Monetary Influence of Jack Abramoff - Politicians With Connections To Indian Affairs and Greenberg Traurig

Politicians With Connections To Indian Affairs and Greenberg Traurig

U.S. Rep. J.D.Hayworth (R-AZ)

Rep.J.D. Hayworth the largest single recipient of Abramoff related money and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, has received more than $150,000 from Indian tribes once represented by Abramoff.

U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

The Louisiana Jena Band of Choctaws offered testimony accusing Louisiana Senator David Vitter (R) of being in cahoots with Abramoff and his attempts to stymie the tribe's casino plans.

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA)

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of several committees investigating the scandal. From 2001 to 2004, Grassley received over $62,000 in donations from groups related to the scandal. In March 2002 he sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton opposing the Jena casino. In April he received a donation of $1000 from Abramoff's firm.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Between 2001 and 2004 Sen. Harry Reid received $61,000 from donors with whom after the fact had hired Abramoff later on, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. In a February 9, 2006 Washington Post article, Reid's office acknowledged contacts with Greenberg Traurig during this time.

Reid also intervened on government matters in ways that Abramoff's tribal clients might have deemed helpful, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action. Reid's office said none of the senator's actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff.

Reid sent a letter they wrote on March 5, 2002, to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking her to reject an application from the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, which was seeking to open a casino outside its Louisiana reservation. An Abramoff client fighting the Jena casino, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, donated $5,000 to Reid's political action committee, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, the next day, at Abramoff's request. While Abramoff never donated directly to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct the tribe to send $5,000 to the fund. The Washington Post reported that Abramoff sent a list to the tribe titled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip." Reid was Democratic whip at the time.

About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show. His March 5, 2002, letter pressed the agency to reject a casino proposed by a potential rival to the Coushattas, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) also signed the letter.

Future Abramoff coworker Edward Ayoob before he knew Abramoff worked for Reid from June 1997 to March 2002 variously as legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, foreign affairs adviser and chief aide on judicial nominations, according to a biography on his employer's Web site. Ayoob in 2002 was hired as a lobbyist by Greenberg Traurig LLP, where his work included teaming with Abramoff and other lobbyists on client matters. According to the Greenberg Traurig website, Greenberg Traurig has over 1400 lobbyists.

Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig in March 2004 after the Senate and the FBI began investigating his activities while Ayoob left Greenberg Traurig in spring 2005. Ayoob is now a senior lobbyist at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Reid downplayed Ayoob's role, saying Ayoob was a legislative assistant on his staff and not an adviser.

Ayoob and Reid met "from time to time" after Ayoob became a lobbyist, according to a Reid spokesperson. She said she did not know when they last spoke or how Reid would characterize their relationship today. The Washington Post has reported that the aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised money from several of Abramoff's lobbying partners., .

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)

Senator Byron Dorgan, the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had received at least $79,300 from associates and clients who later hired Abramoff to work for them.

After several news articles appeared detailing the tribal donations, Dorgan wrote a news release replying to several claims he said were erroneous, including the allegation he received money directly from Abramoff. In the release, Dorgan said, "The fact is I have never met Abramoff and have never received a campaign contribution from him. If he was directing any of his clients to make a political contribution to me, it was done without my knowledge."

Dorgan says, in the release, that his activities in support of several tribal programs are continuing his trend of supporting Native American issues since being elected, and do not stem from Abramoff-related campaign contributions.

In December 2005, Dorgan returned tribal donations totaling $67,000.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)

According to the FEC, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in Abramoff’s skybox at Washington’s MCI Center in 2002 and 2003, according to filings with the FEC and the Iowa Democrat's spokeswoman.