| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:59 pm Post subject: Ardent pro-Israel (Zionist) Lobbyist Owned US Congress... |
| Lobbyist Nears Terms on Plea Deal
By Anne E. Kornblut
The New York Times
Thursday 22 December 2005
Abramoff may testify against "at least a dozen lawmakers and their former staff members."
Washington - Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under indictment for fraud in South Florida, is expected to complete a plea agreement in the Miami criminal case, setting the stage for him to become a crucial witness in a broad federal corruption investigation, people with direct knowledge of the case said.
One participant in the case said the deal could be made final as early as next week.
The terms of the plea deal have not been completed, and the negotiations are especially complicated because they involve prosecutors both in Miami and in Washington, where Mr. Abramoff is being investigated in a separate influence-peddling inquiry, participants said. Details of what he feels comfortable pleading guilty to are "probably largely worked out," the participant said, while the details of the prison sentence are less resolved.
Some of the details are still "in flux," said a participant who, like others interviewed, was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
"Anything can happen," the participant said, adding that the agreement could fall apart. Another person with detailed knowledge of the case said that while negotiations were continuing, the deal could take longer than another week to be settled.
But after a lengthy bargaining phase, Mr. Abramoff's lawyers and prosecutors in the Florida case appear closer to resolving several of the central issues in the plea deal, in which the defendant would receive a reduced prison sentence - most likely in the range of five to seven years, though that is fluid - in exchange for pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against his former associates.
Mr. Abramoff was indicted in Florida on Aug. 11 on charges stemming from his purchase of a fleet of casino boats in 2000. Prosecutors said Mr. Abramoff and a business partner, Adam Kidan, falsified documents and lied about their financing in order to complete the purchase. Mr. Kidan pleaded guilty last week, leaving Mr. Abramoff to face six criminal counts and up to 30 years in prison as case's sole defendant.
At the same time, prosecutors in Washington have been sifting through evidence of what they believe is a corruption scheme involving at least a dozen lawmakers and their former staff members, many of whom worked closely on legislation with Mr. Abramoff and accepted gifts and favors from him. Although Mr. Abramoff is also in negotiations in that case, it is unclear whether a settlement can be reached in time for both agreements to be announced at once.
Michael Scanlon, a close business associate of Mr. Abramoff in Washington who also worked on the SunCruz casino boat deal, pleaded guilty in October in exchange for testifying in both inquiries. The case, being worked on by dozens of investigators as part of a multi-agency task force, has expanded in recent months to put senior Republican officials and prominent party lobbyists under immense scrutiny.
-------
Last edited by Alpha on Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:06 pm; edited 1 time in total | |  | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:54 pm Post subject: |
| Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Cooperate
By MARK SHERMAN and CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writers
3 minutes ago
Embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud, agreeing to cooperate in an influence-peddling investigation that threatens powerful members of Congress.
In a heavily scripted court appearance, Abramoff agreed with U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle when she said he had engaged in a conspiracy involving "corruption of public officials." The lobbyist also agreed when she said he and others had engaged in a scheme to provide campaign contributions, trips and other items "in exchange for certain official acts."
"Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my profound regret for all my actions and mistakes," Abramoff said, addressing the judge. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and those I've wronged or caused to suffer."
To each of the three charges, Abramoff said, "I plead guilty, your honor." Huvelle and lawyers in the case said Abramoff had agreed to make an estimated $25 million in restitution to his victims and pay $1.7 million to the Internal Revenue Service for taxes he evaded. As is typically the case in such pleadings, what happened in the courtroom Tuesday was arranged in advance between lawyers for the defendant and the prosecutors.
According to the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 9 1/2 to 11 years, providing he cooperates with federal prosecutors in a wide-ranging corruption investigation that is believed to be focusing on as many as 20 members of Congress and aides.
Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said the Justice Department will pursue the investigation "wherever it goes."
"We're going to expend the resources to make sure people know that government is not for sale," she said at a news conference.
Abramoff's activities went "far beyond lawful lobbying to the illegal act of paying for official acts," she said. "The Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute these types of cases which have a devastating impact on the public's trust of government."
Abramoff's travels with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay are already under criminal investigation. The lobbyist's interactions with the Texas Republican's congressional office frequently came around the time of campaign donations, golf outings or other trips provided or arranged by Abramoff for DeLay and other lawmakers. In all, DeLay received at least $57,000 in political contributions from Abramoff, his lobbying associates or his tribal clients between 2001 and 2004.
Court papers released Tuesday also detailed lavish gifts and contributions that Abramoff gave an unnamed House member, identified elsewhere as Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, chairman of the House Administration Committee, in return for Ney's agreement to use his office to aid Abramoff clients.
