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Opinion
Column: Lobbyists lurked in 'cesspool of greed'


"Today, Senator Byron Dorgan told the [Senate Indian Affairs] committee [Jack] Abramoff and Scanlon lurked in a �cesspool of greed.� A Washington grand jury, the FBI and a task force of five different federal agencies are also looking into the cesspool. That�s why Abramoff took the 5th and Scanlon didn�t even show up.

Remind me again why lobbying is so glamorous now?

The Abramoff-Scanlon story isn�t going to make many headlines far from downtown D.C., but connoisseurs of corruption should savor this story (and The Washington Post is the best place to go for more). But thanks to the miracle of e-mail -- which never, ever really disappears, you know -- we can give you a tasting menu of power gluttony.

E-mails first published by the Post, seem to show that Abramoff and Scanlon paid a company run by Ralph Reed $4.2 million from 2001 to 2003 to help shut down casinos that might be competition for their clients or, in some cases, to prevent new ones from opening."

Get the Story:
Dick Meyer: 'Cesspool Of Greed' D.C-Style (CBS News 9/29)

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