It is so easy to get angry.
I've posted about the DeLay/Abramoff/GOP scandal for some time now. I started to follow this criminal conspiracy in 1999 when I was researching the sweatshops on the Commonwealth of North Mariana Islands (CNMI), a US Territory in the South Pacific.
A few weeks ago, I posted a Diary, Tom DeLay's connection to sex, money and cockfights..., which highlighted the 1998 testimony of Wendy Doromal before the Senate's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Her testimony referred to her report about sweatshops, forced prostitution, labor abuse, human trafficking, and forced abortions on Tom DeLay's "Petri dish of capitalism".
I had never seen a copy of the actual report.
Until now.
Wendy sent me a copy (seems she is a Daily Kos reader).
Do you have a strong stomach?
Are you prepared to be disgusted (once again) by the "values" of Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay and their GOP?
If so, join me on the jump as we look at the heart of GOP darkness...
Take a deep breath, this journey will take a few moments of your time, but it is important if you want to understand the soul of GOP corruption.
Now Abramoff was a 25-year GOP Bagman. Since 1994, he ran the DeLay Inc. GOP Slush Fund.
It was a great racket. The "legal" donations were the front. As I pointed out the other day, the big money was (and is) tied to the off-the-books donations.
Much of that came from the Tan Family, the GOP-supporting Chinese nationals who owned the sweatshops on CNMI. Now that they can run their sweatshops from mainland China, so they are closing the garment factories on CNMI. But they are not planning on leaving CNMI, they are staying.
They have a new racket: Tourism. Over the last few years the Tan Family has been opening up hotels and casinos (near airports recently refurbished by US taxpayers). They are no longer members of the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Assn., but Willie Tan's brother, Jerry just became head of the Marianas Visitors Authority to help CNMI attract the growing number of Chinese tourists to the islands.
And one of the big draws for CNMI tourism is the booming sex trade on Tom's perfect world. And it was a big draw back in on 1-1-1998 when Tom DeLay was Willie Tan's guest on Saipan. Oh, this was a famous trip. It was on this visit that that Delay declared his close relationship with Jack Abramoff:
On his first night on the island, DeLay was invited to a reception at the posh, beachfront Pacific Islands Club hosted by Willie Tan, the powerful garment factory king. According to a promotional brochure, Tan Holdings Corp. owns the island's largest garment factories, several hotels, a bank, and businesses ranging from travel agencies to ice cream parlors.
"When one of my closest and dearest friends, Jack Abramoff, your most able representative in Washington, D.C., invited me to the islands, I wanted to see firsthand the free-market success and the progress and reform you have made," DeLay said, after thanking Tan for "that great introduction."
And Tom tossed his Chinese patrons some praise as well:
"Even though I have only been here for 24 hours, I have witnessed the economic success of the Marianas."
DeLay told Tan and his group that the Clinton administration wanted to "kill prosperity on the islands."
"You are up against the forces of big labor and the radical left," he said. DeLay repeated the promise that "Dick Armey and I made" to defend the island's present system. He finished his remarks by telling the group: "Stand firm. Resist evil. Remember that all truth and blessings emanate from our Creator."
And just how did Bill Clinton want to "kill prosperity on the islands"?
Justice. Truth. Honor. You know, doing the right thing. No wonder DeLay went batshit crazy upon his return to Washington DC.
By 1994 the labor abuse and sex trade on CNMI was a big problem. And there was bipartisan agreement that we needed to extend US labor, immigration and custom laws to our territory so we could fix the problem.
Then the Gingrich "revolution" happened and the crooks took over Washington. Abramoff became a lobbyist and Tom DeLay's point man for the DeLay Inc. GOP Slush Fund. Willie Tan, his family and their corrupt empire became one of Jack's first clients and a BIG contributor to the slush fund. All GOP concerns about sex abuse and labor abuse evaporated before big piles of cash.
But the Tan Family had a problem: Bill Clinton's Department of the Interior. Specifically the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) which had oversight for US Territories including CNMI. As OIA investigated the abuse on CNMI they became shocked and appalled. How could this be happening on a US territory?
