HORTON on McCain, Abramoff and the Riley Band of Choctaw Republicans

[L. Coyote]

"Abramoff and the Riley Band of Choctaw Republicans" Clever Title! LOL

Here is the real story: "A little-known document ... shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation."

This article deserves its own thread, in addition to placement in the
Don Siegelman compilation, where you will find some background of the story:

Political Prisoner Don Siegelman: Will the 60 Minutes Spotlight Make a Difference?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2909551

====================

Abramoff and the Riley Band of Choctaw Republicans
Scott Horton - February 28, 2008 - http://harpers.org/archive/2008/02/hbc-90002511

.... “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

.... the American Founding Fathers understood this principle perfectly ....

Epidemic corruption really dates from roughly 2002, as the G.O.P. achieved its long sought after lock-hold on the Congress, the White House and the judiciary. And the simple truth is that corruption among public office holders is not the preserve of one party or the other, but rather something that thrives when the checks-and-balances system fails, and the press turns a blind eye on the problem or becomes itself too cynical (or even, like in Alabama, enmeshed in the corruption). There are several lessons to be learned from the Bush presidency .....

The Abramoff case itself presents an interesting example of the sort of gamesmanship that has surrounded political corruption inquiries. In the words of Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, the Abramoff scandal is by most measures the most significant political corruption scandal in the nation’s history. It was pursued, but only so far, and then the matter came to an amazing dead-end: in Alabama. Sam Stein reports:

On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass. A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation. .... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/25/mccain-withheld-controver_n_88304.html?view=screen ......

[EFerrari]

1. Cool. This is the one I've been waiting to read. n/t

[L. Coyote]

2. Sam Stein: McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email

McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email
February 25, 2008 05:21 PM - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/25/mccain-withheld-controver_n_88304.html


.... In the 2006 Senate report concerning Abramoff's activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006.

In a December 2002 email (http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/Scanlonemail.pdf) obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients.

An official with the Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that."

The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama history.

And yet, despite the implications of the information, McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation, McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report was released.

........

[L. Coyote]

4. Legal Schnauzer: McCain Lets Riley Off the Hook

McCain Lets Riley Off the Hook
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2008/02/mccain-lets-riley-off-hook.html


... a story that sheds much light on how the Siegelman case came to be .... Stein's scoop should go way beyond the borders of Alabama. In fact, it should become a major issue in the presidential campaign ......

McCain led a 2006 Senate investigation into the activities of disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But Stein reports that McCain left information out of the report that detailed how Alabama Governor Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence-peddling scheme.......

Stein notes the political implications of the committee's failure to expose the Abramoff-Riley connection .... Riley ... won re-election in 2006, while McCain kept the Abramoff connection safely under wraps.

Would the prosecution that landed Siegelman in prison have ever happened if McCain had not provided cover for Riley? .......

MORE Legal Schnauzer BLOGS:

Blog Archive
    * ▼ 2008 (90)
          o ▼ February (49)
                + Eddie Curran and Scott Horton Go At It
                + Karl Rove's Obsession With Sex
                + Rove Was Looking for Gay Sex
                + Alabama GOP "Attacks" 60 Minutes
                + Tightening the Screws on "Turd Blossom"
                + The Mystery of the Siegelman Court Reporter
                + What 60 Minutes Didn't Tell You
......

[MelissaB]

6. Thanks! I don't remember reading that.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

3. Kick

[L. Coyote]

9. ditto

[L. Coyote]

10. AM

[L. Coyote]

14. wed.

[DemReadingDU]

5. afternoon kick

[annabanana]

7. So THIS is why the old-line Repug have been "sellable" on McCain!

He did them a large by sitting on the info that was uncovered in the Abramson scandal. The Dukester is the only one that got bit!

[L. Coyote]

8. Stalling disclosures until post-2004, give Bush a 2nd term!

[EFerrari]

11. kick

[flashl]

12. .

:kick:

[EFerrari]

13. Kick