Abramoff OPEN THREAD

On right now, a C-SPAN special: “Abramoff & Tribal Lobbying.” This week C-SPAN is airing a two-part LIVE call-in program on the Jack Abramoff tribal lobbying investigation story. Tonight: money flow from Abramoff clients to his personal projects. Today Abramoff indicated that he will plead guilty and cooperate in the government investigation. + C-Span’s Abramoff page. ALSO: Tomorrow morning’s Washington Journal is about Abramoff, with guest Alan Ota of the Congressional Quarterly. (And Janet Strange highly recommends this diary, “There are ZERO Democrats who took Abramoff money,” by dengre.)

Update [2006-1-3 23:17:2 by susanhu]: Part Two will be aired on C-Span on Wed. night starting at 5pm ET (again, three hours). And now C-Span is replaying the entire program that began at 5pm ET. So, you can catch it if you missed it online or on your TV.

For more background, see Oui’s diary, my earlier story, “Abramoff Makes ‘Global’ Deal,” and the NYT story.

And, don’t miss James Wolcott talking about Tweety’s “Power Bottom.” (No, silly, not that kind of bottom.) Here’s a tease:

His performance this afternoon after the announcement of the Jack Abramoff plea was a power-bottom tour de force. He gave the Republican establishment a complete pass. He insisted against all evidence under heaven and stars that this was not a partisan scandal, that 99% of elected officials were honest and upright, that “Duke” Cunningham was sort of a lone wolf, and that Abramoff was a Vautrin-like villain and corrupter of souls.

Okay, Matthews didn’t invoke Vautrin. He said Satan. I just threw in Vautrin for you Balzac fans out there. (More Wolcott)

ALSO A OPEN THREAD:

19 Comments

Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 9:12 pm

Bradblog has a funny bit, “The Fedora is Back!“

And someone told Keith Olbermann that it looks like Abramoff has gained 40 lbs. He does look awful. The wages of sin ?

rumi on January 3, 2006 at 9:39 pm

Bullet-proof vest

Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 9:17 pm

Awwww … nobody else watches C-Span at night ? :):)

Janet Strange on January 3, 2006 at 9:39 pm

OK, I’ll watch, I’ll watch! I like to do housework type things with the TV on and my excuse for not doing them lately is that I can’t find anything on TV I can watch – either I just can’t stand what’s on or it’s something that requires actual watching. But I don’t know how long I’ll last if it’s a call-in.

I think everyone should bookmark this dKos diary: There are ZERO Democrats who took Abramoff money. by dengre. We’re going to need it – the spin that Dems were just as bad as the R’s wrt Abramoff is already in full force. Be ready to counter it.
rolfyboy6 on January 3, 2006 at 10:02 pm

Sorry, no TV, and I have to go watch a great band. Not having a TV, I have to make do.
- Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 10:07 pm
  
  Have fun seeing the band!
  
  But you needn’t have a TV … you can listen/watch on your computer.
  
  It’s utterly riveting, imho.
  - rolfyboy6 on January 4, 2006 at 3:13 am
    
    I’m a political junkie, but I try to balance that with my other vices.
Janet Strange on January 4, 2006 at 12:54 am

The link to dengre’s story doesn’t seem to work – I guess because it’s my hotlink version. I think this link will work.

BrendaStewart on January 3, 2006 at 9:33 pm

I am watching tonight. Very interesting to say the least.

Good night Kids….talk to ya later….hugs

Disgusted in St Louis on January 3, 2006 at 10:00 pm

of Hanukkah, Jack Abramoff gave to me:

Happy Abramukkah everybody, 2006 will surely be the “Year of Scandal” as the BooMan has stated.

I would really like to see Rep. Roy and Gov. Baby Blunt, from here in Missouri, have there dealings with Abramoff and Delay come under scrutiny (with indictments) as part of Jack’s plea bargain.

jpol on January 3, 2006 at 10:38 pm

This is priceless, especially the poor kid, a lifeguard who somehow knew Abramoff since he was 14, who pleaded the fifth while admitting that Abramoff called him out of nowhere and asked him if he would like to be head of an international corporation.

The e-mail from Abramoff to his rabbi asking for some kind of back-dated award so he could be admitted to a prestigious club where most members had awards is also wonderful.

We Jews call that “chutzpah.” (rough translation: the kid who kills his parents and throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.)

Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 10:56 pm

C-Span has outdone itself…. I missed most of the first hour, and hope they replay this later tonight.

You hit on some of the most fascinating segments. That lifeguard! What a character.