In a statement Tuesday, Ney said, "At the time I dealt with Jack Abramoff, I obviously did not know, and had no way of knowing, the self-serving and fraudulent nature of Abramoff's activities."
Abramoff also was expected to plead guilty in Florida to two of the six charges in a federal indictment, according to his lawyer there, Neal Sonnett. A change of plea hearing has been scheduled in Miami for Wednesday afternoon, Justice officials said.
Abramoff attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement that 18 months ago Abramoff made contact with prosecutors "to admit his wrongdoing and to seek forgiveness from those he has wronged. He intends to continue to work with the Justice Department and others to fully resolve all matters of interest, to provide restitution to anyone he has harmed, and to seek absolution from all."
Prosecutors say Abramoff and Scanlon conspired to defraud Indian tribes in Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas of millions of dollars. Abramoff reaped roughly $20 million in hidden profits from the scheme, according to the information. Lobbying partner Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty in November.
Abramoff and Scanlon also lavished a golf trip to Scotland and other things of value on Ney, the court document said. Ney has denied doing anything wrong.
The Bush administration's former chief procurement official, David H. Safavian, was charged this fall with making false statements and obstructing investigations into the 2002 golf outing. Safavian, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, the government's procurement arm, has pleaded innocent to those charges.
Court documents also said Abramoff solicited $50,000 from a wireless telephone company and got Ney's agreement to push the company's application to install a wireless telephone infrastructure in the House of Representatives, a job Ney's committee would have overseen.
Pressure had been intensifying on Abramoff to strike a deal with prosecutors since another former partner, Adam Kidan, pleaded guilty earlier this month to fraud and conspiracy in connection with the 2000 SunCruz boat deal in Florida.
The continuing saga of Abramoff's legal problems has caused anxiety at high levels in Washington, in both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election effort, earning the honorary title "pioneer" from the campaign.
In Bush's first 10 months in office in 2001, Abramoff and other members of his lobbying team logged at least 200 contacts with the administration on behalf of at least one client, the Northern Mariana Islands. The meetings included some with high-ranking officials such as then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and policy advisers in Vice President Dick Cheney's office. The Marianas' agenda included seeking friendly hires at federal agencies and preservation of its exemption from the U.S. minimum wage.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan could not say Tuesday whether Abramoff ever met President Bush. But when asked at the White House about this, the spokesman said that "what he is reportedly acknowledging doing is unacceptable and outrageous."
"If laws were broken, he must be held to account for what he did," McClellan said.
For months, prosecutors in Washington have focused on whether Abramoff defrauded his Indian tribal clients of millions of dollars and used improper influence on members of Congress.
In a five-year span ending in early 2004, tribes represented by the lobbyist contributed millions of dollars in casino income to congressional campaigns, often routing the money through political action committees for conservative lawmakers who opposed gambling.
Abramoff also provided trips, sports skybox fundraisers, golf fees, frequent meals, entertainment and jobs for lawmakers' relatives and aides.
In Florida, Abramoff and Kidan were indicted in August on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and mail fraud in connection with their purchase of the SunCruz fleet for $147.5 million from Miami businessman Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis.
Prosecutors said the pair faked a $23 million wire transfer to make it appear that they were making a significant contribution of their own money into the deal. Based on that transfer, lenders Foothill Capital Corp. and Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. agreed to provide $60 million in financing for the purchase.
Kidan pleaded guilty Dec. 15 to one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines at sentencing scheduled for March 1.
___
Eds: Associated Press reporters Michael J. Sniffen, Pete Yost and David Hammer in Washington and Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this story. | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:04 pm Post subject: |
| McCain is another Israel firster as well (he and his Father sold out the USS Liberty survivors for Israel - http://www.ussliberty.com ):
Felony Plea of GOP Lobbyist Sets D.C. Players Scrambling
By E.J. Kessler
Forward
5 January 2006
http://forward.com/articles/7114
At the height of his influence as a high-flying Republican
lobbyist, Jack Abramoff once boasted that his Washington,
D.C., kosher deli would become a locus of Jewish power in
the capital. But this week Jewish conservatives were
joining most other Republicans in distancing themselves
from the 46-year-old embattled lobbyist, after he pled
guilty to felony charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax
evasion in a deal that could end up implicating dozens of
lawmakers and their staffers in his corruption.
The plea brings to an end the career of a swashbuckling
figure that cut a high profile in Washington Republican
circles and the capital-area Jewish community. A muscular
man who sometimes sported a thin fringe of a beard, along
with his shiny dark hair and a black suede yarmulke,
Abramoff was arguably the most prominent symbol of
Orthodox Judaism in GOP power circles. But he was not a
major force within the capital's most influential Jewish
organizations, such as the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby known as Aipac,
or even outright GOP-aligned Jewish groups, such as the
Republican Jewish Coalition.
