Domestic Policy

Pontius Pilates Try To Disassociate From Abramoff

January 4, 2006 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

Easter is a few months away yet many politicians have already assumed the role of Pontius Pilate by trying to wash their hands clean of any involvement in the persecution of Jack Abramoff. How quickly the rats jump ship when the boat starts to sink.

Now that Politicians have seen the light of day, they are trying to dump all of the dirty money they were holding that was provided to them by Jack Abramoff. How dare these individuals think they could take this money and hold onto it for use and then try to wash their hands clean of the situation once Jack gets caught and rumors begin to spread that Jack is going to name names.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert returned campaign contributions from clients of Jack Abramoff, reportedly giving around $70,000 to charities. I just wonder, if Jack had not been caught, what would have happened to this money, most knew it was from shady dealings, why try to act righteous this late in the game. The donation came after Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges, guilty conscious or scared rat?

The Democrats are not totally absolved in this matter either, it has been stated that only two-thirds of the more than $4.4 million in political donations from Abramoff and his clients went to Republicans, the rest is said to have gone to right leaning Democrats to win influence on certain issues. A search of Federal Election Commission records since 1998 found no official personal donations from Abramoff to Democrats. However, we must keep in mind the shady dealings with which Mr. Abramoff reportedly did his business, most likely not all contributions were properly accounted for.

Another Republican trying to redeem himself is Conrad Burns of Montana, the Senator advised in December that he would return $150,000 in contributions from Abramoff, his clients and associates. The question must be asked why he held onto the contributions this long, did he just do the right thing or was he waiting to see how this would ultimately unfold?

In a strange twist, the Senator from North Dakota, Senator Byron Dorgan advised that he to would return $67,000 in donations back to Abramoff and the Indian tribes Abramoff represented. The bilking of an estimated $66 million out of Native American tribes. Abramoff and a partner, Michael Scanlon, are accused of conspiring with Ralph E. Reed, Jr., to defraud Indian casino gambling interests out of an estimated $85 million dollars. Dorgan sits as the ranking Democrat on the Indian Affairs Committee, he was involved in the investigation regarding Abramoff’s dealings with his tribal clients.

And last but not least is ‘Honest Tom’, Tom DeLay’s political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, has returned $5,000 back to Jack. Tom and Jack are supposedly good friends, they have had many dealings together. Tom has tried to distance himself from Jack but the two are linked together on many issues. During a speech Tom Delay made the following error, “When one of my closest and dearest friends, Jack Abramoff, your most able representative in Washington, D.C., invited me to the islands, I wanted to see firsthand the free-market success and the progress and reform you have made,” DeLay said before an audience of Abramoff’s clients in the islands’ garment industry—whom, upon his return to Washington, he helped win an extended exemption from federal immigration and labor laws. Many believe this speech was a major undoing for Tom Delay.
So what does this do in regards to how you perceive Politicans? Is giving back after you already found out the culprit is busted really a virtuos trait, or is it a face saving tactic?

Hastert donates Abramoff-linked money

Related Posts