The Hill reports that Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) “pushed for a provision in last year’s transportation bill that allowed the city of Rialto, Calif., to shut down its airport. By doing so, he paved the way for his business partner, Lewis Operating Corp., one of his top campaign contributors, to buy the land from the city and make plans to build Renaissance, a community consisting of 2,500 homes, parks and 80 acres of retail space on the former airport property and adjacent land.” The owner of Lewis Operating Corp. Richard Lewis and his employees contributed $19,000 to Miller’s campaigns since 1998, making them one of Miller’s top contributors. The airport is located in the district of Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) who is also a top recipient of Lewis money, raking in $19,000 this election cycle. The FAA did not support closing the Rialto airport and a spokesman stated, “This is the first time … an airport has been closed through the legislative process.”
Continue readingAbramoff and Kidan Sentenced:
Disgraced super lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced yesterday to 70 months in prison for obtaining fraudulent loans in his purchase of Sun Cruz Casinos. His partner Adam Kidan received the same sentence, but is still under investigation for his role in the murder of former Sun Cruz owner and rival Gus Boulis. The Washington Post notes that, “His prison time could be reduced further if he provides substantial assistance to corruption investigators, and both prosecutors and defense attorneys said he has been helpful so far.” One of the congressmen the Justice Department is investigating in connection with the Abramoff case, Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), stated that he will not accept a plea deal and, through his lawyer, announced that he has, “recently been seeking to persuade prosecutors not to bring charges in Washington or Florida. An agreement Ney signed last fall that waived the five-year statute of limitations on possible charges in Florida will expire in late April.”
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- House Republicans stripped 527-reform out of a proposed lobbying reform bill, according to The Hill.
- In a sign of the seriousness of the case against him, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), under investigation for alleged bribery in an African telecommunications deal, is selling his Capitol Hill house, according to Roll Call.
- Speaking of selling houses, the Washington Post reports that Rep. Jim Ryun is denying that he got a sweetheart deal when the U.S. Family Network sold him their Capitol Hill house at well below market value.
- Knight Ridder reports that the Pentagon has investigated itself for spending money “like Paris Hilton at a shoe sale” and found its “prime vendor” purchasing program “sound, even though it overpaid millions of dollars for common kitchen items.” The program “paid $20 a piece for plastic ice cube trays that previously had cost 89 cents and $81 each for coffee makers that it bought for years for $29.”
Abramoff Sentenced:
The Associated Press is reporting that Jack Abramoff was sentenced to the minimum of 5 years and 10 months in prison for fraud charges related to his 2000 purchase of the SunCruz casino line.
Senate Nears Lobbying Reform; Rejects Independent Ethics Oversight:
The Associated Press reports that, “senators are likely to give wide approval to the legislation that bans accepting meals from lobbyists, requires pre-approval of privately funded trips and slows the movement by retiring lawmakers to jobs as lobbyists,” in a vote that could come today. Government watchdog groups are unhappy, however, because the Senate rejected in a 67-30 vote an amendment to the bill that would create an independent ethics oversight office, according to the Washington Post. Today’s blogs also weighed in on the story. The Copeland Institute for Lower Learning provides a run-down of how senators voted. According to Captain’s Quarters, the Senate did approve an amendment proposed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) that eliminates that practice of placing anonymous holds on legislation. Captain Ed, while praising the Wyden-Grassley amendment, pans the rest of the reform legislation, “Unfortunately, the rest of the bill looks like more warmed-over platitudes towards reform than the real item. The Senate soundly rejected a new independent ethics office and has moved to place most of the burden for reform on the lobbyists rather than themselves.”
Continue readingHow Abramoff Bought a Think-tank:
The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, was used as a conduit for money that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff stole from his clients. The president of NCPPR Amy Ridenour was called before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to testify about the money that was funneled through her organization and the infamous congressional golfing junket to Scotland that bore her think tank’s name. According to Slate, “not all the money Abramoff directed from his clients to NCPPR—which ran to the millions—was transferred to third parties. Some of it remained at NCPPR. We don't know how much, but apparently it was enough to make Abramoff address Ridenour less like a grantee and more like an employee.” As the e-mails show, Ridenour was happy to write letters to the editor, press releases, and even op-eds in support of Abramoff’s clients Pitney-Bowes and the government of the Northern Marianas Islands.
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- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Jack Abramoff will be sentenced today in a Florida court.
- The Washington Post follows up on the report issued by the Minority Office of the House Committee on Government Reform on contracting abuses by the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root. According to the Post, “Pentagon auditors have challenged $45 million worth of company costs, out of $365 million in charges that were reviewed. … In one case, the government's contracting officials reported that KBR attempted to inflate its cost estimates by paying a supplier more than it was due. In another, KBR cut its cost estimates in half after it was pressed on its true expenses. In a third, KBR billed for work performed by the Iraqi oil ministry.”
- The Government Accountability Office released a report warning that, “Incentives for oil and gas companies that drill in the Gulf of Mexico will cost the federal government at least $20 billion over the next 25 years,” according to the New York Times. The government could also lose “$80 billion in revenue … over the same period if oil and gas companies won a new lawsuit that seeks a further reduction in their royalty payments.” The GAO notes that “the Interior Department, which runs the offshore leasing program, had never carried out a ‘robust’ cost-benefit analysis of the original program or of incentives added in the last five years.”
