Pair Under Inquiry May Face Tribal Action

[seemslikeadream]

By Judy Sarasohn
Thursday, October 7, 2004; Page A37

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon, already under investigation by a Senate panel, the FBI and a task force of five federal agencies, are now facing the strong likelihood of lawsuits from some of the tribes that paid the millions of dollars in lobbying and PR fees to the two men.

"There's not been a decision to sue, but in light of our investigation" the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana will probably bring suit against Abramoff and Scanlon to recoup any wrongly billed fees, Jay B. Stewart, a partner at the Austin law firm Hance Scarborough Wright Ginsberg & Brusilow, said in an interview yesterday. The tribe hired the firm, whose partner Kent Hance is a former GOP congressman, to represent it during the Senate Indian Affairs Committee investigation and to conduct its own internal investigation.

Hance and Stewart said the tribe had hired lobbyists to help protect its "one major asset" -- its casino -- but in the end may have been defrauded by a "complex scheme."

The Saginaw Chippewas, another former Abramoff client, may also pursue litigation against Abramoff and his former firm, Greenberg Traurig, Legal Times reported Monday.

...

"Recent stories and the one-sided hearings at the Senate might cause people to forget or ignore these accomplishments. Before anyone is egged on to file a lawsuit capitalizing on the media frenzy that has been generated, they should stop and recall the good work and success that was achieved," Lowell said.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13153-2004Oct6.html