Instead his influence stemmed from decades-long
relationships with conservative political operatives,
including former Christian Coalition Executive Director
Ralph Reed and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, as well
as later ties to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
"Jack has always been a recognized Jew, but he's never
been a recognized leader of the Jewish Republican
movement," said Bruce Bialosky, a Jewish Republican
activist and fundraiser in southern California who
formerly led the Republican Jewish Coalition there.
Abramoff, he said, always kept himself "separate."
Nowadays, Jewish Republicans and others are trying
mightily to keep separate from Abramoff: A raft of them
either did not respond to requests for comment or declined
to comment for this article. "Everyone who was once asking
him for money is now running for the hills," said one
Washington observer.
Bialosky called Abramoff "a blight upon the Republican
Party and the Jewish people" and said he was "personally
offended" by Abramoff's actions. "I have no understanding
of how this guy can plea bargain when he's the kingpin,"
Bialosky said.
Abramoff, whose work on behalf of Indian gaming interests
netted him and an associate $82 million and prompted an
investigation by at least two Senate committees and
several federal agencies, pled guilty Tuesday in U.S.
District Court in Washington. Investigators are looking
into whether Abramoff bribed public officials, including
DeLay and another Republican congressman, Rep. Robert Ney
of Ohio, in what is being seen in Washington as the
largest public corruption scandal in recent memory.
Abramoff also reached a plea agreement this week in a
tangentially related fraud case involving a fleet of
casino boats he bought with a partner in Florida.
Prosecutors said the federal charges could have gained
Abramoff a 30-year sentence, but his testimony in the
corruption probe would likely reduce it to nine to 11
years. The Florida charges could yield a term of seven
years. As part of his federal plea, Abramoff agreed to
restitute $25 million to the victims of his crimes and to
pay a $1.7 million tax bill.
"Your honor, words will not be able to ever express how
sorry I am for this, and I have profound regret and sorrow
for the multitude of mistakes and harm I have caused,"
Abramoff said in court. "All of my remaining days, I will
feel tremendous sadness and regret for my conduct and for
what I have done. I only hope that I can merit forgiveness
from the Almighty and from those I have wronged or caused
to suffer. I will work hard to earn that redemption."
In 2002, Abramoff started two short-lived kosher eateries
-- the Archives restaurant and Stacks deli -- and a
now-defunct Orthodox day school for boys, the Eshkol
Academy. Abramoff touted Stacks, then the only kosher deli
in the District of Columbia, as the center for Jewish
power lunches in the capital. He also was a part-owner of
a non-kosher Washington restaurant, Signatures.
Signatures and Stacks became fodder for newspaper exposes
when it came to light that the establishments had failed
to bill lawmakers for events they had held there, creating
possible violations of election law on the lawmakers'
parts. The Eshkol Academy and a charity Abramoff started
to help fund it, the Capital Athletic Foundation, have
received repeated scrutiny in lawmakers' probes of
Abramoff's alleged tax evasion and money laundering.
"This is very sad, personally and communally," said Rabbi
Levi Shemtov, Chabad's Washington representative. "People
always deserve the presumption of innocence. Obviously,
that is no longer an option here."
Abramoff, a father of five, reportedly was introduced to
his wife Pamela by Reed, then a leader of the Christian
Coalition with whom she worked. She converted to Orthodox
Judaism.
Abramoff lived his early years in southern New Jersey but
later moved to Beverly Hills, where he became religious as
a teenager. He went to college at Brandeis University, and
to law school at Georgetown University, launching his
career in political life by becoming head of the national
College Republicans. It was through that group that he met
Reed and Norquist, two activists who would be crucial to
his later lobbying efforts. He lobbied first at the
Washington firm Preston Gates and later at Greenberg
Traurig, which he left in 2004 amid much acrimony.
As Abramoff's troubles unfolded, starting in late 2003, he
and his defenders put forth the view that his need for
money was driven by a desire to give to charity. "I have
spent years giving away virtually everything I made,'' he
said in an interview last year with The New York Times
Magazine. ''Frankly, I didn't need to have a kosher
delicatessen. That was money I could have bought a yacht
with. I don't live an extravagant lifestyle. I felt that
the resources coming into my hands were the consequence of
God putting them there." A Business Week interview with
Abramoff's criminal lawyer, Abbe Lowell, noted that Lowell
had met Abramoff because of their common interest in
Jewish charitable causes.
Unfortunately for Abramoff, his own e-mails, subpoenaed by
federal investigators, left a different impression. "Can
you smell money?!?!?!" he wrote in one. "I'd love us to
get our mitts on that moolah!!" he wrote in another, even
as he was deriding his Indian clients as "morons" and
"troglodytes." In other e-mails, Abramoff directed an
associate to represent Eshkol Academy as a "front group"
and "conduit" for their lobbying activities.