And the woman who headed the educational foundation … oh god … she got taken so badly.
- jpol on January 3, 2006 at 10:58 pm
  
  I had actually read about most of this, but seeing it from the mouths of these people Abramoff scammed just puts a whole different face on it.
  - Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 11:13 pm
    
    Yes. Darcy came over for a little bit and, looking at my TV, said, “What’s this?” I told her … and said she could switch channels. … but she immediately became immersed. (It was when the lifeguard and the Choctaw woman were talking.) She was stunned!
    
    You’re right that it’s entirely different to hear these people speak.
    
    P.S. I thought John McCain did a great job interviewing them.
    - Oui on January 4, 2006 at 1:48 am
      
      .
      BREAKING :: Abramoff Pleads QUILTY to Corruption, etc.
      http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/1/3/1018/09031
      by Oui
      Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 at 07:01:08 AM PST
      
      Abramoff Makes “Global” Deal
      http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/1/3/101512/0565
      by susanhu
      Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 at 07:15:12 AM PST
      
      After correction ::
      
      For more background, see Oui’s diary, my earlier story, “Abramoff Makes ‘Global’ Deal,” and the NYT story.
      
      Great stuff and excellent coverage SusanHu! Thank you for all your work.
      
      “Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
      For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
      
      ▼▼▼ READ MY DIARY ▼

DuctapeFatwa on January 3, 2006 at 11:05 pm

So Abramoff dangled a carrot in front of his clients, advising them to donate to his philanthropic venture. Why not, it was for a good cause. Plus, he boasted, it would buy them access to Rep. Tom DeLay. It may indeed have bought them access, but what Abramoff’s customers didn’t realize was that a large portion of their money would never be spent on gearing up inner city kids to shoot some b-ball — rather, their dollars were shipped overseas to help arm Israeli settlers in the occupied territories.

More than $140,000 of the foundation’s funds, reports Newsweek, was used to purchase sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, camouflage suits, thermal imagers and other material which Abramoff’s foundation called “security” equipment.

…”This is almost like outer-limits bizarre,” Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indians who contributed $25,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation told Newsweek. “The tribe would never have given money for this.”

…If there is any group in the US that can empathize with the occupation of the Palestinian people — it’s the Native Americans. But here Abramoff’s clients were, unknowingly donating tens of thousands of dollars so that Israeli settlers in the West Bank could continue to occupy defenseless Palestinians. You can bet that DeLay and Abramoff snickered all the way to the (West) bank…

nerdified link

stormkite on January 3, 2006 at 11:17 pm

We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
and a GOP-free New year…

Yee Haw.

Or words to that effect.

Cali Scribe on January 4, 2006 at 5:01 am

won’t nail Abramoff — Matthews has actually made appearances on behalf of Abramoff and his “charities”. (There’s a diary somewhere at Daily Kos, but wasn’t able to load to check it out — Bernie Ward reported it on his talk show this evening.)

Cali Scribe on January 4, 2006 at 5:15 am

LINK

And here’s the John Aravosis piece from over at AmericaBlog.

Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 9:12 pm

Bradblog has a funny bit, “The Fedora is Back!“

And someone told Keith Olbermann that it looks like Abramoff has gained 40 lbs. He does look awful. The wages of sin ?
- rumi on January 3, 2006 at 9:39 pm
  
  Bullet-proof vest
Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 9:17 pm

Awwww … nobody else watches C-Span at night ? :):)
- Janet Strange on January 3, 2006 at 9:39 pm
  
  OK, I’ll watch, I’ll watch! I like to do housework type things with the TV on and my excuse for not doing them lately is that I can’t find anything on TV I can watch – either I just can’t stand what’s on or it’s something that requires actual watching. But I don’t know how long I’ll last if it’s a call-in.
  
  I think everyone should bookmark this dKos diary: There are ZERO Democrats who took Abramoff money. by dengre. We’re going to need it – the spin that Dems were just as bad as the R’s wrt Abramoff is already in full force. Be ready to counter it.
- rolfyboy6 on January 3, 2006 at 10:02 pm
  
  Sorry, no TV, and I have to go watch a great band. Not having a TV, I have to make do.
  - Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 10:07 pm
    
    Have fun seeing the band!
    
    But you needn’t have a TV … you can listen/watch on your computer.
    
    It’s utterly riveting, imho.
    - rolfyboy6 on January 4, 2006 at 3:13 am
      
      I’m a political junkie, but I try to balance that with my other vices.
- Janet Strange on January 4, 2006 at 12:54 am
  
  The link to dengre’s story doesn’t seem to work – I guess because it’s my hotlink version. I think this link will work.
BrendaStewart on January 3, 2006 at 9:33 pm

I am watching tonight. Very interesting to say the least.

