Monetary Influence of Jack Abramoff - Politicians Who Have Received Direct Contributions From Abramoff

Politicians Who Have Received Direct Contributions From Abramoff

FEC records show that Abramoff gave $172,933 for Republican candidates, $88,985 to Republican causes and nothing to Democratic candidates or organizations. A compilation of the complete FEC record and its analysis of contributions made by Jack Abramoff, only, independently confirmed the latter claim. Some of the most prominent who have received such contributions and who may have other connections to Abramoff include:

President George W Bush (R)

As a Bush Pioneer, Abramoff raised over $100,000 for the George W. Bush reelection campaign in addition to the $6,000 which he personally contributed.

Although the White House insists President Bush never met Jack Abramoff outside of large gatherings, The Texas Observer reports that in May 2001 Abramoff "charged two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President."

Time Magazine also reports having at least five White House publicity photos, or 'clicks' showing Bush together with Abramoff or Abramoff's family members.

U.S. Rep. & Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

Joining Abramoff on a vacation was Tom DeLay, whose airfare to London and Scotland in 2000 was charged to an American Express card issued to Abramoff, according to two sources who know Abramoff's credit card account number and to a copy of a travel invoice displaying that number. DeLay's expenses during the same trip for food, phone calls and other items at a golf course hotel in Scotland were billed to a different credit card also used on the trip by a second registered Washington lobbyist, Edwin A. Buckham, according to receipts documenting that portion of the trip.

U.S. Rep. & Former Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bob Ney (R-OH)

In 2002, after Abramoff and Reed closed the casino of the Tigua tribe, Abramoff persuaded the tribe to hire him to lobby Congress to reopen the casino. After Abramoff met with Bob Ney to ask him to push the legislation, the Tigua (by overnight mail) sent three checks to Ney's political committees, totaling $32,000. The exchange of campaign contributions in return for Ney's support of an amendment to reopen the Tigua's casino constituted bribery.

Emails between Abramoff and the Tigua's political consultant show that Ney solicited the Tigua to pay for part of a 2002 golf trip to Scotland, knowing full well that solicitation of travel is specifically prohibited by House rules. Shortly after Ney returned from Scotland, he was scheduled to meet with members of the Tigua tribal council. Prior to that meeting, Abramoff reminded the Tigua that "for obvious reasons" the golf trip would not be mentioned at the meeting, but that Ney show his appreciation "in other ways", which was, Abramoff pointed out, just what the tribe wanted. Although the tribe never ended up paying for the golf trip, Ney's attempt to tie the gift of the trip to the legislative assistance the tribe was seeking likely violates federal criminal law.

Ney lied when he said he was "duped" by Abramoff and lied again on financial disclosure forms when he said that a nonprofit had paid for the trip. However, Safavian, in an email to his government employer seeking permission to go on the trip, states that Abramoff personally extended invitations to all the guests. Ney also said he made the trip to speak to Scottish parliamentarians. But the Scottish parliament wasn't in session at the time he was in Scotland.

Ney is also implicated in the separate Abramoff SunCruz scandal.

Bob Ney is now setting up a legal defense fund for Abramoff.

Bob Ney was "Representative #1," in Abramoff's January 3 plea agreement ,. On September 15, 2006 Ney's guilty plea for bribery related to Abramoff's clients and others was submitted to the court and made public.

U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, CD1 (R-NM)

Congresswoman Heather Wilson received $1,000 in a direct contribution from Abramoff.

U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, III (R-FL);

Congressman Tom Feeney (R-FL) joined other Republicans on the now infamous golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003.

U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)

In 2003, Abramoff gave Richard Pombo's (R-CA) PAC $5,000. Abramoff also gave $2,000, the maximum allowed, to Pombo's congressional campaign committee that same year.

On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Pombo helped one of Abramoff's clients, the Mashpee Indians in Massachusetts, gain official recognition as a tribe; the congressman received contributions from the lobbyist and the tribe in that instance."

U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ)

New Jersey Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson is not going to give back the $1,000 he received in 2001, according to his spokeswoman Abby Bird.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)

New Jersey Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo has planned or has given back the $1000 contribution he had received in 2001.

U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ)

New Jersey Republican Rep. Jim Saxton has given back the 1000-dollar contribution he had received from Abramoff.

U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT)

Conrad Burns (R-Montana) is an alleged recipient of illegal favors and $136,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff. As the chair of the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations, Burns received over $136,000 in campaign contributions through Abramoff and then directed $3 million to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, an Abramoff client and one of the wealthiest tribes in the country from a program intended to help the neediest tribes fix dilapidated schools.

After initially claiming credit for the appropriation, Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it. "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did."

Although initially refusing to return Abramoff's donations, Burns ultimately said that he would return or give away $150,000 he received from Abramoff and his clients.

In December, 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of “Abramoff's group”.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)

(R-Texas) On November 12, 2001, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating, "get me details so I can alert cornyn and let him know what we are doing to help him" . Similarly, on November 13, Reed wrote "I strongly suggest we start doing patch-throughs to perry and cornyn . We're getting killed on the phone." Also, on January 7, 2002, Reed sent Abramoff an e-mail stating "I think we should budget for an ataboy for cornyn" .

When Cornyn ran for Senate, Abramoff contributed $1,000, the maximum amount legally allowed. Cornyn, who has spoken out against gambling, also received $6,250 in contributions from Las Vegas casino interests who oppose Indian gaming, some of which were made at the same time Cornyn was pushing to close the Tigua's casino.

New Jersey State Senator William Gormley (R-Atlantic, NJ)

New Jersey State Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, got $1,000 from Abramoff when Gormley was running for the U.S. Senate in 2000.

Abramoff also gave $5,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee. New Jersey Democratic Party Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman hopes this money will be returned to Abramoff.

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Abramoff has contributed more than $220,000 in New Jersey since 1995, almost exclusively to Republican candidates and committees and only a "smattering" of those who received donations from Abramoff have returned them.

U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-MO)

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)

In 2000, Abramoff gave $500 to Ed Royce .