Abramoff made a bid in the early 1990s to become a major
player in the mainstream Republican Jewish Coalition, but
he was rebuffed by the group's executive director, Matt
Brooks, according to several people involved with the
organization. "Matt looked at him as competition," said
one. Brooks did not return a call seeking comment.
Abramoff's main contribution to national Jewish communal
causes was a stint in the 1990s as chairman of Toward
Tradition, a social conservative group based outside of
Seattle that frequently criticizes the Jewish community's
liberal majority and many of its more-established
organizations. Toward Tradition, led by a South
African-born Orthodox rabbi, Daniel Lapin, made its mark
by becoming a leading proponent of the idea that Jews
should return to a "biblical faith" and ally themselves
politically with Evangelical Christians because of their
moral qualities and support for Israel.
It was Lapin, in fact, who introduced Abramoff to DeLay,
according to press accounts. In addition, Lapin's brother
David served for a time as headmaster of the Eshkol school
and as a business consultant on a contract with the
government of the Northern Marianas Islands, which has
said the work was not carried out.
Abramoff evidently sought to use Toward Tradition for
self-aggrandizing purposes. In e-mails sent to Lapin in
2000, Abramoff asked that the organization create a
"scholar of Talmud studies" award and present it to him.
The request came to light last July during hearings of the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which investigated
Abramoff's bilking of Indian tribes. Lapin told the
Forward at the time that his seemingly positive response
to the request was meant in jest. He also said he had no
knowledge of Abramoff's misdeeds while they were going on.
This week, he did not respond to a request for comment on
Abramoff's plea.
Once the religious right's favorite rabbi, Lapin has seen
his fortunes decline in national GOP circles since 1996,
when he gave an invocation at the Republican National
Convention, Republican insiders said. Abramoff's troubles
"should finish him off," one added.
Abramoff's plea is not likely to result in any increase of
antisemitism either among the public at large or among
Republicans, Jewish activists said. A Diageo-Hotline poll
taken last month of 813 registered voters showed that 72%
had no idea of who Abramoff was.
The Washington representative of the Orthodox Union,
Nathan Diament, said that last year he had asked Senator
John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee, whether McCain thought that Abramoff's
corruption would cause Americans to think poorly of the
Orthodox community as a whole. McCain "dismissed [the
idea] out of hand," Diament said. "He said Americans know
better than that. They don't hold an individual's
misbehavior against the entire group."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Abramoff the leper
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 22:14:30 +1000 From: Peter Marshall
<petemar@tsn.cc>
http://www.forward.com/main/printer-friendly.php?id=7114
"Abramoff's plea is not likely to result in any increase of
antisemitism either
among the public at large or among Republicans, Jewish activists said.
A
Diageo-Hotline poll taken last month of 813 registered voters showed
that 72%
had no idea of who Abramoff was."
Lobbyist Sets D.C. Players Scrambling
By E.J. KESSLER January 6, 2006
At the height of his influence as a high-flying Republican lobbyist,
Jack
Abramoff once boasted that his Washington, D.C., kosher deli would
become a
locus of Jewish power in the capital. But this week Jewish
conservatives were
joining most other Republicans in distancing themselves from the
46-year-old
embattled lobbyist, after he pled guilty to felony charges of mail
fraud,
conspiracy and tax evasion in a deal that could end up implicating
dozens of
lawmakers and their staffers in his corruption.
The plea brings to an end the career of a swashbuckling figure that cut
a high
profile in Washington Republican circles and the capital-area Jewish
community.
A muscular man who sometimes sported a thin fringe of a beard, along
with his
shiny dark hair and a black suede yarmulke, Abramoff was arguably the
most
prominent symbol of Orthodox Judaism in GOP power circles. But he was
not a
major force within the capital's most influential Jewish organizations,
such as
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerhouse pro-Israel
lobby
known as Aipac, or even outright GOP-aligned Jewish groups, such as the
Republican Jewish Coalition. ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Abramoff, "super - Zionist"
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 20:13:56 +1100 From: "blackheathbooks"
<blackhe@bigpond.net.au>
Another day at the Empire
by Kurt Nimmo
Friday January 06th 2006, 8:53 am
http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=181
As usual, the corporate media is ignoring the larger picture, this time
in
regard to the criminal Jack Abramoff. Sure, Abramoff is a political
sleazoid who
"defrauded his Indian tribal clients of millions of dollars and used
improper
influence on members of Congress," as the Washington Post explains.
"Tribes
represented by the lobbyist contributed millions of dollars in casino
income to
congressional campaigns," including the Bush administration and the
poster child
of the Republican party, Tom DeLay, aka The Hammer. But, as the blogger
Juan
Cole, professor of History at the University of Michigan, tells it
Abramoff
represents something far more sinister and threatening: he is a "super
-
Zionist," according to Mike Issikoff of Newsweek, and not only did he
spread his
illicitly gained money around the halls of Washington, but the
illegally
occupied territories of the West Bank as well.
