Houston Democrats

From the Texas Observer:

Four months after he took the oath of office in 2001, President George W. Bush was the attraction, and the White House the venue, for a fundraiser organized by the alleged perpetrator of the largest billing fraud in the history of corporate lobbying. In May 2001, Jack Abramoff's lobbying client book was worth $4.1 million in annual billing for the Greenberg Traurig law firm. He was a friend of Bush advisor Karl Rove. He was a Bush "Pioneer," delivering at least $100,000 in bundled contributions to the 2000 campaign. He had just concluded his work on the Bush Transition Team as an advisor to the Department of the Interior. He had sent his personal assistant Susan Ralston to the White House to work as Rove's personal assistant. He was a close friend, advisor, and high-dollar fundraiser for the most powerful man in Congress, Tom DeLay. Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. From the same two clients he took to the White House in May 2001, Abramoff also obtained $2.5 million in contributions for a non-profit foundation he and his wife operated.

The web just keeps getting wider and wider, and maybe will even ensnare the White House. I think the article really says it best, and lays the facts out clearly. There isn't much I can think to add about the article, except that it shows the rot goes straight to the foundation of the White House, and these are the people that want to legislate what is "wrong" and "right."

One thing I would like to know is why aren't the tribal members getting some of the money that the tribal leaders are frittering away on legislation to benefit their casinos? I have seen programs on PBS documenting the hardships and poor education available to Indians that live on reservations. However, if tribes have $82 million to pay people like Jack Abramoff and Mike Scanlon, why aren't they spending it on providing services to their tribes? It appears that the tribal leaderships are corrupt and abusing their funds for personal gain.

Update: Check out the Stakeholder, which has more about this issue, including the involvement of Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy.