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Wednesday, June 08, 2005
WA-04: Doc Hastings Abramoff Scandal
Posted by Bob BrighamA.P.:
WASHINGTON - The lawmaker who will head a House inquiry into trips that lobbyist Jack Abramoff arranged for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has his own links to the lobbyist.At one point, Abramoff touted Rep. Doc Hastings' relationship with his firm in a pitch to a prospective client.
As chairman of the House ethics committee, Hastings, R-Wash., could play a big role in determining DeLay's future. DeLay has asked the panel to review his travels, which include trips arranged by Abramoff when the lobbyist worked for the Seattle-based Preston Gates firm.
Abramoff cited close connections to Hastings in a 1995 letter to the Northern Mariana Islands government in which he urged the government to hire his firm. At the time, Hastings served on a House subcommittee that oversaw the Marianas and was considering Democratic proposals to impose minimum wage, immigration and other U.S. laws on the Pacific commonwealth, which opposed them.
The Republican leadership is in full cover-up mode. This is yet more proof that the GOP leaders will resort to near anything to cover-up Republican corruption. This is not an excellent way to conduct an investigation:
The records from the law firm, Preston Gates & Ellis, show that the firm's former star lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, a close friend of Mr. DeLay who is now the focus of a federal corruption investigation, boasted to a client in the mid-1990's that the firm had "excellent" ties to Mr. Hastings. The firm repeatedly billed the client for meetings and telephone conversations between Mr. Abramoff's lobbying team and Mr. Hastings's staff.
C-O-R-R-U-P-T
Posted at 05:18 PM in Washington | Technorati