"Abramoff's dense network of illicit finances and phony charities might
end some
political careers in the United States," writes Cole. "But the
investigation
into his activities by the FBI also shed light on the ways in which
rightwing
American Jews have often been involved in funding what are essentially
terrorist
activities by armed land thieves in Palestinian territory…. Indeed, it
was this
terror funding of Israeli far right militiamen that tripped Abramoff
up, since
the FBI discovered that he had misled Indian tribes into giving money
to the
Jabotinskyites, and then began wondering if he had defrauded the tribes
in other
ways." In other words, as Cole points out, the "Super Zionist" Abramoff
scammed
a long ago "dispossessed indigenous people" to fund the current
dispossession of
another people. ...
Jack Abramoff, "super Zionist," is emblematic of the indisputable fact
that
Jabontinsky Likudites have subverted our government, although the
corporate
media would have you believe all of this is simply a garden variety
corruption
scandal. Moreover, it should come as no surprise that the American
Israel Public
Affairs Committee is able to steal American secrets and fork them over
to Israel
and this act of treason is essentially little more than a blip in the
corporate
media news cycle. As Juan Cole notes elsewhere, AIPAC has a virtual
stranglehold
over the government in the United States:
All this can happen because there is a vacuum in U.S. political
discourse. A
handful of special interests in the United States virtually dictate
congressional policy on some issues. With regard to the Arab - Israeli
conflict,
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and a few allies have
succeeded in
imposing complete censorship on both houses of Congress. No senator or
representative dares make a speech on the floor of his or her
institution
critical of Israeli policy, even though the Israeli government often
violates
international law and UN Security Council resolutions (it would violate
more
such resolutions, except that the resolutions never got passed because
only one
NSC member, the U.S., routinely vetoes them on behalf of Tel Aviv.) As
the Labor
Party in Israel has been eclipsed by the Likud coalition, which
includes many
proto - fascist groups, this subservience has yoked Washington to
foreign
politicians who privately favor ethnic cleansing and/or aggressive
warfare for
the purpose of annexing the territory of neighbors.
In essence, the "proto - fascist groups" in Israel and burrowed deeply
inside
the Bush administration are in the process of subverting the U.S.
Constitution
and Bill of Rights, as the NSA "scandal" regarding massive snooping of
Americans
indicates. Unfortunately, most Americans are blissfully unaware of the
true
nature of these crimes, as they are unaware of the obvious fact the
"war" in
Iraq was waged in the name of Israel, a small outlaw nation where
people who
think and act like Jack Abramoff are the rule and not the exception.
Last edited by Alpha on Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:52 pm; edited 1 time in total | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:12 pm Post subject: Jack Abramoff, “Super Zionist" |
| http://kurtnimmo.com/?p=181
Jack Abramoff, “Super Zionist”
January 6 2006
As usual, the corporate media is ignoring the larger picture, this time in regard to the criminal Jack Abramoff. Sure, Abramoff is a political sleazoid who “defrauded his Indian tribal clients of millions of dollars and used improper influence on members of Congress,” as the Washington Post explains. “Tribes represented by the lobbyist contributed millions of dollars in casino income to congressional campaigns,” including the Bush administration and the poster child of the Republican party, Tom DeLay, aka The Hammer. But, as the blogger Juan Cole, professor of History at the University of Michigan, tells it Abramoff represents something far more sinister and threatening: he is a “super-Zionist,” according to Mike Issikoff of Newsweek, and not only did he spread his illicitly gained money around the halls of Washington, but the illegally occupied territories of the West Bank as well.
“Abramoff's dense network of illicit finances and phony charities might end some political careers in the United States,” writes Cole. “But the investigation into his activities by the FBI also shed light on the ways in which rightwing American Jews have often been involved in funding what are essentially terrorist activities by armed land thieves in Palestinian territory…. Indeed, it was this terror funding of Israeli far right militiamen that tripped Abramoff up, since the FBI discovered that he had misled Indian tribes into giving money to the Jabotinskyites, and then began wondering if he had defrauded the tribes in other ways.” In other words, as Cole points out, the “Super Zionist” Abramoff scammed a long ago “dispossessed indigenous people” to fund the current dispossession of another people.
