafe, "When Abramoff left Preston Gates & Ellis LLP in 2000 for rival lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, he convinced Rudy to leave his post as DeLay?s Chief to Staff to help build ?Team Abramoff? at Greenberg Traurig....At Greenberg Traurig, Rudy worked with Abramoff and Mike Scanlon representing the Marianas islands."]
The thing is, there may not be any fire here regarding Senator Allen, but there's certainly a heck of a lot of smoke. At the minimum, it seems clear that there's an appearance of impropriety. Also at the minimum, all this money sloshing around points out the urgent need for serious lobbying reform. In the meantime, though, we would simply love to hear a convincing explanation from Senator Allen regarding the money he received directly from Jack Abramoff, or iindirectly from Abramoff's cronies like Tony Rudy. In particular, we would love to know whether or not there was any "quid pro quo" involved regarding Indian gambling interests or anything else.
What we certainly do NOT want from Senator Allen is a rehash of the argument recently employed in another case involving Abramoff and Republican Congressman Mark Green of Wisconsin. According to Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo, that argument was essentially: "tough luck, that's how business is done in Washington." Well, maybe that plays in Wisconsin, I don't know. But here in Virginia, we expect a bit more from our leaders than that!
P.S. There's an interesting analysis in today's Washington Post on the possible voter backlash to these scandals...