WP: How a Lobbyist Stacked the Deck (Abramoff Used DeLay Aide)

[Pirate Smile]

How a Lobbyist Stacked the Deck
Abramoff Used DeLay Aide, Attacks On Allies to Defeat Anti-Gambling Bill

By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, October 16, 2005; Page A01

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his team were beginning to panic.

An anti-gambling bill had cleared the Senate and appeared on its way to passage by an overwhelming margin in the House of Representatives. If that happened, Abramoff's client, a company that wanted to sell state lottery tickets online, would be out of business.

But on July 17, 2000, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act went down to defeat, to the astonishment of supporters who included many anti-gambling groups and Christian conservatives.

A senior aide to then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) helped scuttle the bill in the House. The aide, Tony C. Rudy, 39, e-mailed Abramoff internal congressional communications and advice, according to documents and the lobbyist's former associates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/15/AR2005101501539.html


edit to add - it is a 5 page article.


:evilgrin:

[napi21]

Are these people that stupid not to realize how public emails can be?

I can't believe they are THAT STUPID!

[Pirate Smile]

2. Thankfully, they are THAT STUPID and arrogant.

[cassiepriam]

12. Not stupid, arrogant. They are above the law.

[Orsino]

17. Arrogance about covers it.

E-mail is something the hired help handles for them. They are no more aware of its nature than they are of where their poop goes when they flush.

[cassiepriam]

21. Just like they are unaware of the death and destruction they cause.

Not on their radar screen. Only money and power is of interest.

[Pirate Smile]

1. More

"The vote that day in July was just one part of an extraordinary yearlong effort by Abramoff on behalf of eLottery, a small gambling services company based in Connecticut. Details of that campaign, reconstructed from dozens of interviews as well as from e-mails and financial records obtained by The Washington Post, provide the most complete account yet of how one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists leveraged his client's money to influence Congress.

The work Abramoff did for eLottery is one focus of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation into his dealings with members of Congress and government agencies. Abramoff is under indictment in another case in connection with an allegedly fraudulent Florida business deal.

-snip-
Abramoff quietly arranged for eLottery to pay conservative, anti-gambling activists to help in the firm's $2 million pro-gambling campaign, including Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, and the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition. Both kept close contact with Abramoff about the arrangement, e-mails show. Abramoff also turned to prominent anti-tax conservative Grover Norquist, arranging to route some of eLottery's money for Reed through Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform."

-snip-
At one point, eLottery's backers even circulated a forged letter of support from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R)."



:evilgrin:

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. A forged letter?

Funny that Roger Stone guy who supposedly passed the forged TANG docs to Lt. Burkett was also very involved in gambling issues.

[texpatriot2004]

3. So the aid, Tony Rudy, sent Congressional information to non -

Congressional people then. Hmm.

[lovuian]

4. Oh having so much fun reading this!!!

:bounce:

[Pirate Smile]

5. OMG - look at the lies.

"DeLay, an outspoken opponent of gambling, was an instrument, witting or unwitting, in eLottery's campaign, documents and interviews show. Along with Rudy, he was a guest on a golfing trip to Scotland. As majority whip, he cast a rare vote against his party on the Internet gambling bill and for the rest of the year helped keep the measure off the floor. He told leadership colleagues that another vote could cost Republican seats in the hard-fought 2000 elections.

A statement from DeLay's lawyer said his votes "are based on sound public policy and principle."

[stillcool]

8. That one cracked me up ....

sound public policy my ass. And the Sefavian treat at the end was such a nice finishing touch. Although I notice they referenced his indictment, but neglected to notate he and his wife's positions in the White House.

[ninkasi]

6. Tom DeLay and his gang...

paragons of Christian virtues! Setting examples for the rest of the right-wing conservatives everywhere. Why does anybody still believe in this insect? He's a subhuman, vile, money grubbing hypocrite.

[Gman]

7. So these RW organizations mainly function as money laundering

organizations in addition to their propaganda. I don't think anyone can comprehend just how corrupt these people really and truly are. We can say it, but we don't grasp the depth and width of their corruption.

