It looks like scandal plagued lobbyist, Jack Abramoff may be getting ready to give up DeLay and other Congressmen who have abandon him. Michael Isikoff offers some new tidbits in
Newsweek:
"Everybody is lying," Abramoff told a former colleague. There are e-mails and records that will implicate others, he said. He was noticeably caustic about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. For years, nobody on Washington's K Street corridor was closer to DeLay than Abramoff. They were an unlikely duo. DeLay, a conservative Christian, and Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, traveled the world together and golfed the finest courses. Abramoff raised hundreds of thousands for DeLay's political causes and hired DeLay's aides, or kicked them business, when they left his employ...DeLay and his aides have said repeatedly they were unaware of Abramoff's behind-the-scenes financing role. "Those S.O.B.s," Abramoff said last week about DeLay and his staffers, according to his luncheon companion. "DeLay knew everything. He knew all the details."
more...
Jack is a long-time GOP activist and fundraiser and a true believer in the conservative cause. He has been raising, laundering and spending money for the GOP one-party-rule cause since 1980. He did not take $82 million for his lifestyle. He took it (and millions more from other sources, like sweatshops on Saipan) to fund the GOP. Now that he is at the center of another scandal (back in the day,
Abramoff was a player in the Iran-Contra scandal) many of his old gang are acting like they don't know him. In Newsweek he reminds them that he knows where the bodies are buried:
Will Abramoff attempt to bargain with federal prosecutors by offering up DeLay--and does he really have the goods to do so? Abramoff has at times hinted he wanted to bargain--possibly by naming members who sought campaign cash for legislative favors, says a source familiar with the probe. But Abramoff's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, says, "There have been no negotiations with the Justice Department." Lowell cryptically acknowledges that Abramoff has been "disappointed" and "hurt" by the public statements of some former friends, but insists his client is currently "not upset or angry with Tom DeLay." Still, if Abramoff's lunch-table claims are true, he could hand DeLay his worst troubles yet.
Some in the press are beginning to connect the dots, but they need help and pressure not to let up. Abramoff is the link to DeLay's downfall and the web of money and lies behind the rise of the GOP right.
One cannot trust the Bush Justice Department to investigate the Abramoff Affair. Too many in the White House are on Jack's list. It is time for an independent prosecutor for Abramoff and the politicians who he supported.
It's time to do research and connect Jack to your GOP Congressman, Senator or Governor. It should be easy as Jack:
- raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the GOP since 1980
- hire so many staffers from the Hill;
- arranged so many trips and perks;
- hosted so many fundraisers and meetings at Signatures (his DC restaurant);
- was a member and/or on the Board of so many right-wing groups, think-tanks, charities and street gangs;
- was celebrated as the "best" head of the College GOP ever and served as a mentor to the College GOP for the last twenty years;
- was a large contributor to both Bush campaigns and the Florida recount;
- and, was a member of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team for the Interior Department (which oversaw Jack's two biggest clients, sweatshops and gambling).
Jack is one of the four horsemen of the GOP. Karl did politics, Grover did think tanks, Ralph did religion and Jack raised money.
Grab a shovel and dig...