Choctaws mum on lobbyist ties

[seemslikeadream]

Chief Martin not called to testify at fleecing suspects' hearing

By Ana Radelat
Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON — Chief Phillip Martin of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians appears to be winning his fight to shield from public scrutiny his ties to two men accused of fleecing Indian tribes.

One of the men, Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, appeared at a hearing Wednesday before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where committee members asked him about his dealings with the Choctaws and other tribes that run gambling operations.

But Abramoff asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
The other target of the investigation, Michael Scanlon, who heads a public relations firm in Washington and is one of Abramoff's associates, did not attend the hearing. U.S. marshals are trying to serve him with a subpoena, said Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., who heads the Indian Affairs Committee.

Senate investigators say Abramoff and Scanlon bilked their tribal clients by promising them connections to powerful Washington players in return for huge fees. Investigators say the tribes got little for their money.

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