In fact, Abramoff's sleaziness is so brazen and off the charts as to be quite remarkable. As Issikoff reported last May, Abramoff funneled $140,000 from a charity to benefit inner-city youths to rabid Zionist Israeli settlers in the West Bank colonial outpost of Beitar Illit. “Among the expenditures,” Issikoff notes, “purchases of camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, a thermal imager and other material described in foundation records as ’security’ equipment,” but as we know (consistently underplayed by the Zionist-friendly corporate media) this sort of equipment is used by the rabid land-grabbing settlers to attack and often kill Palestinians, including Palestinian children. In other words, Jack Abramoff—if the FBI allegations are correct—is guilty of facilitating mass murder of Palestinian Arabs, not surprising since that's what “super Zionists” do and have done for more than sixty years.
Abramoff spokesman Andrew Blum told Issikoff that his boss “is an especially strong supporter of Israel and has tried to find ways to help Israelis and others to be less susceptible to terrorist attacks.” Of course, “terrorist attacks” is code for the Palestinians defending themselves (and retaliating) against the encroachment and violence of Jack's sociopathic friends who invade and shoot up Arab villages with Uzis (often courtesy of the Israel Defense or rather Occupation Forces) and “shoot solar panels on roofs of buildings, torch automobiles, shatter windowpanes and windshields, destroy crops, uproot trees, abuse merchants and owners of stalls in the market,” and other various forms of terrorist activity (see B'Tselem for more disgusting details).
It should be no secret to those who pay attention that extremely (and fanatically) strong supporters of Israel control the foreign policy of the United States government. Unfortunately, a whole lot of Americans don't pay attention. It takes an Israeli commentator to point out the unvarnished truth: the Straussian neocons, Akiva Eldar wrote in Haaretz, “are walking a fine line between their loyalty to American governments and Israeli interests.” Uri Avnery, Israeli peace activist, believes there is little difference between the neocons and the Jabotinsky Zionists in Israel. “I have absolutely no proof that the Bushies got their ideas from [Ariel Sharon]. But the style is the same,” writes Avnery. Of course, all of this is about as obvious as the nose on your face, regardless of the herculean efforts of the corporate media to obfuscate the truth.
Jack Abramoff, “super Zionist,” is emblematic of the indisputable fact that Jabontinsky Likudites have subverted our government, although the corporate media would have you believe all of this is simply a garden variety corruption scandal. Moreover, it should come as no surprise that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is able to steal American secrets and fork them over to Israel and this act of treason is essentially little more than a blip in the corporate media news cycle. As Juan Cole notes elsewhere, AIPAC has a virtual stranglehold over the government in the United States:
All this can happen because there is a vacuum in U.S. political discourse. A handful of special interests in the United States virtually dictate congressional policy on some issues. With regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and a few allies have succeeded in imposing complete censorship on both houses of Congress. No senator or representative dares make a speech on the floor of his or her institution critical of Israeli policy, even though the Israeli government often violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions (it would violate more such resolutions, except that the resolutions never got passed because only one NSC member, the U.S., routinely vetoes them on behalf of Tel Aviv.) As the Labor Party in Israel has been eclipsed by the Likud coalition, which includes many proto-fascist groups, this subservience has yoked Washington to foreign politicians who privately favor ethnic cleansing and/or aggressive warfare for the purpose of annexing the territory of neighbors.
In essence, the “proto-fascist groups” in Israel and burrowed deeply inside the Bush administration are in the process of subverting the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, as the NSA “scandal” regarding massive snooping of Americans indicates. Unfortunately, most Americans are blissfully unaware of the true nature of these crimes, as they are unaware of the obvious fact the “war” in Iraq was waged in the name of Israel, a small outlaw nation where people who think and act like Jack Abramoff are the rule and not the exception. | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:21 pm Post subject: |
| New Congressional corruption scandal on the horizon? The LAT reports:
In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.
Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion. ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-banker8jan08,0,1764103.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews
From the Los Angeles Times
THE NATION
A Donor Who Had Big Allies
DeLay and two others helped put the brakes on a federal probe of a businessman. Evidence was published in the Congressional Record.
By Richard A. Serrano and Stephen Braun
Times Staff Writers
January 8, 2006
WASHINGTON — In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions.
Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion.
The investigation was ultimately dropped.
The effort to help Hurwitz began in 1999 when DeLay wrote a letter to the chairman of the FDIC denouncing the investigation of Hurwitz as a "form of harassment and deceit on the part of government employees." When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo — both considered proteges of DeLay — used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz.
Then, in 2001, the two congressmen inserted many of the sensitive documents into the Congressional Record, making them public and accessible to Hurwitz's lawyers, a move that FDIC officials said damaged the government's ability to pursue the banker.
The FDIC's chief spokesman characterized what Doolittle and Pombo did as "a seamy abuse of the legislative process." But soon afterward, in 2002, the FDIC dropped its case against Hurwitz, who had owned a controlling interest in the United Savings Assn. of Texas. United Savings' failure was one of the worst of the S&L debacles in the 1980s.
