JACK ABRAMOFF & THE TRIBAL LOBBYING INVESTIGATION

JACK ABRAMOFF & THE TRIBAL LOBBYING INVESTIGATION
http://www.c-span.org/special/Abramoff.asp

OVERVIEW
Jack Abramoff started his career in politics as the national chairman of the College Republicans and became one of the leading young supporters of the Reagan Administration. He briefly left Washington for a producing career in Hollywood, but returned as a lobbyist when the Republicans won control of the House and Senate in 1994. He quickly built one of the most lucrative lobbying practices in Washington, DC, representing everything from technology companies to the Northern Mariana Islands. But his biggest clients were a number of Indian tribes that operated casinos.

Today, Jack Abramoff is accused of bilking those tribes out of millions of dollars and funneling the money through real and phony non-profit organizations to pet projects and his own bank accounts. His operations are under investigation by two Senate committees, multiple federal agencies and a number of states. One of those states, Florida, has already indicted him on wire fraud charges for his purchase of a chain of casinos. His partner, Michael Scanlon, a one-time press secretary to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), has plead guilty to a number of charges in U.S. federal court, and a former White House acquisitions chief has been indicted in connection to Mr. Abramoff's activities. More members of the Bush Administration and up to 60 members of Congress may also be under scrutiny by federal authorities.

Below you will find a number of resources that will help you make sense of this complex story. We have included links to newspaper and magazine articles, as well as the work of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which has held five hearings as part of their investigation.

Justice Department Documents
Plea Agreement in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida on January 4, 2006
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Charges Filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January 3, 2006
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Stories and Articles:
http://www.c-span.org/special/Abramoff.asp