DeLay Tried, Failed to Aid Abramoff Client

[cosmicone]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060110/ap_on_go_co/lobbyist_fraud_delay

WASHINGTON - Former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay tried to pressure the Bush administration into shutting down an Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted closed — shortly after a tribal client of Abramoff's donated to a DeLay political action committee, The Associated Press has learned.

The Texas Republican demanded closure of the casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in a Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General
John Ashcroft. The Associated Press obtained the letter from a source who did not want to be identified because of an ongoing federal investigation of Abramoff and members of Congress.

"We feel that the
Department of Justice needs to step in and investigate the inappropriate and illegal actions by the tribe, its financial backers, if any, and the casino equipment vendors," said the letter, which was also signed by Texas Republican Reps. Pete Sessions, John Culberson and Kevin Brady.

Sessions' political action committee received $6,500 from Abramoff's tribal clients within three months after signing the letter. A spokeswoman for Sessions said he considers gaming a state issue. She said the tribe was circumventing state law and Sessions signed the letter in defense of Texas laws.

[WatchWhatISay]

1. Texas Republican Reps. Pete Sessions, John Culberson and Kevin Brady

And all three of these guys need to go down with him.
Brady is my Congressman, unfortunately. He's a complete tool. And he's been right behind Delay, showing his support for the crook, in recent photo ops.

Pete Sessions is a nice looking, dumb as shit, Tom DeLay in the making that I knew in college. Very hard right.

[Ilsa]

16. Wasn't Sessions the one fellating Alito in the hearing room today? eom

[Eugene]

2. A whole boatload of Repugs are implicated on this one.

Beautiful. It looks like the bugman is going to get stomped.
The effort to close the casino was basically a shakedown
of the Alabama-Coushattas. They all should go to jail for this.

:kick: and recommended.

[wookie294]

3. SMOKING GUN !!!!!!!

That's it! Delay is now officially tied to a specific act of bribery.

NAIL THE WINGER TO THE WALL NOW!!

[WatchWhatISay]

5. I think Texas is going to need a special election soon

to replace all these crooks

[David Zephyr]

4. The story also ties directly to John Cornyn, now Senator of Texas.

John Cornyn doing Abramoff's dirty work, too?

[tkmorris]

6. I sure hope so

I hate that guy with a purple passion.

[David Zephyr]

9. Here's another thread on Cornyn in the GD Forum.

blm has a thread going on Cornyn now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x98941

[cosmicone]

13. I hope Cornyn goes down with Delay n/t

[David Zephyr]

14. Me, too.

He really is a shit.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Cornyn has been making a ton of tv appearances, lately, supporting Delay.

Looks as if his interest is a little more personal now, doesn't it?

[David Zephyr]

15. Cornyn is a slug.

And a big "hello" to Judi Lynn. :hi:

[MissWaverly]

17. I am reposting a post by texpatriot 2004 on Cornyn

My very first experience with electronic voting I watched my vote switch right in front of my eyes. I fixed it. When I had checked all my choices after that first switch, I hit the "cast ballot" button and watched my vote switch from the Dem that I chose to the Rethug that I didn't choose but once that button is hit the ballot is cast and there is no going back. I spoke with the poll workers (all older folks) they looked at me like I was from mars and said that could not happen, when I insisted that it did happen, they told me there was nothing they could do. They said I could call to complain to the elections officials but they didn't have a phone number. I made 6 or 7 calls to complain (had to get the right people on the other end and that took some time). Once I did get them, they said that "they were aware of the problem" and that I "was not the first person to call with this complaint." There was nothing they could do but they would make a note of it.

That was 2002. The race I am speaking of was a US Senate race.

Surprise, surprise...the Rethug (Cornyn from Texas) "won" - Ron Kirk was the Democrat that I actually voted for.

He posted it on my thread: My voting machine was rigged to vote Republican-Miss Waverly

[janx]

7. Wow.

It keeps getting worse and worse.

[cosmicone]

8. I don't know which one is it..

is it extreme brazenness or extreme stupidity that made these people act this way. Even third world despots know how not to make bribery so obvious!

[AlCzervik]

11. OMG finally!!!! This is like a gift!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. The Indian casinos

are going to be the gift that keeps on giving I believe.

[OKNancy]

18. Kick

[Judi Lynn]

19. DeLay led bid to close Livingston casino

Jan. 10, 2006, 11:41PM
DeLay led bid to close Livingston casino
Note to Justice coincided with Abramoff's work for another tribe


By MICHAEL HEDGES and SAMANTHA LEVINE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and three other Texas congressmen prodded the Justice Department in 2001 to close an Indian tribe's East Texas casino as lobbyist Jack Abramoff was reaping huge payments from a competing tribe.

Abramoff, who had close political ties to DeLay, pleaded guilty to corruption charges last week and is cooperating with a federal investigation into his dealings with congressmen, congressional aides and his clients.

DeLay and the other congressmen sent a letter about the casino to the Justice Department on Dec. 11, 2001, eight days after Abramoff said in an e-mail to a lobbying associate, "We have to shutter Alabama Coushatta and fast."

A DeLay spokeswoman said Tuesday that the lawmaker's letter, on which DeLay was the first signer, stemmed solely from his consistent opposition to gambling.
(snip/...)

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3579188.html
(Free registration required)

[mike_c]

20. the bugman just gets in deeper and deeper as time goes on....

He will do ANYTHING for a buck.

[Erika]

21. dirty, dirty, dirty

Notice how no Republicans are trying to defend DeLay, the Hammer, anymore? They are running as fast as they can from him. They loved him 30 days ago and are running from him now. Strange and twisted people.

[lovuian]

22. Delay was using the government as his own tool ... thats

abuse of power...

[shraby]

23. He was quoted as saying "I am the government". n/t

[roguevalley]

24. DeLay and three others. Texas, you are about to get your house cleaned.

I salute you!

[sofa king]

25. Don't forget who else may tie into this.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411716

Did Miers spark attack on Tigua casino?

Posted: October 07, 2005
by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today

WASHINGTON - A damaging charge against Supreme Court justice nominee Harriet Miers is circulating through American Indian e-mail networks: that in 1999 she was the inspiration for the Texas government's drive to shut down the casinos of two federally recognized tribes. The allegation is debatable, but supported by enough circumstantial evidence to make it worth investigation.

The allegation is that as chair of the Texas Lottery, Miers was worried about the declining performance of its major weekly game and attributed the falloff to competition from the casinos. According to the rumor, she prevailed on then-Gov. George W. Bush to get then-Attorney General John Cornyn to bring suit to close the tribal casinos.

____________________

Which in turn leads to Ralph Reed, who was financially supporting Cornyn's (successful) Senate campaign, while also drumming up a fallacious grassroots campaign against the tribal casinos, working in tandem with Jack Abramoff. Abramoff and Michael Scanlon then lobbied (unsuccsessfully) for the Alabama Coushatta (and the Tiguas) to get those casinos back, soaking those tribes for millions.

That would mean that the President nominated a potential criminal co-conspirator in this case to the Supreme Court, wouldn't it? And Harriet and Bush are close enough that the President wouldn't even have to ask about it.

Edit: that having been said, it's still just a rumor about Harriet Miers.