Led by Alan Stayman and David North, OIA began to commission a series of investigative reports to explain the abuse. One report was by Steven Galster and the Global Survival Network (GSN). They posed as garment manufactures looking to hire a sweatshop. Their on-camera interview with Willie Tan (the Mogul) is filled with many scandal details, such as:
Mogul:: I have a real good friend of Tom DeLay, the Majority Whip. And Tom tell me, say, [The Mogul], as long as we are in power they can't even see the light at the end of tunnel, they don't even see the light. So now it going to be two years, because Tom become real powerful this congress because Tom is the one who basically do--is the peacemaker. So guaranteed next two years no problem. Now, it look like George Bush son will become the next president.... Quite possibly. If we are Republican, we have no more problem again, so we going to have six years.
GSN: So you think as long as the Republicans are in control there won't be a problem?
Mogul: We have no problem. Even if the Democrat, they can pass it, they still have 10 years. Can't do it. But of the Democrat we only have three enemy, but they make a big thing about it. One is from California, George Miller, always a union guy. One is a Allen Stayman, from the Department of the Interior, who used to work in the Senate, and one is Jeff Farrow. Only three guy making our life so miserable. But so far they win nothing for last 15 years, nothing, because they unreasonable. But let's say the unreasonable now become reasonable, they have a ten years phase-out period, phase out plan, but they even cannot come close to that. But not many people understand because they don't deal with this issue, but I deal with this issue so I understand. [snip]
GSN: So you're telling me worst case scenario is ten-year phase out...
Mogul: Ten year phase out.
GSN: And best-case scenario...
Mogul: And they must see the light at end of tunnel, is two years from now. Because Tom DeLay will never let it go.
GSN: You're sure?
Mogul: Sure. You know what Tom told me? He said, [Mogul], if they elect me as majority whip, I make the schedule of the congress. And I'm not going to put it on the schedule. They got to go through all committee before it come to me. Even if it come to me, I'm not going to schedule it. What, are they going to have a motion to get it from my committee, they will not do that--who are you? So Tom told me, forget it, [Mogul], not a chance.
GSN: And you're sure his loyalties aren't going to change?
Mogul: We very close friend. And you know what he did, he call those guys. He call up the guy who is in charge of the committee, his name is Don Young from Alaska.
GSN: Yeah, I know who he is.
Mogul: And he said Don, nothing wrong with CNMI. He say, you gotta go there. If this is slave labor, mistreatment, those kind of thing, go after them. It's all not true. And they change--what's the problem? You guys are trying to do something right into wrong. Tom explain to them. So, Don Young backed off.
And before that the OIA commissioned a report from Wendy L. Doromal and her team. They were to leave for CNMI in January 1998 and laid the groundwork so that Congressional fact-finding teams could meet with abused workers. They presented their report in March of 1998:
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE STATUS REPORT
January 29, 1998 to February 14, 1998
A Report prepared for the United States Department of Interior Office of Insular Affairs
They followed DeLay to the islands. And the report's introduction makes clear that before the end of January, DeLay had begun a campaign to quash any effort to explore conditions on CNMI (emphasis added):
This is a report prepared by a seven-member team who were retained by the Office of Insular Affairs, United States Department of Interior to prepare an itinerary for the Congressional delegation that was scheduled to visit the CNMI in February 1998 on a fact-finding trip. The itinerary was to include opportunities for the visiting members of Congress and their staff to speak directly to foreign contract workers, and to visit sites that exhibit serious problems connected to the present systems of labor and immigration in the CNMI. The delegation's fact-finding mission was unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute while team members were in Guam making final arrangements to go to the CNMI. Nevertheless, the Office of Insular Affairs believed that it was important for team members to gather the latest information regarding emerging problems of particular concern to the Federal Government.
So, in 1998 we had two opposing forces. It one corner, Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay and the entire GOP/RW machine aligned to defend sweatshops, prostitution and forced abortions. On the other side, Clinton's OIA and a small band of researchers.
And the Tan Family was feeding the slush fund. The Washington Post reported a $500,000 contribution to DeLay's US Family Network. As the money flowed, Tom and his GOP scandal all-stars jumped into action to protect the crimes of their patrons.
