Opinion: Abramoff figure and corruption in Indian Country

Abramoff Scandal | Opinion

Monday, May 3, 2010

"In anticipation of Alex Gibney's documentary “Casino Jack and the United States of Money,” which will premier this week, Sunday's Washington Post devoted half a page to feature Neil Volz, a former lobbyist who worked with Republican rainmaker Jack Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig. “You could ...call Abramoff the man who sank Washington, or nearly did,” muses reporter Sarah Kaufman, ignoring the role her employer played in manufacturing a scandal on behalf of lobbyists. “Ultimately, in addition to his own undoing, (Abramoff's) schemes helped bring down former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and a number of congressional staffers, Bush Administration officials, and other lobbyists.”

In truth, however, the scheming was undertaken by reporters, multi-billion dollar special interest groups, and lobbyists. The ensuing lie, which was unleashed upon the American people, allowed Democrats to reclaim both chambers of Congress in 2008. Right on cue, just as liberal policies are falling into disfavor among the American people and the Republicans stand a good chance of reclaiming Capitol Hill, the ghost of Abramoff past is again haunting headlines. As the culprits behind the manufactured scandal must surely appreciate, once the Republicans reclaim Capitol Hill, hearings and investigations will get underway, and the truth will be revealed.

In a desperate attempt to keep the lie alive, the schemers prepared a movie and documentary and armed themselves with a phalanx of propagandists and morally compromised dupes. Volz, the former congressional staffer to Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH), tells the Post that Abramoff “could sweet talk a dog off a meat truck.” Is that why so many liberal lobbyists and special interest groups aligned to remove him from power? If Abramoff were so likable and corrupt, why didn't they nominate him for president and then plow him with campaign contributions instead?

Volz ungraciously condemned Abramoff for trying to lavish “a better lifestyle” upon others. The fact is, Volz and other self-serving lobbyists who joined Abramoff's team admitted to the jury that they lied to their boss about the meals, drinks, and tickets to events, choosing at times to lavish them upon themselves and Capitol Hill friends they wanted to impress, instead of clients. Moreover, at the time, Senator John McCain's campaign finance law provided a loophole for Indian tribes, who were among Abramoff's clients, allowing his team to shower tickets and meals upon legislators and their staffs."

Get the Story:
Susan Bradford: Casino Jack: Watch with Skepticism (The Conservative Camp 5/3)

Also Today:
'Casino Jack' Abramoff's sidekick Neil Volz hasn't lost appetite for good life (The Washington Post 5/2)
Ney: Abramoff doc should be studied (The Washington Continent 5/3)