Fired Up! America - GOP AbraMafia

When She Catches A Cold, The Entire GOP Leadership Gets Sick

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 07:37:35 -0600

Barbara Bonfiglio is treasurer to the GOP stars, or at least she was.

TPM Muckraker reports that she is leaving lobbying powerhouse Williams & Jensen. That's also the firm where DeLay's former Chief of Staff Susan Hirschmann hangs her hat.

TPM mentions that Bonfiglio was treasurer for Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum's charity, Richard Pombo and Duke Cunningham.

A casual review of FEC records indicates that Bonfiglio is, or was until very recently, also treasurer, deputy treasurer, or custodian of records for many other GOP luminaries.

Vanity Fair's Interview With Jack Abramoff

Wed, 8 Mar 2006 10:44:57 -0600

Here's an advance copy of the Vanity Fair interview with Jack Abramoff.

It has been previewed by TPM Muckraker, Hotline Blog and ThinkProgress.

New Scandal For Senator Burns

Wed, 8 Mar 2006 06:11:22 -0600

The Billings Gazette has a blockbuster story today on Senator Conrad Burns and his ties to lobbyist Leo Giacometto.

From 1995 to 1998, former Alzada rancher Leo Giacometto worked as Sen. Conrad Burns' chief of staff in Washington, D.C. Six years later, after Giacometto had quit to work as a lobbyist, Burns called on him again.

In a move that Burns' office describes as innocuous and at least one observer described as ethically problematic, Burns proposed forming a nonprofit group with Giacometto in 2003. The group, started with $100 from Giacometto's personal bank account and run out of his D.C. lobbying firm, is called the U.S.-Asia Network and Burns, its chairman, has described the outfit as one of his top priorities.

Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said Burns' involvement with the group is unusual.

"It presents some problems because Burns is aligning himself with what is essentially a trade association run by lobbyists," he said.

Neither of the other members of Montana's congressional delegation has ever started a nonprofit group with lobbyists, according to representatives of Democrat Sen. Max Baucus and Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg.

The group was formed to promote international trade with an emphasis on high tech and telecommunications, according to a Burns newsletter. Giacometto's lobbying clients include communications companies such as Nextel and AT&T. Burns sits on the Commerce Committee and through 2004 chaired its Communications Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over telecommunications law.

Duke Cunningham Gets 100 Months For Corruption

Fri, 3 Mar 2006 17:47:24 -0600

Former Rep. Duke Cunningham was sentenced to 100 months in prison for taking bribes from defense contractors.

Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was taken into custody Friday after being sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for accepting bribes from defense contractors.
Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence for Cunningham, the maximum available under his plea agreement. His lawyers asked for six years.

Rep. Doolittle Inducted Into Public Citizen's Ethics Hall Of Shame

Wed, 1 Mar 2006 14:44:16 -0600

Rep. John Doolittle has been inducted into Public Citizen's Ethics Hall of Shame. Here are the highlights of his record:

Is under investigation by the Justice Department for his ties to Jack Abramoff.
Steered defense appropriations for technology the military did not request to a major campaign contributor.
Took action supporting Jack Abramoff tribal clients that contradicted his “anti-gaming position,” while taking tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Abramoff and his clients.
Took action supported by two lobbying firms that employed his wife.
Short-circuited an FDIC investigation into the primary owner of a failed S&L that cost taxpayers billions.

Today is Public Citizen's "National Call Out Corruption Day." To get more information on how to take part, click here.

Once Again The Noose Tightens Around The House GOP

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 07:59:36 -0600

Mitchell Wade, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Rep. Duke Cunningham bribery scandal, will become an "indicted co-conspirator" later today.

According to the AP, Wade will plead guilty to unspecified charges in Washington.

This is extremely bad news for the GOP, as this will give the feds yet another cooperating witness in their ongoing corruption probe of DeLay and others.

Wade, and fellow defense contractor Brent Wilkes, showered GOP House members with campaign contributions, and in at least one case, bribes, in return for earmarked defense contracts. Check out this San Diego Union Tribune story for a sense of the potential scope of this matter.

Globe Story Will Rock DeLay's World

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 09:44:09 -0600

The story in today's Boston Globe about the latest subpoenas in the Abramoff investigation are very bad news for DeLay.

Clearly the feds have zeroed in on the activities of the U.S. Family Network and the money that Russian energy execs steered there for as yet unknown political favors in return.