Doolittle and Pombo did not respond to requests for interviews last week. They publicly defended Hurwitz at the time, saying the inquiry was unfair. Hurwitz's lawyer said Friday that the FDIC had been overzealous. This summer, a judge in Texas agreed and awarded Hurwitz attorney fees and other costs in a civil suit he filed. "They sought to humiliate him," U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes, said in the ruling. The government is appealing the decision.
In key aspects, the Hurwitz case follows the pattern of the Abramoff scandal: members of Congress using their offices to do favors for a politically well-connected individual who, in turn, supplies them with campaign funds. Although Washington politicians frequently try to help important constituents and contributors, it is unusual for members of Congress to take direct steps to stymie an ongoing investigation by an agency such as the FDIC.
And the actions of the two Californians reflect DeLay's broad strategy of cementing relationships with individuals, business interests and lobbyists whose financial support enabled Republicans to extend their grip on Congress and on government agencies as well. The system DeLay developed and Abramoff took part in went beyond simple quid pro quo; it mobilized whatever GOP resources were available to help those who could help the party.
In the Hurwitz case, Doolittle and Pombo were in a position to pressure the FDIC and did so. Pombo received a modest campaign contribution. In another case, 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.
Andrew Wheat, research director for Texans for Public Justice, a nonpartisan electoral reform group based in Austin, put it this way: "DeLay and Hurwitz seem like natural allies in that they have geographic and ideological proximity. Mr. Hurwitz is a guy who has a reputation of being willing to pay to play. And DeLay likes to play that game too, so there's a natural affinity."
DeLay announced Saturday that he was giving up his efforts to regain the majority leader position. He was majority whip when he first became involved in helping Hurwitz.
In the Abramoff scandal, members of Congress allegedly did favors for the politically connected lobbyist's clients — including Indian casinos — and received campaign contributions and lavish free entertainment. Last week, the lobbyist pleaded guilty in separate cases in Miami and Washington in a deal that government investigators hope will lead to more prosecutions. Others involved have also made deals to cooperate, and Washington is braced for new criminal charges to come.
The episode involving Hurwitz and the two California congressmen took place with little public notice just before the Abramoff scandal began to escalate. The Sacramento Bee published a story when Doolittle inserted FDIC investigative documents into the Congressional Record, noting that it occurred at a time when Congress was distracted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax episode.
But what lay behind Doolittle's action, and the actions of Pombo and DeLay, did not become clear until recently, when the government documents and copies of letters between the congressmen and FDIC officials were obtained by The Times.
J. Kent Friedman, the general counsel for Hurwitz's vast Houston-based holding company, said last week that the FDIC was overzealous in its dealings with his boss.
"Their case was weak from the start. They had a terrible case," Friedman said. He said anyone trying to connect the congressmen to the fact that the case fell apart would be "attempting to put a bow on a pig."
The Texas S&L in which Hurwitz held a controlling interest of about 25% collapsed in 1988 as part of a financial fiasco that took federal regulators years to untangle. The investigation of Hurwitz began in 1995 and continued for about seven years before it was dropped.
After DeLay's 1999 letter attacking the investigation failed to dissuade the FDIC, Doolittle weighed in with a statement on the House floor in 2001, saying the FDIC investigators were "clearly out of control" and should have "dropped the case, period."
Pombo, in his own 2001 floor statement, suggested that the banking regulators were using strong-arm methods against Hurwitz, or what Pombo called "tools equivalent to the Cosa Nostra — a mafia tactic."
Doolittle, 55, an eight-term congressman, represents California's fourth district, the Sierra Foothills region and the eastern suburbs of Sacramento. He has a consistent conservative voting record, opposing gun control and abortion and siding with property rights, timber and utility interests against environmental groups.
By 2000, he had grown close to DeLay, working with the Republican leader to oppose proposed changes to campaign finance law and restrictions on fundraising. When DeLay was indicted in Texas last year, Doolittle distributed about 100 lapel pins in the shape of tiny hammers as a tribute to the man nicknamed the "Hammer" for his ability to pound congressional Republicans into line.
Doolittle also was closely aligned with Abramoff. Records show that Abramoff gave Doolittle tens of thousands of dollars in contributions and employed the congressman's wife for other fundraising activities.
Pombo, the son of cattle ranchers, plays up his cowboy roots, often appearing in his district wearing a ranch-hand's hat and ostrich-skin boots. Forty-five years old, a seven-term congressman, he represents the fertile farming expanse of the Central Valley.
He had impressed DeLay with his fundraising prowess, garnering about $1 million for his 2002 House reelection, which he won easily.
And not long after his role in helping Hurwitz, the GOP House caucus — led by DeLay — helped get Pombo elected chairman of the Resources Committee over several more senior Republicans.
Hurwitz has been a prolific campaign donor since the early 1990s.