Good night Kids….talk to ya later….hugs
Disgusted in St Louis on January 3, 2006 at 10:00 pm

of Hanukkah, Jack Abramoff gave to me:

Happy Abramukkah everybody, 2006 will surely be the “Year of Scandal” as the BooMan has stated.

I would really like to see Rep. Roy and Gov. Baby Blunt, from here in Missouri, have there dealings with Abramoff and Delay come under scrutiny (with indictments) as part of Jack’s plea bargain.
jpol on January 3, 2006 at 10:38 pm

This is priceless, especially the poor kid, a lifeguard who somehow knew Abramoff since he was 14, who pleaded the fifth while admitting that Abramoff called him out of nowhere and asked him if he would like to be head of an international corporation.

The e-mail from Abramoff to his rabbi asking for some kind of back-dated award so he could be admitted to a prestigious club where most members had awards is also wonderful.

We Jews call that “chutzpah.” (rough translation: the kid who kills his parents and throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.)
- Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 10:56 pm
  
  C-Span has outdone itself…. I missed most of the first hour, and hope they replay this later tonight.
  
  You hit on some of the most fascinating segments. That lifeguard! What a character.
  
  And the woman who headed the educational foundation … oh god … she got taken so badly.
  - jpol on January 3, 2006 at 10:58 pm
    
    I had actually read about most of this, but seeing it from the mouths of these people Abramoff scammed just puts a whole different face on it.
    - Dean Pajevic on January 3, 2006 at 11:13 pm
      
      Yes. Darcy came over for a little bit and, looking at my TV, said, “What’s this?” I told her … and said she could switch channels. … but she immediately became immersed. (It was when the lifeguard and the Choctaw woman were talking.) She was stunned!
      
      You’re right that it’s entirely different to hear these people speak.
      
      P.S. I thought John McCain did a great job interviewing them.
      - Oui on January 4, 2006 at 1:48 am
        
        .
        BREAKING :: Abramoff Pleads QUILTY to Corruption, etc.
        http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/1/3/1018/09031
        by Oui
        Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 at 07:01:08 AM PST
        
        Abramoff Makes “Global” Deal
        http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/1/3/101512/0565
        by susanhu
        Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 at 07:15:12 AM PST
        
        After correction ::
        
        For more background, see Oui’s diary, my earlier story, “Abramoff Makes ‘Global’ Deal,” and the NYT story.
        
        Great stuff and excellent coverage SusanHu! Thank you for all your work.
        
        “Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
        For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
        
        ▼▼▼ READ MY DIARY ▼
DuctapeFatwa on January 3, 2006 at 11:05 pm

So Abramoff dangled a carrot in front of his clients, advising them to donate to his philanthropic venture. Why not, it was for a good cause. Plus, he boasted, it would buy them access to Rep. Tom DeLay. It may indeed have bought them access, but what Abramoff’s customers didn’t realize was that a large portion of their money would never be spent on gearing up inner city kids to shoot some b-ball — rather, their dollars were shipped overseas to help arm Israeli settlers in the occupied territories.

More than $140,000 of the foundation’s funds, reports Newsweek, was used to purchase sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, camouflage suits, thermal imagers and other material which Abramoff’s foundation called “security” equipment.

…”This is almost like outer-limits bizarre,” Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indians who contributed $25,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation told Newsweek. “The tribe would never have given money for this.”

…If there is any group in the US that can empathize with the occupation of the Palestinian people — it’s the Native Americans. But here Abramoff’s clients were, unknowingly donating tens of thousands of dollars so that Israeli settlers in the West Bank could continue to occupy defenseless Palestinians. You can bet that DeLay and Abramoff snickered all the way to the (West) bank…

nerdified link
stormkite on January 3, 2006 at 11:17 pm

We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
We wish you a Merry Fitzmas,
and a GOP-free New year…

Yee Haw.

Or words to that effect.
Cali Scribe on January 4, 2006 at 5:01 am

won’t nail Abramoff — Matthews has actually made appearances on behalf of Abramoff and his “charities”. (There’s a diary somewhere at Daily Kos, but wasn’t able to load to check it out — Bernie Ward reported it on his talk show this evening.)
- Cali Scribe on January 4, 2006 at 5:15 am
  
  
  And here’s the John Aravosis piece from over at AmericaBlog.

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Dean Pajevic

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