[norml]

9. Lobbyist used DeLay aide to defeat anti-gambling bill

Oct. 16, 2005, 1:00AM

Lobbyist used DeLay aide to defeat anti-gambling bill
By SUSAN SCHIMDT and JAMES V. GRIMALDI
Washington Post




REP. TOM DELAY

HOME: Sugar Land
AGE: 58. April 8, 1947.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Houston, 1970.

EXPERIENCE: Owner, Albo Pest Control, 1973-84; Texas House, 1978-84; U.S. House, 1984-present; House Majority Whip, 1994-2002; House Majority Leader, 2002-present.

FAMILY: Wife, Christine; daughter, Danielle; 1 grandchild.



WASHINGTON — Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his team were beginning to panic.


An anti-gambling bill had cleared the Senate and appeared on its way to passage by an overwhelming margin in the House of Representatives. If that happened, Abramoff's client, a company that wanted to sell state lottery tickets online, would be out of business.

But on July 17, 2000, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act went down to defeat, to the astonishment of supporters who included many anti-gambling groups and Christian conservatives.

A senior aide to then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, helped scuttle the bill in the House. The aide, Tony Rudy, 39, e-mailed internal congressional communications and advice to Abramoff, according to documents and the lobbyist's former associates.

Rudy received favors from Abramoff. He went on two luxury trips with the lobbyist that summer, including one partly paid for by Abramoff's client, eLottery Inc. Abramoff also arranged for eLottery to pay $25,000 to a Jewish foundation that hired Rudy's wife as a consultant, according to documents and interviews. Months later, Abramoff hired Rudy himself as a lobbyist.


snip


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3398326

[ngGale]

10. Are they sure of this....

(At one point, eLottery's backers even circulated a forged letter of support from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).")

Someone forged Jeb's name? :blush:

:popcorn: LOL!

[Judi Lynn]

11. The article names someone involved in Abramov's money laundering,

who's almost incidental to the story. It mentions in passing he just happens to be in prison for soliciting sex with children. Sorta like a two-fer story! I found his criminal story which I'll add at the end of this post. From the article on Abramov:

Minutes later Abramoff responded, saying that the check for Sheldon's group should be sent directly to Sheldon, but that the checks for Norquist required special instructions: "Call Grover, tell him I am in Michigan and that I have two checks for him totaling 160 and need a check back for Faith and Family for $150K."

According to the e-mails, Reed provided the name and address where Norquist was supposed to send the money: to Robin Vanderwall at a location in Virginia Beach.

Vanderwall was director of the Faith and Family Alliance, a political advocacy group that was founded by two of Reed's colleagues and then turned over to Vanderwall, Vanderwall said and records show.

Vanderwall, a former Regent University Law School student and Republican operative, was later convicted of soliciting sex with minors via the Internet and is serving a seven-year term in Virginia state prison.
(snip}

Here's the Vanderwall saga, from the time his state snatched him in the act of soliciting sex from minors (or so he thought):

The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, Va.)

January 14, 2003 Tuesday Final Edition


REGENT LAW STUDENT CHARGED WITH INTERNET SEX CRIME

BYLINE: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH

A third-year law student at Regent University, who helped run several successful campaigns for local Republicans, was arrested Jan. 10 and charged with two counts of soliciting sex with a minor over the Internet.

Robin Vanderwall is being held without bond in the Virginia Beach City Jail.

Vanderwall, 34, is charged with two felonies - use of a communication device for crimes against children and attempted indecent liberties with a child 14 or younger.

Vanderwall was arrested after he contacted a Virginia Beach police officer who was posing as an underage boy in an Internet chat room, according to prosecutors. The officer agreed to meet with Vanderwall at a Virginia Beach park on the evening of Jan. 10. Vanderwall was arrested when he showed up at the park.

