CHAIRMAN HOWARD DEAN, MEET YOUR ABRAMOFF DEMOCRATS

RNC Research ^ | January 30, 2006 | RNC Research Briefing

[CyberAnt]

Democrats Do Have A "Big" Abramoff Problem

"Chairman Dean set a new standard for Abramoff Democrats today and it's clear that Sen. Reid did not make the cut. Dean specifically stated it was 'a big problem' if any Democrats wrote letters on behalf of Abramoff Indian tribes, which is exactly what Harry Reid and other Democrats did. Howard Dean has displayed a stunning level of hypocrisy on this issue, however it now appears that he may be interested in holding his fellow Democrats accountable."

- RNC Communications Director Brian Jones

DNC Chair Dean: If Any Dems Wrote Letters On Behalf Of Indian Tribes Jack Abramoff Represented "That's A Big Problem":

Fox News' Chris Wallace: "[I]f We Find That There Were Some Democrats Who Wrote Letters On Behalf Of Some Of The Indian Tribes That Abramoff Represented, Then What Do You Say, Sir?" (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)

DNC Chair Howard Dean: "That's A Big Problem, And Those Democrats Are In Trouble, And They Should Be In Trouble, And Our Party, If The American People Will Put Us Back In Power In '06, We Will Have On The President's Desk Things That Outlaw All Those Kinds Of Behaviors." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)

FACT: Democrat Leaders Did Write Letters On Behalf Of Indian Tribes Jack Abramoff Represented:

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): "Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Of Nevada Sent A Letter To [Interior Secretary Gale] Norton On March 5, 2002 ... The Next Day, The Coushattas [An Indian Tribe Represented By Abramoff] Issued A $5,000 Check To Reid's Tax-Exempt Political Group, The Searchlight Leadership Fund." (John Solomon, "Lawmakers Pressured Interior While Getting Large Donations," The Associated Press, 11/18/05)

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA): "Harkin Wrote At Least Three Letters In 2003 Pressing The Government To Release Federal Money To Help The Sac & Fox Tribe In His State Cope With The Temporary Closing Of Its Casino Due To A Tribal Dispute, According To Interior Department Documents Obtained By The Associated Press And Records Provided By Harkin's Office." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)

"[Team Abramoff Lobbyist Michael D.] Smith Met With The Senator And Also Offered Suggestions For The Letters, Harkin Spokeswoman Allison Dobson Said. 'Absolutely, He Did Contribute To Those Letters,' Dobson Said, Adding That She Wasn't Sure What Smith's Suggestions Were." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)

"The Letters To The Interior Department And National Indian Gaming Commission Between June And November 2003 Came As Harkin's Campaign And Political Action Committee Harvested Donations From Smith And Greenberg Traurig Tribal Clients." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)

"Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Who Was Engaged In A Tight Re-Election Race In 2002, Sent Her Letter March 6, 2002. That Same Day, The Coushattas Sent $2,000 To Her Campaign And She Received $5,000 More By The End Of That Month. By Year's End, The Total Had Grown To At Least $24,000." (John Solomon, "Lawmakers Pressured Interior While Getting Large Donations," The Associated Press, 11/18/05)

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI): "[There Were] Half-Dozen Letters Written Or Signed By 14 Lawmakers On Behalf Of The Tribes. One Was Written Jan. 23, 2003 By [Democrat Sen.] ... Debbie Stabenow ... On The Saginaw's Behalf." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)

"Stabenow Got $2,000 From The Saginaw In March 2002, Around The Time [Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)] Sent His First Letter Requested By The Michigan Lawmakers. She Later Thanked Burns In A Senate Speech For His Help. She Received $2,000 More From The Saginaw About Six Months After Her 2003 Letter." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI): "[There Were] Half-Dozen Letters Written Or Signed By 14 Lawmakers On Behalf Of The Tribes. One Was Written Jan. 23, 2003 By [Democrat Sen.] Carl Levin ... On The Saginaw's Behalf." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)

DNC Chair Dean Falsely Claims No Democrats Have Been Accused Of Delivering Anything For Jack Abramoff:

DNC Chair Howard Dean: "[B]ut The Point Is That Not One Democrat Either Knew It Or Acted On It. Nobody Got Anything Out Of The Democrats From Jack Abramoff. No Democrat Delivered Anything And There's No Accusation And No Investigation That Any Democrat Ever Delivered Anything To Jack Abramoff, And That's Not True Of The Republicans." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)

FACT: Dems Have Been Repeatedly Implicated In The Abramoff Investigation:

"Law-Enforcement Authorities And Others Said The Investigation's Opening Phase Is Scrutinizing ... Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat; And Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat ..." (Jerry Seper and Audrey Hudson, "Abramoff-Linked Probe Focuses On 5 Lawmakers," The Washington Times, 1/11/06)

"Democrats Have Taken A Special Interest In [Team Abramoff Lobbyist And Former Reid Staffer Eddie] Ayoob's Clients. Of The Eight Tribes Ayoob Represented When He Was With Greenberg Traurig, Reid Acted In Behalf Of Or Moved Legislation Benefiting Six." (Rebecca Adams, "The Game's The Thing: Reid Has Been A Ready Ally To Abramoff-Linked Interests," Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1/16/06)

