Two tribes gave $175,000 to a Republican environmental organization that was founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, The Arizona Republic reports.

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana gave $150,000 and the Tigua Tribe of Texas gave $25,000 to the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy. The donations were made at the direction of Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist who, along with his associate Michael Scanlon, is under investigation for allegedly bilking tribes out of more than $82 million

Norton founded CREA in 1997 when she was attorney general for Colorado. Environmental group sand some Republicans call it a front for the mining, oil, chemical and other development industries.

Get the Story:
GOP group caught up in missing tribal contributions (The Arizona Republic 2/27)
Conservative environment group draws criticism (The Arizona Republic 2/27)

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