DeLay, and his henchman, Ed Buckham, are neck deep in the U.S. Family Network. If DeLay knows anything incriminating about the Speaker, or the President, now may be the time for him to start organizing his thoughts, because it won't be too long before he is trying to make a deal with the feds.

Rules Committee Report Is Now Available Online

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:53:14 -0600

The new report by the Rep. Louise Slaughter of the House Rules Committee is now available online.

You can find the full report here.

And here's a link to Rep. Slaughter's post on Kos about her report:

Our Report from the House - America for Sale: The Cost of Republican Corruption

According to Rep. Slaughter, here are some of the key findings of the report:

For the first time, this report tries to quantify the damage the Republican Congress and Bush White House have inflicted on our country. Here are a few numbers to consider:

So Much For Being A Fiscal Conservative, Senator Burns

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 07:58:21 -0600

Senator Conrad Burns filed for re-election yesterday and gave this explanation for why he should be re-elected:

Burns, who sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, said he is responsible for bringing more than $2 billion in federal money to Montana during his career. He intends to run on his record of delivering for Montana and won't shy away from mentioning it.

He was also quite good at delivering for Jack Abramoff, but somehow, I doubt we'll be hearing quite as much about that from the Senator.

America For Sale: The Cost Of Republican Corruption

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:55:30 -0600

From her vantage point atop the the House Rules Committee, Rep. Louise Slaughter has had a birds-eye-view of how the Republicans have done business in Washington over the last several years, and the costs those actions have had for the average American.

In a 118 page report to be released later today, Ms. Slaughter lays out in painstaking detail exactly how the Republicans have conducted themselves over the last several years, and the myriad ways that has cost the American people.

Ex-Malaysian PM: Abramoff Was Paid To Set Up White House Meeting

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:26:35 -0600

The Associated Press reports that the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister claims that Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to help set up his 2002 meeting with President Bush.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government.
Mahathir told reporters he was aware a payment was made to Abramoff, but he didn't know who made it. He said he had been persuaded by the U.S. think tank Heritage Foundation to meet with Bush at the time.

Did South Korean Pharmaceutical Companies Help Finance The "Grassroots" Effort In Support Of The Medicare Drug Bill?

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:20:53 -0600

Ties between the GOP leadership, Korean business interests--including pharmaceutical companies, PhRMA, and a "grassroots" seniors organization--Sixty Plus, reveal just how money fuels a vast GOP propaganda machine that foists bad public policy on the American public.

In 2000, Hanwha Group, a Korean company with extremely close ties to Speaker Dennis Hastert, Rep. Tom DeLay, Rep. Roy Blunt and other GOP leaders donated $300,000 to a "grassroots" seniors organization, Sixty Plus, that has assisted the GOP with their legislative agenda, including their Medicare prescription drug proposal.

Doolittle Fawns All Over Abramoff Client

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:09:49 -0600

Doolittle Fawns All Over Abramoff Client -

The SacBee has an interesting story about Rep. John Doolittle's actions on behalf of Jack Abramoff's clients. the Choctaw Indians.

When Rep. John Doolittle praised a "great American success story" on Sept. 16, 1998, it was one of the earliest signs that he shared interests with Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay.
"One tribe that has been a national leader in exercising its self-determination to build a strong tribal government and reservation-based economy is the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians," the Roseville Republican said in a five-paragraph statement he entered in the Congressional Record. The Bee found the statement after conducting a review of his public remarks.

Simon Says: 2006 Likely To Be A Very Bad Year For The GOP

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 14:34:25 -0600

In this piece, NDN Chair Simon Rosenberg lays out how he sees 2006 shaping up.

Here's his bottom line:

I've been skeptical about the fall elections becoming a 1994-like "change election." But given that in Mid-February the President has dropped below 40 percent, their weak agenda has nowhere to go, foreign policy and security issues are as likely to be as damaging to them as helpful, and the criminal cases against their leadership will spread and deepen, I think even the skeptics have to now acknowledge that 2006 is likely to become an historically bad year for the governing party.

Feds: DeLay Sentencing So Abramoff Can Keep Cooperating

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 13:59:36 -0600

Federal prosecutors have joined with Jack Abramoff's lawyers in requesting a 90 delay in his sentencing so that he can keep cooperating with the ongoing federal corruption probe.

From the AP:

The U.S. Department of Justice as well as defense lawyers asked to delay the upcoming sentencing of lobbyist Jack Abramoff after his conviction in a fraud case.
Officials are asking for more time so Abramoff can continue to assist with the overall government investigation into charges of corruption. The scandal has reached members of Congress and lit a political firestorm through much of Washington.