Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal
The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes who were seeking to develop casino gambling on their reservations. The lobbyists charged the tribes an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multi-million dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
Guilty pleas[edit]
Scanlon and Abramoff both pleaded guilty to a variety of criminal charges related to the scheme.
On January 3, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts—conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion—involving charges stemming principally from his lobbying activities in Washington on behalf of Native American tribes. In addition, Abramoff and other defendants were ordered to make restitution of at least $25 million that was defrauded from clients, most notably the Native American tribes. Abramoff owes the Internal Revenue Service $1.7 million as a result of his guilty plea to the tax evasion charge.[1]
On May 8, 2006, Neil Volz, former chief of staff to Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio), staff director of the House Administration Committee, and later part of Team Abramoff, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, including wire fraud and violating House rules, charges stemming from his work for both Ney and Greenberg Traurig.[2]
On March 23, 2007, J. Steven Griles, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Senate investigation of the Abramoff scandal. A political appointee, he was the top Bush administration official to plead guilty in the scandal.[3]
Investigations[edit]
On November 25, 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported the expansion of the investigation to four members of Congress: in addition to Ney and DeLay, the report includes Rep. John Doolittle (R., Calif.) and Sen. Conrad Burns (R., Mont.)[4] On December 2, 2005, The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors were considering a plea bargain arrangement that would give Abramoff some consideration if he provided evidence that would implicate members of Congress and their senior staffers in receiving job offers in return for legislative favors.
The guilty pleas signed by Abramoff in early January 2006 state that he bribed public officials. One of the cases of bribery described in detail involves a person identified as "Representative #1," who was reported by The Washington Post to be Representative Bob Ney (R-OH). Ney's spokesman confirmed that Ney was the representative identified, but denied any improper influence.[5] The agreement also details Abramoff's practice of hiring former congressional staffers. Abramoff used these persons' influence to lobby their former Congressional employers, in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying.[6][7]
After Abramoff's guilty plea, the federal government shifted its investigation in January 2006 to focus on the lobbying firm Alexander Strategy Group,[8] founded by a "close friend of DeLay's and his former chief of staff."[9] The lobbying firm announced its closure at the end of the same month due to "fatal publicity"; it had represented such large firms as Microsoft and PhRMA.
On June 22, 2006 the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs released its final report on the scandal.[10] The report states that under the guidance of the Mississippi Choctaw tribe's planner, Nell Rogers, the tribe agreed to launder money because "Ralph Reed did not want to be paid directly by a tribe with gaming interests." It also states that Reed used non-profits, including Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, as pass-throughs to disguise the origin of the funds, and that "the structure was recommended by Jack Abramoff to accommodate Mr. Reed's political concerns."
ABC News reported on November 15, 2006, that Abramoff told prosecutors that Senator Harry Reid (D) requested contributions of $30,000 from the lobbyist's clients. After being paid, Reid agreed to assist Abramoff in matters concerning Indian casinos.[11]
In August 2010, the federal government ended a six-year investigation of DeLay's ties to Abramoff, according to Richard Cullen, DeLay's lead counsel in the matter. State prosecution continued in Texas, which ended in November 2010 with DeLay being found guilty of conspiracy and money laundering. In January 2011, he was sentenced to three years in state prison.[12]
DeLay appealed his conviction to the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District at Austin, which heard oral arguments on October 10, 2012.[13] On September 19, 2013, a ruling by the Court of Appeals overturned his convictions and entered an acquittal.[14]
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the prosecution's petition for discretionary review on March 19, 2013, agreeing to review the decision of the Texas Court of Appeals Third District.[15][16][17][18][19]
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled, 8-1, to affirm the lower courts' dismissal on October 1, 2014.[20][21][22][23]
Several Native American tribes were defrauded by lobbyist Jack Abramoff in his namesake Indian lobbying scandal.[62][63]
Research/Media