Will Harkin, Grassley (or other IA politicians) go down due to Abramhoff?

[CoffeeCat]

I was wondering if any Iowa politicians were embroiled in the Abramoff scandal.

I Googled our Congress Critters, and here is what I found...

*****TOM HARKIN ********
(This doesn't look good!!!)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1533652/posts (sorry for the freep link!)

WASHINGTON - As Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record) drafted letters to the Bush administration on behalf of an Iowa tribe, he had no shortage of ideas for wording: A tribal lobbyist who donated to the Democrat's campaign suggested language for him to use.

Harkin wrote at least three letters in 2003 pressing the government to release federal money to help the Sac & Fox tribe in his state cope with the temporary closing of its casino due to a tribal dispute, according to Interior Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and records provided by Harkin's office.

In doing so, Harkin accepted input from Sac & Fox lobbyist Michael D. Smith, a member of Jack Abramoff's tribal lobbying team at the Greenberg Traurig law firm. Smith met with the senator and also offered suggestions for the letters, Harkin spokeswoman Allison Dobson said.

"Absolutely, he did contribute to those letters," Dobson said, adding that she wasn't sure what Smith's suggestions were. Harkin also met with lobbyists on the other side of the dispute, she said.

Harkin is among dozens of members of Congress who wrote letters that benefited tribal clients of Abramoff's lobbying team while collecting political contributions from Abramoff, his clients or his lobbying associates.

************CHUCK GRASSLEY*********

(full article here)
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051127/NEWS09/511270333/1056

Sen. Charles Grassley embroiled in the allegations of impropriety surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff? The senator is cited in a recent Associated Press article and a scathing news release from the Democratic National Committee, but Grassley aides say there's no impropriety and little news to it at all.

The AP said nearly three dozen members of Congress "pressed the government to block a Louisiana Indian tribe from opening a casino while the lawmakers collected large donations from rival tribes and their lobbyist, Jack Abramoff." Many intervened with letters to Interior Secretary Gale Norton within days of receiving money from tribes represented by Abramoff, the story said.

In the case of Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, he sent a letter on March 1, 2002, raising questions about a casino wanted by the Jena tribe of Choctaw Indians, the article said. Grassley received a $1,000 contribution from the Abramoff firm a month later and $62,200 in related donations by 2004, the AP said.

******STEVE KING, TOM LATHAM, JIM NUSSLE*******

Link to article: http://liberaltopia.org/?p=3749
IOWA: Sen. Charles Grassley received Abramoff contributions. Rep. Tom Latham, Rep. Steve King and Rep. Jim Nussle all accepted money from DeLay’s ARMPAC.


----Interesting, huh? I'll post more information as I find it.

[CornField]

1. I found a better link to that first one

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/12/03/lobbyist_helped_harkin_write_tribal_pleas/

This was done during the time when the Meskwaki was shut down due to tribal issues and I doubt the 1,300 people in and around Tama who had no jobs during that time will call foul. I'm guessing that Grassley also drafted letters (with or without lobbyist help) urging the government to allow the casino to reopen.

Also from the article:

Harkin twice used Abramoff's skybox for fundraisers -- once in 2002 and again in 2003 -- without reimbursing. He also collected $17,000 from Smith and other Abramoff-related sources in 2003. The Sac & Fox gave $4,000 more to Harkin in 2004, about six months after the federal government allowed the tribe's casino to reopen.

It goes on to add that Harkin did reimburse for the skybox usage in the fall of 2005.

I don't know if any of this amounts to anything. It seems to me there is so much 'legal' money going around in Washington that it would be rather difficult for anyone to determine what exactly is 'illegal'. Now, that being said, if Harkin has done something wrong, I hope he has to pay for it -- just as I hope all those who have done something wrong will have to pay for it.

-----

As for Grassley, he is one of the few people listed in the WaPo graph. Granted, he's at the bottom of their list, but he's still there. $50K must buy a hell of a lot of lawn mower fuel.

[tom2]

2. Probably nothing

I doubt that either is going to be significantly sucked into this. Open Secrets has a detailed listing of all contributions from Abramoff and the tribes that used Abramoff as a lobbyist (there were many), but these are reported contributions and are legal. It is surprising how much money the tribes give to both parties, but I suppose that is what they have to do to be heard. But if you look at Abramoff's contributions, it is 100% to Republicans. Grassley is on the list, but at a $1000, it does not raise much suspicion.

Harkin's use of Abramoff's restaurant probably did not amount to that much, and he has corrected it. So, it is hard to see how this will be a big issue when the rest of the Abramoff scandal unfolds.

The real issue is the illegal activity, and so far that is all Republican. But we'll see when the indictments come.

I suspect that there will be more relevant Tom DeLay connections in Iowa, though. Iowan Terry Nelson, for instance, was deeply involved in DeLay's money laundering scheme in Texas, and Nelson is working for Lamberti, and Dix, too, I think.

[rurallib]

3. Welcome to DU, Tom2 !!

Is anyone else extremely bothered by the fact that it is the Bush administration Justice Department that is prosecuting this case? I have a feeling that they will choose a sacrificial lamb or two in the repuke party and then take aim at a couple of Dems to prove that Abramoff covered both sides. This will be done before the elections so that the public can be balthered with the "both sides did it" BS talking point.
Since the person in charge (Alice Fisher?) is reputedly a friend of Tom DeLay's there is probably a good chance he'll skate.
Sorry to sound so negative. This adminstration has continued to coverup on a grand scale and I expect them to do the same in this case.
Much like the Plame case, I think a year from now we'll be posting messages wondering what went wrong in the Abramoff case when the corruption is practically out in public.

[Debi]

5. Terry Nelson also ran Nussle's 1994 Congressional Campaign

against Dave Nagle...Nasty, nasty campaign that was! x(

[Debi]

4. I think Harkin's staff addressed the issue correctly

and the posts about the problems the Meskwaki tribe was having shows why the letters were necessary. The shut down of the Casino hurt not only the tribe, but non-tribe members who were out of jobs during the whole tribe leadership battle. Harkin would have written the letters regardless of contributions (and, of course a person would use an expert to help draft the letters).

Grassley keeps saying that the work he did to block the LA Casino was on behalf of a constituent, Isle of Capri. Problem I have with that is that Isle of Capri corporate offices are (or were) in LA and now are moving to MO. The owners of Isle of Capri live in Florida (Bernard Goldstein and family). Although Isle of Capri operates (I think) five casino's in Iowa, I don't know how Grassley could call the Goldsteins constituents.

At least the Meskwaki Tribe is in Iowa!

[9119495]

6. People would have to follow the issues and care first.

Abramoff stuff is barely on the radar here. Few people seem to actually watch cable news.

[Debi]

7. Seems 'people' have decided our good Senator is one of the

'bad guys'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2350299