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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pompsander who wrote (720515)	1/4/2006 10:18:24 AM
From: steve harris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I'm laughing at all of the press "news" articles being posted. Amazing how none of them even mention Reid or the other dems.... I hope they throw them all out; but the problem I have is the press "creating" their own truth...

To: pompsander who wrote (720515)	1/4/2006 10:31:30 AM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Makes sense. The lobbyists are naturally going to target the party in power....Whoevre is dirty....R or D...should go down.... J.

To: pompsander who wrote (720515)	1/4/2006 12:13:57 PM
From: CYBERKEN	Respond to of 769670

The House banking scandal was used by the anti-American media as an excuse to blame their electoral disaster of 1994. It had virtually no effect, but the domestic enemy simply couldn't BRING itself to face the fact that it had been exposed and its "ideas" rejected...

To: pompsander who wrote (720515)	1/4/2006 12:22:57 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Lobbyist's guilt sets stage for fresh White House scandal From Tim Reid in Washington The Times [London] January 04, 2006 A LOBBYIST at the heart of a Capitol Hill bribery investigation pleaded guilty last night after agreeing to provide prosecutors with evidence that could implicate up to 20 politicians, most of them Republicans. The move sets the stage for an explosive corruption scandal involving President Bush’s party. Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist with extensive financial ties to numerous politicians — including Tom DeLay, the former Republican House leader — pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion, under a deal in which he is believed to have named high-profile politicians he bribed in a cash-for-favours racket. Appearing in a Washington court, Abramoff agreed with Ellen Huvelle, the US District Court Judge, when she said that he had engaged in a conspiracy involving "corruption of public officials", and had provided campaign contributions, trips and other items "in exchange for official acts". The plea agreement drawn up by the US Justice Department is believed to list extensive bribes, including cash, gifts, expensive meals and foreign trips, that Abramoff and his associates are alleged to have given politicians in exchange for legislative action favourable to the lobbyist’s clients. "Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my profound regret for all my actions and mistakes," Abramoff told the court. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and those I’ve wronged or caused to suffer." According to the charges, Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, a business associate who pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to bribe politicians, overcharged several Native American tribes by millions of dollars and used that money to shower golf trips, sports tickets, lavish dinners and other favours on politicians. The tribes had hired Abramoff to lobby politicians to get legislation favourable to their gambling interests. Abramoff faced up to 30 years in prison, but under the deal the sentence will be reduced to between 9 and 11 years. He has also agreed to pay at least $25 million (£14.3 million) in restitution. The investigation, which has been expanding for nearly two years, has been viewed as a time bomb for the Republicans. Yesterday’s plea deal now makes the prospect of politically explosive criminal charges on Capitol Hill very real. According to one unconfirmed report, Abramoff is believed to have thousands of e-mails that detail what politicians did in exchange for the money he sent to their campaign accounts. Although Republicans have been hit by a series of sleaze scandals, including the indictments of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff of Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, and Tom DeLay, it is the Abramoff scandal that has made White House strategists the most nervous. Court papers in Scanlon’s plea last month say that he and Abramoff "provided a stream of things of value to public officials in exchange for official acts". Scanlon’s papers, and Abramoff’s yesterday, referred repeatedly to an unnamed congressman, acknowledged by his lawyer to be Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio. Mr Ney has been subpoenaed in the inquiry but denies any wrongdoing. It is alleged that in addition to $14,000 in campaign contributions, Mr Ney also got a golfing trip to St Andrews. Among others who went on a paid-for trip to St Andrews was DeLay. More than 30 members of Congress were found to have taken legislative action favourable to Abramoff’s Native American clients after taking money from the lobbyist or the tribes. Most are Republican, but include Harry Reid, the Democrats’ Senate leader, and Byron Dorgan, a Democrat senator from North Dakota. Copyright 2006 Times Newspapers Ltd.