Abramoff turned to Ralph Reed for help on tribes

Politics
Abramoff turned to Ralph Reed for help on tribes
Monday, October 24, 2005

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff repeatedly asked for Republican activist Ralph Reed's help in lobbying the White House and the Bush administration on tribal issues, e-mails cited by Time Magazine show.

On January 18, 2002, Abramoff asked Reed to lobby top White House aide Karl Rove for a $16.3 million jail sought by the wealthy Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. According to Time, Department of Justice officials were holding the money because they believed poorer tribes needed it more.

"The Choctaws -- who have given literally hundreds of thousands to our candidates and groups - are getting screwed at DoJ on a jail funding . . . We really need some serious swat from Karl," Abramoff wrote.

Reed agreed to pass on the concerns to Rove, although he doesn't remember if he did or not, a spokesperson said. But the Choctaws, one of Abramoff's top clients, got the $16.3 million later that year, Time reported.

On another occasion, Abramoff sought help in blocking a casino opposed by the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, one of his clients. In a February 6, 2003, e-mail to Rove's assistant, he asked for a meeting in hopes of preventing the Interior Department from siding with the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, a rival Louisiana tribe.

"I was hoping you could pass on to Karl that Interior is about to approve a gaming compact and land in trust for a tribe which is an anathema to all our supporters down there," the e-mail stated. "I believe that [former Interior deputy secretary] Steve Griles over there would be opposed, but it's important, if possible, to get some quiet message from the WH that this is absurd."

When Rove's assistant responded that "Karl and others are aware, but the WH is not going to get involved," Abramoff turned to Reed again. "[T]hey are making a huge mistake to just let this pass, when a quiet phone call can end this idiocy," Abramoff wrote on February 11, 2003. "If you can weigh in, it would help. Thanks Ralph."

Later that year, Interior ruled in favor of the Jena Band on the land-into-trust application. According to The Washington Post, Griles vehemently opposed the move and tried to get it rejected and admitted he probably got his information from Abramoff when he was pressed by colleagues.

Abramoff also asked for Reed's help to lobby the White House and the administration on other client issues, Time reported. On one occasion, they opposed an Interior Department appointment because the person seeking the job is married to a close friend of Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona). Abramoff and Reed sided with George W. Bush and against McCain in the 2000 Republican presidential primary.

McCain is now set to hold the fourth hearing on Abramoff's lobbying scandal. It will focus on the Coushatta Tribe's activities and will take place Wednesday, November 2.

Get the Story:
An Unholy Alliance? (Time Magazine October 31 Issue)
The Abramoff/Reed Emails (Time Magazine October 31 Issue)
Stealth, secrecy are Reed's calling cards (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 10/23)
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Relevant Links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee - http://indian.senate.gov