House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) continues to deny he is under investigation in the Jack Abramoff conspiracy case, despite an ABC report by Brian Ross saying he is “in the mix.”
But Kim Eisler, national editor of the Washingtonian magazine and friend of Abramoff, told Think Progress that “Jack considered Hastert a reliable ally for his clients.”
Abramoff evidently trusted Hastert enough to have him help one of his tribal clients in Louisiana, far from Hastert’s district in Illinois. The client, the Coushatta tribe, opposed a plan by the Jena Band tribe to open a competing casino in Louisiana. Abramoff successfully lobbied his congressional allies to write a June 10, 2003, letter to then Interior Secretary Gail Norton opposing the casino. Co-signers on the letter included Hastert and Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Eric Cantor (R-VA), a group of people “who do not normally weigh in on Indian issues.”
Note that Abramoff held a fundraiser for the Speaker on June 3, a week before Hastert signed the letter. At that event — hosted at Abramoff’s restaurant — Abramoff’s firm and tribal clients gave at least $21,500 to Hastert’s PAC. Eisler also tells Think Progress that “the pictures of Bush that I saw at Jack’s house several months ago, many of them were taken at a Hastert fundraiser.”
It’s hard to imagine that the FBI could responsibly investigate Abramoff’s corrupt dealings without putting Hastert “in the mix.”
LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment