Abramoff's Influence Over The Bush Administration "Seriously Jeopardized" U.S. National Security

News accounts today from the CNMI make clear that Jack Abramoff's influence over the Bush administration has seriously jeopardized U.S. national security for more than 3 years.

As we have previously reported on Fired Up!, after September 11th, at the request of then-U.S. Attorney for Guam, Frederick A. Black, a report was prepared by the Department of Justice that cited major security concerns related to weak enforcement of immigration laws on Guam and the CNMI. 

Jack Abramoff, who then represented the CNMI, got word of the report from sources inside the Justice Department, and worked to have the report killed.  Bloomberg has reported that Abramoff may have been tipped off about the report as early as October 2001.

In May of 2002, the final report was issued.  According to Bloomberg:

The 2002 report, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News, warns that continued local control over the Marianas' borders will ``seriously jeopardize the national security'' of the U.S.

The report was promptly shelved by the Bush administration, and its author was demoted, presumably at the urging of Abramoff. 

Despite the ominous warnings in the report, all indications are that Abramoff was successful in killing the report, as the recommendations contained in it were never implemented, and members of Congress with oversight responsibilities were never notified of the report.

By November of 2002, Black, the U.S. Attorney who had initially requested the report, had begun an investigation into Abramoff's lobbying activities within his jurisdiction.  The day after Black issued subpoenaes, his replacement was announced by the White House.

In a story today in Pacific Magazine, it was reported that just last week, government officials on the CNMI finally received a copy of the May 2002 report from U.S. officials.  Despite its findings that conditions on the CNMI and Guam seriously jeopardized the national security of the U.S., no action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the report in that time.  Nor has the report been updated in the intervening three and a half years.

Lt. Gov. Tim Villagomez told the media on Friday (27 Jan) that their office was furnished with a copy of the report on the previous day.

“We finally got a copy of that report,” he said.

According to Villagomez, the report has not been updated or implemented.

He said the report has not been updated since it was first drafted in 2002, and a review is necessary.

“It’s a thick document that requires a thorough review. The (local) Office of Homeland Security is in fact preparing a conference with those affected agencies so that each one can have a chance to review those documents and maybe incorporate the work that is already in place,” he said.

This is a tangible example of how Abramoff's influence within the Bush administration jeopardized our nation's security.  Let's see if the media holds them accountable.