Monday, October 04, 2004
Something Rotten in DeLay's Denmark
I've already blogged about one of Tom DeLay's political/ethical troubles. Turns out there are plenty more to be found, as reported in this overview from Salon. Here's just one of the tangled webs detailed in this piece:
Two weeks after DeLay's associates were indicted in Texas, theAnd the mighty shall fall. I hope. (For a more detailed look at the Indian gaming piece of this scandal, check out this report from NPR.)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee began an investigation of two DeLay associates
who billed six Indian tribes a staggering $66 million in lobbying fees, after
promising tribal leaders that their proximity to DeLay equaled unparalleled
influence in Washington . . .
Jack Abramoff, a member of DeLay's "kitchen cabinet," and
DeLay's former press secretary Mike Scanlon billed their Indian clients twice as
much as companies such as General Electric paid for outside lobbyists in the
same time period. The tribes were paying the two Washington operatives -- who in
private e-mails referred to the Indians as "troglodytes," "monkeys" and
"moronic" -- to defend their casinos. Two U.S. attorneys in Washington and a
federal grand jury are also looking into Abramoff and Scanlon, who are not only
frequent fliers to gaming reservations around the country but also frequent
contributors to Republican candidates and think tanks.