Vanderwall ran Del. Robert F. McDonnell's successful campaign against former Sheriff Frank Drew for the House of Delegates in 1999.
(snip/...)

http://www.armchairsubversive.com/Vanderwall.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kilgore Announces Virginia Beach Computer Crimes Conviction
- Robin Vanderwall Snared by Investigators Posing as 13-Year-Olds on Internet -

VIRGINIA BEACH – Attorney General Jerry Kilgore today announced the conviction of a Virginia Beach man on five counts of computer solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted indecent liberties with a child. Robin Vanderwall, 35, was convicted in Virginia Beach Circuit Court as a result of an undercover investigation that involved Virginia Beach Police officers pretending to be three different 13-year-old boys in Internet chat rooms between November 2002 and January 2003.

"With each conviction on charges as vile as these, we continue to make it clear to predators that we will not tolerate this behavior in Virginia," Kilgore said. "They should know that if they are trying to commit sexual crimes on the Internet, that child they think they are chatting with might actually be a police officer."

Detectives from the Virginia Beach Police Department Computer Crime Unit began having online communications with Vanderwall, who was using his AOL screen name "Saliare." On November 14, 2002, twice on December 11, 2002, January 9, 2003 and January 10, 2003, Vanderwall used a computer to communicate with what he believed to be minor children. In each of these "chats" he suggested meeting the minors and proposed various sexual acts that violated the indecent liberties statute. On January 10, 2003, after chatting with what he believed to be a 13 year-old boy, Vanderwall suggested a place to meet and traveled to the designated location in Virginia Beach in expectation of meeting the "child" and committing various sexual acts. Upon his arrival at the agreed upon location he was arrested by members of the Virginia Beach Police Department.
(snip/...)

http://www.oag.state.va.us/media%20center/Current%20AG%20News%20Releases/042204_Kilgore_Announces_Virginia_Beach_Computer_Crimes_Conviction.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

What an embarrassment to Kilgore, having a fellow MEpublican, and a very political one, trying to seek relations with kids.

[belle]

23. Kilgore--the same Kilgore that Rove just bailed on stumping for?

The same Kilgore that his opponent just blasted for his "Nazi" ads?

small woild, indeed.

[salin]

13. Story co-written by Steno Sue... that is interesting in and of itself.

part of the flacky wapo media gaggle that chased every anti clinton allegation regardless how wacky and regardless how unsubstantiated. It is media by sensationalism - and her jumping on these stories now - suggests a big shift ala the dc sycophantic media gaggle that only turns on their (GOP) masters when the belief is that the story is juicy enough for them to get MORE strokes for following the story (and being "first") than it does for protecting the hands that have fed them for the last 10 years.

[wishlist]

14. Will the "Christian conservatives" ever realize they're being used

I always believed that Republican operatives have been dishonest and cynical to get support by claiming pursuit of moral values while they pursue other agendas, but the scope and arrogance of their dishonest actions is staggering. I am pleasantly surprised that so many details and participants of the corruption are finally being exposed.

[Spazito]

16. Good read!

It sure looks like the WP has at least one very busy source with access to the internal e-mails that were sent, someone is not happy with Abramoff and the rest of the criminal gang.

It is positively delicious that Ralph Reed is front and center in this as well and the e-mails prove it. He is such a slimy asshole, I can only hope they nail him along with the others.

[Jose Diablo]

18. Within the link in the OP is Ralph Reed

This guy wants to be Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. Now the WP mentions Reed's consultant business, Century Strategies, was one of the 'pipeline' companies to wash (hide the source) the money from eLottery before going to politicians supposedly from Christian groups against gambling. LOL, these guys 'played' the RW Christians like a violin.

Anyway, the Reed company is very interesting in who they have advocated for in the past. A google source has located the following information from:



"Again according to The National Journal, when Reed formed Century Strategies, he "decided to focus on political and business consulting, an arena in which he could apply his legendary talents for mobilizing grassroots drives, often with religious and other conservatives, to assist political campaigns and business interests. Early on, Reed discovered the potential for synergy between the business and political worlds. For instance, one of his first and highest-profile consulting jobs was for Enron, a client that he garnered in 1997, reportedly through his connections to Karl Rove, who later made Reed a consultant in the 2000 presidential campaign. Century Strategies earned more than $300,000 from Enron for mounting grassroots lobbying campaigns to help build backing for energy deregulation." Other clients have included the school-focused media company Channel One, Verizon and casino interests working with Reed friend Jack Abramoff in an effort to block Native American tribes from opening new, competing casinos."