But the facts on the ground were disgusting. And this truth had to be buried by Jack, Tom and their gang of thugs. What Facts? Let's take a look at the Doromal Report:
* The problems faced by the unemployed legal and illegal population of foreign contract workers in the CNMI include fraudulent recruitment practices, substandard living conditions, severe malnourished, and health problems, and unprovoked acts of violence being inflicted upon foreign contract workers that are not being addressed by an ineffective CNMI labor and immigration system;
* Underage Filipino or Chinese waitresses forced to work as bar girls, who have been recruited under false pretenses to work as waitresses, garment factory workers, or cashiers, but subsequently forced to work as strippers and prostitutes in Karaoke bars, discos, massage parlors and clubs;
* Living and working conditions of the Chinese garment workers prevalent in CNMI garment companies, the restrictions imposed by "shadow contracts" they are required to sign in China, and the flow of Chinese contract workers from the CNMI into Guam to seek asylum;
* The use of the CNMI as a transshipment point for shipments of partially finished, finished, and cut garments imported into the CNMI from Asia for finishing or re-labeling before exporting to the U.S. as products from the CNMI.
* Reports of women from the People's Republic of China who have become pregnant while working in the CNMI and are forced to return to China to have an abortion or forced to have an illegal abortion performed in the CNMI
Let's drill a little deeper into the report. How about forced abortions:
It is difficult to underestimate the reluctance Chinese workers have in discussing this topic. Their fear of being discovered and facing possible retaliation from their employer prevents all, but a handful of workers to come forward and recount their experiences. A team member who is a former garment factory worker and who has remained close to the Chinese community, was able to identify five women who had been told to have an abortion or were pressured into having one performed. [snip]
Women working in the factories of Saipan are generally aware of what is expected of them with regard to not getting pregnant. Abortion appears to be a common practice as a means of birth control. [snip]
One employee was terminated following her refusal to have the procedure. After discovering her condition, the management moved her to a physically more demanding job. She was told that she could have her old job back after she had an abortion. She was terminated for absence, after she became sick. Actions such as these send a clear message to the other workers that pregnancy will not be tolerated. [snip]
All of the workers interviewed reported that management would coerce and promise employees their jobs back if they would have the abortions done. Refusal apparently has resulted in dismissal. This fear of reprisal prompted one worker to conceal her pregnancy for seven months before being discovered. The factory arranged for her return to China to have an abortion. The employee was made to pay for her own airfare. The worker returned to work one month later.
Among the Guam asylum seekers, one married couple described the circumstances when they learned that they would be parents for a second time. They were told to go back to China in order for the wife to have an abortion. They chose instead to remain and have the child. They claim that if they had been forced back to China they would have faced imprisonment and a fine. Their family in China has been notified that their house is being confiscated because the couple refused to have an abortion. They also claim that as another act of retaliation, their daughter in China was denied the government certification necessary for her to attend the school of her choice. [snip]
The team was able to positively identify two clinics on Saipan where abortions are performed. [snip]
On February 1, 1998, two members of the team posed as boyfriend and girlfriend and entered an acupuncture clinic in Garapan near the 747 Restaurant. They spoke with a man named Dr. Bai in a small back room. The woman explained that she was two months pregnant and needed an abortion. She was provided with a referral slip and phone number to a clinic in Susupe operated by a man named Dr. Li.
During the taped phone call to Dr. Li an appointment was set and a price was negotiated. Dr. Li said that there might be some danger involved but the patient could return to work shortly after the procedure. Dr. Li's clinic is located in Susupe just past the Subway Restaurant.
On February 10, 1998, a call was placed to a second clinic in Garapan named the China Clinic. A team member spoke with Dr. Xu to arrange an appointment. She told Dr. Xu that she was garment factory worker, four months pregnant and in need of an abortion. Dr. Xu told her that a partial birth abortion would be needed and it would be easier if she carried the fetus to five months before having the abortion. The increased complication involved made the price a firm $500. The doctor stated that he would need to inject drugs to induce labor and the process would take much longer. He estimated the patient could return to work in approximately one month. The China Clinic is located in Garapan on Middle Road directly across from the Golden Lion Karaoke Club.
