“Newly released emails from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee confirm [Grover] Norquist’s role in helping Abramoff milk millions from Indian tribes, in one of the most extravagant corruption scandals to reach the Capitol in decades,” writes Ari Berman at The Nation.
The Choctaws gave ATR $1.5 million, which Norquist funneled to the Alabama Christian Coalition and Citizens Against Legalized Lottery, both of whom opposed a proposal to create a state lottery. Neither group was allowed to accept casino money, so Norquist, with the help of former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, kept the money’s source secret. The state lottery and video poker machine initiatives were defeated in 1999 and 2000. Norquist subsequently invited tribal groups to meet Bush at the White House for discussions on tax policy.