It's interesting that Reed would be plugging 'deregulation' in energy companies. I remember here in Georgia that after this came about in that time frame the natural gas monthly bill for a person I worked with went from about $80/month to over $200/month. True, this is anecdotal, however, we see here another example of Leo Strauss and his band of merry thieves dogging the airwaves with privatization is the answer to 'government' inefficiencies as they steal everything not tied down.

That Ralph Reed, he's a bad one, to be sure. I think I can add, one reason Ken Lay has not been brought to justice is because of Enrons generous contribution, via Reed's Century Strategies consulting business, to the RW Republican political hacks.

Edit: Just to add that what DeLay has been indicted for by Earle is a very similar method of concealing money to circumvent Texas political contribution laws, in his case though, rather than using a consultancy business to conceal the source, DeLay et al washed it through the RNC at the national level. We are seeing a similar modus operandi in methods with these guys. I wonder if RICO could be used on these guys and the corporation heads that used their consultancy businesses.

[Jose Diablo]

19. Well, well, well..In that Source Watch link is also Robert Randolf

Robert Randolph is President of Century Strategies' direct marketing subsidiary, Millennium Marketing.

That Source Watch is an interesting site. Here at: Source Watch-Robert Randolf we see a tie-in to:

"Prior to joining Millennium, Robert was President of American Marketing and Publishing (AMP, Inc.). He founded AMP, Inc. in 1992 and began publishing The Virginia Conservative Magazine, a tabloid magazine dedicated to promoting Republican candidates and causes.

"The magazine featured conservative columnists such as Mona Charen, Walter Williams, Brett Bozell, Robert Novak, Thomas Sowell, and cartoonist Bob Gorrell. Over the years, it included exclusive interviews with well-known conservative leaders including Oliver North, NRA vice-president Wayne LaPierre, Governor George Allen, Senator John W. Warner, Congressman Tom Davis, State Senator Ken Stolle and State Senator Billing Bolling".

Sounds like a who's who of media talking heads. And to think all this time I thought these folks were just expressing opinions and to discover they get paid to be 'featured columnists' supported by the Republican political machine. Naughty, naughty, naughty.

So much for an 'independent media' eh?

Edit: Yes kiddies, what we see here is a true 'grassroots' organization, funded by corporations. Imagine that, corporations funding a people's organization. Millennium Marketing, an American propaganda machine given to you by the corporatists.

[Jose Diablo]

20. There it is, the answer to the question

"Is gambling a liberal value?"

I was wondering where this meme that gambling was a liberal value came from. Now we see. It's a smoke screen from the RW machine trying to cover how the Christian RW was used to funnel money to shut down the law that would prohibit gambling. And the RW Christians are against gambling. The left, we never cared one way or the other.

The Christians were played by these guys to keep gambling legal on the net, and now they need a new meme that it was the liberals that did it.

All this smells so....Rove.

Edit:

The sneer is gone from Rove's lip, his teeth are clinched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Rove's blow.

Oh! somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Rove has struck out.

:rofl:

[belle]

22. Thank you. That is juicy stuff!

For once, a money scandal that's easy and interesting to follow. it's the hypocrisy angle that makes it all worthwhile. "Gambling is a sin! uh, except when I say so. Who, me? I didn't say anything."

[PurityOfEssence]

24. These guys would put a hit out on Jesus for a few hundred thousand

The Ralph Reeds of the world are soulless liars of the worst sort.

At least a dick like Norquist stands up and admits what he wants to do and is fairly consistent. I hope he gets his ass handed to him for this, though. This is nothing short of money laundering; it's all about seizing and maintaining power at all costs.

[UpInArms]

25. this article is definitely worth a thorough read - thanks for the post!

:toast: