I'm having a hard time. I'm trying to put together a list of the Republican Congressmen with a Jack Abramoff problem.

I thought I would call the list: Jack's Gimme Five Congressmen:
Tom DeLay
Bob Ney
John Doolittle
Richard Pombo
Dana Rohrbacher

But that won't work. There are easily a dozen more GOP Members of the House with deep ties to Abramoff. I'll list some of them and their Democratic challengers on the jump.

Some have well known connections. Others have been hiding in the shadows.

Earlier this week I laid out part of the case against John Doolittle.

Tonight I want to give GOP Rep. John Sweeney (NY-20) his moment on the Abramoff stage.

Turns out that Sweeney had a speaking part in the scandal.

To the jump...

This week one of the many scandals festering in the Long Tail of the GOP Culture of Corruption spiked to the surface.

The sweatshops, forced prostitution and forced abortions that Jack Abramoff and his GOP pals protected led the voters in Georgia to stop Ralph Reed in his tracks.

Going into Tuesday the consensus was that Reed's famed ground game would deliver thousands of his Christian Coalition Zombies and add another stunning victory for the Abramoff/DeLay/Rove wing of the GOP. It didn't happen.

Ralph lost. And now, fear stalks the GOP.

I'll let the Washington Post explain:

While political corruption has failed so far to take root as a national issue, the defeat of scandal-stained Ralph Reed in Georgia on Tuesday showed that federal investigators could tip some key House and Senate races this fall, according to party strategists.

And since Tuesdays the woods are filled with comments about what Reed's defeat means for the GOP.

To the jump...

The voters in Georgia decided to stop Ralph Reed in his tracks.

Going into Tuesday the quiet consensus was that Reed's famed ground game would deliver and thousands of his Christian Coalition Zombies who would (once again) put Ralph and the GOP ahead of the teachings of Jesus and elect a little weasel.

Last night, the Truth turned out to be more powerful than the Word of Ralph.

And that must have dozens of GOP Candidates and operatives depositing bricks in their pants.

Georgia has proven that the Abramoff connection to gambling and human trafficking is a potent wedge issue. The forced prostitution and forced abortions that the GOP protected for their Hong Kong based Chinese patrons has demonstrated the ability to impact voter turnout and support for the GOP.

Not only was Reed defeated, but GOP turnout in Georgia was behind Democratic turnout in almost every category.

Casey Cagle, who defeated Ralph, has left the DCCC and any Democratic candidate a roadmap of how to use this issue to drive a wedge into GOP "values" voters.

The lesson of Reed's defeat can be applied Nationally.

More on the jump...

I love the Friday night document dump.

As mcjoan mentioned on the Front Page Jack Abramoff has been at the White House more than two times. The Secret Service has sent Judicial Watch more WH logs that record another seven visits.

I am sure that there were more, but that's for another day.

The pdf logs are hard to read. They are provided with zero context and are cut apart across several pages. And yet, they tell an interesting story. They provide enough details to connect Jack Abramoff to the staff of VP Dick Cheney, as well as other offices in the Bush WH.

These documents raise questions that need more research and answers.

Join me on the jump to start the hunt...

The Public Integrity Section of the DOJ is busy. They are building a case against the players in the ongoing Abramoff scandal.

Today they added another GUILTY plea. For those who are keeping score at home that's 5 GUILTY pleas and 1 conviction. And that doesn't count the SunCruz case.

Earlier today the DOJ announced that the DOI Desk Officer for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Roger Stillwell, will plead guilty on July 21 to:

filing a financial-disclosure report for fiscal year 2003 that "falsely certified that he did not receive reportable gifts from a prohibited source"

In the overall scandal, Stillwell is a little fish, but he is also a key player who has been involved with Abramoff's work on CNMI from the very beginning.

And now he is cooperating with the DOJ.

The circle is closing. Let's go to the jump...

Last Thursday, Senate's Indian Affairs Committee released its final report, "GIMME FIVE"-- INVESTIGATION OF TRIBAL LOBBYING MATTERS.

Initially it was left to TPMmuckraker to do the heaving lifting. That is starting to change as more people besides Paul Kiel have a chance to sift through the material.

Over at the Washington Post they have been treating the document dump like the candy store it is. They started by quickly pointing out that Bob Ney LIED to the Committee. And this evening they released a long story on how Jack, Ralph, Grover and the gang used their nonprofits and charities to launder money, break US laws and build a GOP culture of Corruption.

And even the AP is cleaning off their Rove-colored glasses to dig in the dump.

To the jump...

So, this morning the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee released its final report on Jack Abramoff and his many scams to rip off Native American tribes. At a quick glace this is very bad news for the Republican Party.

Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed are two BIG losers (both in real life and in this report).

In addition to the 373 page report (titled: "GIMME FIVE"-- INVESTIGATION OF TRIBAL LOBBYING MATTERS), there are hundreds of pages of newly released emails, letters and financial documents. This is in addition to the hundreds that have already been released.

There is rich scandal gold in this document dump.

And the digging has begun. To the Jump...

There has been a host of recent Jack Abramoff Scandal news. Many items have been mentioned in Dairies with a Jack Abramoff Tag.

This morning the news is filled with three main story lines:

1) David Safavian is found GUILTY. For details, I like this story from the Times-Reporter because of the great ad placement for Space and Ney (hat tip to TNR for the find).

2) A Judge in Florida is allowing Abramoff and co-conspirator Adam Kidan to delay the start of their prison term so they can sing more songs to the DOJ.

3) The Senate's Indian Affairs Committee is set to release their Abramoff report on Thursday. This should be yet another treasure trove of scandal details, even with McCain trying his best to protect the guilty.

Missing from the headlines is the next scandal shoe waiting in the wings. You can help it drop.

To the jump...

This year America has a choice.

We can meet the better angels of our desires or embrace the lesser demons of our fears. We can promote a progressive agenda or live in Republican moral twilight.

There are many places where this choice comes into stark focus, but perhaps nowhere is that more true than choice we face concerning justice for the workers of the Commonwealth on Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

For 20 YEARS the abuse has flourished. 12 years ago there was bi-partisan agreement to end the abuse. Then Jack Abramoff entered the picture. With the backing of Tom DeLay and the GOP he managed to protect a system based on the buying, selling and abusing human beings.

Now we have a chance to bring long overdue justice to the victims of DeLay's institutionalized sex abuse. It is called the Human Dignity Act.

Justice will not exist without our help. Find out more on the Jump.