Larry Noble, Executive Director And General Counsel For The Non-Partisan Center For Responsive Politics: "I Would Say, Broadly Defined As A Question Of The Tribes' Buying Influence In Washington, It Includes Democrats." (Donald Lambro, "Dean Denies Party Ties To Abramoff," The Washington Times, 1/11/06)

CNN's Ed Henry: "I Want To Underline Again, There Are Democrats Implicated In [The Abramoff Scandal] As Well. So [Democrats'] Argument About A Culture Of Corruption May Not Resonate With People Across The Country." (CNN's "CNN Live Today," 1/3/06)

Henry: "[D]emocrats Like Byron Dorgan Of North Dakota ... [Are] Returning The [Campaign] Money Because They've Been Implicated At Least Generally In This Investigation ..." (CNN's "CNN Live Today," 1/3/06)

DNC Chair Dean Falsely Claims Dems "Pretty Clean" On Abramoff Affiliated Money:

Fox News' Chris Wallace: "[I]t Is Certainly True That Republicans Got Twice As Much Money From Abramoff-Related Contributions Than Democrats Did, But Democrats Aren't Clean In This Area Either, Are They?" (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)< /P>

DNC Chair Howard Dean: "Yeah, They Are Pretty Clean, Chris. And I'll Tell You Why." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)

FACT: Democrat Campaign Committees Received Over $1.2 Million In Abramoff Affiliated Contributions:

"[A]bramoff Was Careful To Add At Least Two Democratic Lobbyists To His Group During His Five Years At Greenberg Traurig. By The End, Seven Of His Lobbyists Were Democrats." (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Derek Willis, "Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations," The Washington Post, 6/3/05)

"According To Documents And Tribal Officials Familiar With The Abramoff Team's Methods, The Lobbyists Devised Lengthy Lists Of Lawmakers To Whom The Tribes Should Donate And Then Delivered The Lists To The Tribes. The Tribes, In Turn, Wrote Checks To The Recommended Campaign Committees And In The Amounts The Lobbyists Prescribed." (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Derek Willis, "Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations," The Washington Post, 6/3/05)

DNC Has Received $177,273 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DNC Has Received $112,073 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DNC Has Received $65,200 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DCCC Has Received $629,246 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DCCC Has Received $103,746 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DCCC Has Received $525,500 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DSCC Has Received $434,123 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DSCC Has Received $111,143 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

DSCC Has Received $322,980 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)

** NOTE: The Jack Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes Are The Agua Caliente Band Of Cahuilla Indians, Chitimacha Tribe Of Louisiana, Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Of Michigan And The Tigua Indian Reservation From 1997 To 2004. Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms Are Preston Gates From 1997-2000, And Greenberg Traurig From 2001-2004. **

A Product Of The RNC Research Department

[InterceptPoint]

Howard Dean - The Gift that Just Keeps on Giving and Giving and Giving. Maybe we need to start up a Save Howard Dean fund just as an insurance policy.

[crushelits]

agua caliente indeed! = Hot hot water yes he is boiling...

[Howlin]

What I can't understand is why waste the time it takes to do it; I mean, it HAS to be time consuming!

[Libloather]

Pull it! PULL IT!

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean speaks at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006. Democratic members of the Ohio House and Senate joined Dean to sign a national petition to Congress to restore honest leadership to government, which coincides with unveiling of Democrats' lobbying reform package on Capitol Hill. Dean spoke in Ohio, a state touched by scandal in the Republican-led government, to outline a national ethics reform package, which would prohibit lawmakers from accepting most gifts from lobbyists. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

[Txsleuth]

Well...according to Dean...it looks like Reid, Harkin, Stabenow, Levin, Landrieu all should be OUT!!! lOL

[Grampa Dave]

"did you hear that DeLay has been notifed that HE IS NOT THE FOCUS of their investigation into Abramoff."

No, I wasn't aware of this. Do you have any citations, I can send to the local station?

Thanks.

[nutmeg]

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[getitright]

I absolutely can not believe why this angle is not being played. Yes I mailed my brilliance to Hannity, O'Reilly and Rush. I hope it grows legs and I can sprain my arm patting myself on the back.

[Txsleuth]

PING

[weegee]

Will the party's Reds forgive the DNC for ditching Dean by 2008?

[CyberAnt]

Here's the link to the story on FR:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1567599/posts

[Toadman]

ping for later read

[CyberAnt]

These people are way too funny!

[popdonnelly]

I don't think Howeird will be giving interviews for awhile.

[VOA]

bump

[Liz]

Very welcome.

[Liz]

O-o-o-o, that's gonna smart.

[Mike Darancette]

Dean specifically stated it was 'a big problem' if any Democrats wrote letters on behalf of Abramoff Indian tribes

Wallace was all over that like a duck on a june bug.

Dean is the gift that keeps on giving, always trying to prove a negative.

[Anti-MSM]

hd is my favorite dem- gillespie should put him on the payroll!!

He is! Didn't you get the latest Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Newsletter? It's Karl Rove's most devious plot yet!

[litehaus]

NO! They are "parsin" the word 'donate'.....LOL...