Two doctors were recruited from the Harbin region of China to come to Saipan and perform abortions. They were told to study women's medicine in preparation for their arrival. They were promised the going rate of $500 per abortion. Upon arrival the doctors, themselves, became the victims of abuse. Their employer pressured them into prostitution at her club named Gompai Karaoke. They were required to treat a prostitute suffering from a venereal disease with medicines brought from China. After refusing work as prostitutes, the employer made them refurbish broken air conditioners from Japan for the Saipan market. They were promised five dollars per unit but were rarely paid. Currently, they reside at an auto repair shop and sustain themselves by washing automobiles.
Although abortions are constitutionally forbidden in the Commonwealth, local authorities have never taken action against anyone performing or receiving an abortion.
The report goes into similar details on other aspects of labor abuse. It is damning. And it was ignored.
By the time Wendy Doromal testified before the Senate's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 31, 1998 the nation was focused on Bill Clinton's dick. An issue of sex abuse we should have cared about was swept under the rug. These were the salad days for the DeLay Inc. GOP Slush Fund. Now it was time for payback.
The DeLay machine did take action concerning the labor abuse on CNMI. Sadly, that action was to attack the OIA and the reports that they had commissioned.
By August 1998 the Don Young and the House Committee on Resources was holding hearings about abuse--abuse by the OIA. Both David North and Alan Stayman were run out of office on the grounds that their investigations into the abuse on CNMI had lead them to discovering the DeLay Inc. GOP Slush Fund. And that meant that Clinton DOI officials were using their office to attack the GOP Congressmen who enabled the abuse on CNMI. The American Prospect put it this way:
Finally, the GOP-controlled House acted. But incredibly, rather than going after Saipan, the House Resources Committee went after the federal regulators. It subpoenaed materials about alleged anti-GOP activities at the Interior Department. In particular, the department was charged with colluding with Democratic candidates in '98 against DeLay, Armey, and California Representative Dana Rohrabacher, all of whom had visited, or had their staffs visit, Saipan. Committee Chair Don Young of Alaska had also made the pilgrimage to Saipan, as had several members of his staff. Within weeks, the main target of the inquiry, Office of Insular Affairs spokesman David North, an outspoken critic of Saipan labor policies, was forced to resign. Office Director Allen P. Stayman, also a target of the congressional probe, had already left the department.
A google cache offers another view from back in the day:
Earl E. Devaney, Inspector General for the Department of the Interior, testified before the U.S. House Committee on Resources that former Interior official David North's political activities were "the most egregious example I've seen" in 30 years of law enforcement. North "retired" last year immediately after the Resources Committee began an investigation into North's political activities. Devaney testified that North conducted political activity from his federal office during work hours against Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX), and U.S. Reps. Phil English (R-PA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). In addition, Devaney testified that North sought to assist Democrat Congressional candidates and had contact with the Democrat National Committee and the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee. Clinton's Department Of Justice Refuses To Prosecute Case Inspector General Devaney also stated that he was disappointed that the Department of Justice declined to prosecute North for criminal actions. U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the Chairman of the Committee, responded that he wasn't surprised "considering the Clinton-Gore Administration's well-documented manipulation of the Justice Department to protect illegal activity by its political appointees." "This is the most partisan and politically-motivated Justice Department in the history of the nation," Young said.
Well, that was before George W. Bush and the GOP was using every rhetorical flourish to protect their Chinese patrons from oversight (great practice for the Bush II years).
So here is what you need to know: There was widespread abuse on CNMI and the GOP worked overtime to protect the criminals--at the expense of the defenseless. And that they did all of this for money. Fuckers.
Now, thanks to the growing Abramoff scandal, some past actions are coming home to roost. North, Stayman, Glaster and Doromal are heroes. We need to celebrate them and hold the GOP accountable for their crimes.
Since they drove out their enemies in the Clinton DOI, the Tan Families has been the recipient of kick-backs from DeLay and crowd. The Saipan story is coming back. Following the bribes leads one to over $28 million in grants from 2002 alone. All of the kickbacks required Congressional action. I think that we will be talking about the Abramoff 60 before this is through.
I am outraged. I think it is time for the GOP to explain their support of sexual slavery. Sure it is only one of their many crimes, but I think an ad running in the fall featuring the victims of the GOP Saipan Sex Scandal might get some attention.
In fact it could be an honorable response to their Swiftboating.
It is way past time to take this country back. 2006 is now. Let's do it!