A Republican strategist for President George W. Bush now says he was aware that tribes were funding his efforts but that he was not paid with casino revenues.

Ralph Reed, former executive director of the anti-gambling Christian Coalition, first denied taking money from lobbyists backed by tribes with casinos. Then he admitted taking money from the lobbyists but said he didn't know they were involved with casinos.

He now tells The Montgomery Advertiser that lobbyist Jack Abramoff ensured that he wouldn't be paid with tribal gaming revenues. "He said I can draw the funds from non-gambling enterprises," Reed was quoted as saying.

Reed's shifting story comes in advance of a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing into the lobbying activities of Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon. The hearing, originally planned for September 14, has been pushed back to September 29.

Reed admits he took somewhere in between $1 million and $4 million from the lobbyists. Abramoff and Scanlon generated fees in excess of $45 million from tribal clients.

Get the Story:
Fed inquiry touches state Republican (The Montgomery Advertiser 9/1)

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