- Raw Story reports that a biography of Jack Abramoff prepared by his lawyers as a plea for leniency states that the lobbyist is ashamed of the profanity used in a 1980s anti-communist movie he produced titled “Red Scorpion.” Abramoff, however, is not ashamed of making the movie in South African-occupied Namibia or from using money and assistance provided by the apartheid regime of South Africa. Cast and crew members also allege that many of them were never paid for their work.
- The Cincinnati Post reports that, “A federal appeals court Tuesday ordered a Washington congressman [Rep. Jim McDermott (D)] to pay West Chester Republican John Boehner $700,000 for leaking an illegally taped phone conversation between Boehner and then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.”
- The head of the Environmental Protection Agency was the featured speaker at a Colorado fundraiser for Rep. Rick O’Donnell (R-CO). The Denver Post reports that, “The guests included representatives from El Paso Natural Gas, the Colorado Mining Association and the Colorado Petroleum Association. El Paso and member companies of the two associations have activities that come under federal environmental regulations.”
- The revolving door continues to spin as TNR’s The Plank reports that former Senator Howard Baker, who, until last year, was our ambassador to Japan, has registered to lobby for “Toshiba Corporation on ‘Consultations with eh [sic] appropriate members of the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government, and the applicable agencies on CFIUS and antitrust matters, all related to Toshiba Corporation's acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company.’”
- The Hill reports that House Republicans have vowed to pass campaign finance laws restricting donations to 527-organizations.
Abramoff Associates Write Pleas to Judge:
Friends and associates of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent more than 250 pleas for leniency to the Florida judge set to sentence Abramoff tomorrow. The Los Angeles Times reports that only one congressman, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), wrote to ask the judge to spare Abramoff: “Jack was a selfless patriot for most of the time I knew him.” Rohrabacher, in an interview, said, “I think when he is being punished for the things he did that were wrong, some of the things that he did that were right and admirable in the past should be taken into consideration.” The letters included stories of Abramoff throwing “a wedding party for a friend's daughter who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis” and his giving away free meals as “personal, rather than political, favors.” Abramoff is facing 70 to 87 months in prison as a result of his use of fraudulent loans to purchase the Sun Cruz Casino boat line.
Continue readingAnother Congressman with a Sweetheart Real Estate Deal:
Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) received a sweetheart real estate deal when he purchased the “safe house” owned by the Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Abramoff connected U.S. Family Network, according to TPM Muckraker’s Paul Kiel. The house located in Capitol Hill was purchased by the U.S. Family Network for $429,000 in 1999. It was sold in 2000 to Ryun for $410,000, a $19,000 loss for the USFN. Zillow.com, a real estate search engine, lists the current tax assessed value of the house at $660,850. Kiel writes, “Naomi Seligman of CREW told TPMmuckraker.com that Ryun's house deal should prompt a House Ethics Committee investigation. ‘Who else in America has lost money on a real estate transaction except [Cunningham contractor felon] Mitchell Wade?’” The U.S. Family Network is currently under investigation for illegal activities related to the investigation of Jack Abramoff.
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- The Hill reports that Melissa Bean’s (D-IL) “aggressive courting of K Street” is putting her challenger at a disadvantage in fundraising. The political director of the business lobby the Chamber of Commerce stated, “In Bean’s case, she has stepped out and has supported our agenda.” Bean is one of a handful of House Democrats who voted in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which was a huge victory for the business lobby.
- Google has hired two lobbying firms, one bipartisan and another with close ties to Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman, as it enters the world of Washington politics, according to the New York Times. The internet powerhouse also plans to hire a Republican political director for a new political action committee and give campaign contributions to both Republicans and Democrats. The company currently has an image as a Democratic donor as almost every employee employee contribution in 2004 went to the Democrats.
- Lobbying reform appears to be back on track in the Senate as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) agreed to remove an amendment that sought to prohibit a Dubai company from taking over control of a number of ports. According to Roll Call, the Senate appears ready to hear the bill and one of the bill’s principal authors Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) stated, “If they’ll give me a day, I can do it.” On the House side chances for reform look questionable as the Republican caucus cannot decide what direction to take nor which proposals to consider.
- Ralph Reed is getting off the hook for his alleged violations of lobbying laws in Texas because the two-year statute of limitations had expired, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Travis County Attorney David Escamilla said, “There’s smoke. And we have the tools, via grand juries and subpoenas, to go find out if there's fire. But all of the smoke relates to a time period I can't do anything about.”
- In a new report by the Minority Office of the House Committee on Government Reform the second Iraqi oil contract for Halliburton comes under intense scrutiny and criticism for “intentional overcharging,” “inadequate cost reporting,” and a “refusal to cooperate.”
- The Associated Press reports that, “The former Republican leader of the Wisconsin Assembly was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail for putting a party fundraiser on the state payroll.” Steven Foti is the “third former state legislator to be sentenced among five convicted in an investigation that began in 2001. Two of the others are Democrats, and two are Republicans.”
- According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House has pulled the nomination of David Sanborn to run the U.S. Maritime Administration. Sanborn was previously the former director of operations for Europe and Latin America for Dubai Ports World and his nomination became a key point of attack for critics of the deal for DP World to take over American port operations. The article notes, “Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) said he would block it until he learned more about Mr. Sanborn's involvement in the deal that gave operation of some U.S. ports to DP World, and about DP World's pending sale of those operations.”
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