He has contributed personally and with funds provided by his Houston-based flagship company, Maxxam Inc., through subsidiaries such as Kaiser Aluminum, and through a company political action committee, Maxxam Inc. Federal PAC.
In the last three federal elections cycles, those entities have given about $443,000 in political contributions — most of it to conservative politicians, including President Bush, for whom Hurwitz pledged to raise $100,000 in the 2000 campaign and also helped during that year's vote tally deadlock in Florida.
Hurwitz has been generous with DeLay too.
Starting in the 2000 election cycle, the businessman and his committees have distributed at least $30,000 to DeLay and his federal causes, including $5,000 for his current legal defense fund in the Texas money-laundering case.
Hurwitz also contributed $1,000 to Pombo for his 1996 reelection campaign. And through the Maxxam PAC, Hurwitz gave Doolittle $5,000 for his 2002 reelection campaign and then followed up with $2,000 more for his 2004 race.
When DeLay went to bat for Hurwitz, he was particularly critical of reported internal government discussions that would have pressed Hurwitz to settle his obligations for the collapsed S&L by selling the government vast forest areas and redwood trees in Northern California near Scotia. The forest land was owned by Hurwitz's Pacific Lumber company
"I am extremely concerned," DeLay told then-FDIC Chairwoman Donna A. Tanoue, "about the apparent abuse of governmental power and what appears to be misconduct in the form of harassment and deceit on the part of government employees."
Tanoue responded by telling DeLay "we can assure you that the FDIC lawsuit against Mr. Hurwitz was not filed for political reasons."
The investigation pressed on, and a year later the House Resources Committee, which had jurisdiction because of the forest area, set up a special Headwaters Forest Task Force and launched its own review. Doolittle was appointed task force chairman, and Pombo one of its members.
Duane Gibson, the committee's general counsel who later went to work for Abramoff, was named the chief investigator. They immediately subpoenaed internal records from the FDIC and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which also had responsibilities for S&Ls.
Both agencies were wary and, although complying with the subpoenas, repeatedly urged the lawmakers not to make the documents public or share them with Hurwitz.
William F. Kroener III, general counsel at the FDIC, warned the committee that Hurwitz and his lawyers were not entitled to see many of the documents.
Kroener told the panel that, should the material end up in their hands, it "could significantly injure our ability to litigate this matter and reduce damages otherwise recoverable to reimburse taxpayers."
Carolyn J. Buck, chief counsel at the Office of Thrift Supervision, also wrote the committee emphasizing that "we note our objection to any publication or release of these documents."
The task force was set up for six months, and disbanded in December 2000. It held one hearing, and called FDIC and Office of Thrift Supervision officials as witnesses.
At that hearing, Tanoue defended the FDIC's investigation.
"I have listened to and considered the arguments made directly to me by representatives of Mr. Hurwitz," she testified. "However, I have found no compelling reason to take the extraordinary step of … taking this case out of the hands of the judicial system."
Kroener testified that the FDIC was not interested in a trees-for-debt swap, saying his agency "has expressed its preference for a cash settlement."
Six months later, in June 2001, Pombo submitted a portion of the subpoenaed documents that filled 14 pages in the Congressional Record.
Six months after that, in December 2001, Doolittle did the same, even though he was no longer a member of the committee. And his submission was much larger — filling 111 pages.
The documents were so voluminous that Doolittle and Pombo had to pay a total of about $20,000 from their congressional accounts to cover the extra printing costs.
The FDIC was outraged over the documents' release.
Its chief spokesman, Phil Battey, said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee at the time that the publication of the materials was a "subordination … and a seamy abuse of the legislative process."
Not long afterward, the FDIC dismissed its case, and the Office of Thrift Supervision settled with Hurwitz for about $200,000 in administrative costs.
*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Times staff writer Ted Rohrlich contributed to this report.
http://www.warandpiece.com/
And now I know what Charles Hurwitz did with MAXXAM after looting the Pacific Lumber Company. He's running racetracks:
In 2002, a fundraiser's handwritten note appears alongside the name of a Texas racetrack owner who - along with other state track operators - wanted state permission to begin offering video gambling at the tracks.
"Brings $1 billion. Polls 83 percent in favor," the fundraiser's note said.
Weeks after that visit to the company's chief executive, track owner Maxxam Inc. contributed $5,000 to Texans for a Republican Majority..."37 other states have it," she [Susan Lilly of TRMPAC] wrote next to Charles Hurwitz, the racetrack owner seeking video gambling whose company made a TRMPAC donation soon after the meeting.
Therefore Hurwitz had some interest in how the tribal casino deals run by Abramoff and Scanlon were working out. Interesting. Were the little cockroaches playing both ends of that one?
http://sjones.home.igc.org/2005/04/cash-and-carry-congress.html | | | | Alpha | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
