while listening to her bloviate. Interesting ties she has.
<snip>
One example has already surfaced in connection with Abramoff. Devaney's office is examining contacts between top officials and the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, a group whose predecessor was founded by current Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
Norton cut her ties with the group when she joined the Bush administration. But her top aides, including former deputy secretary J. Steven Griles, maintained close contacts with the organization on issues affecting tribal gaming. And the group's president, Italia Federici, is a close associate of Norton who worked on Norton's political campaigns back in Colorado.
<snip> Aspens, anyone?
A February 2002 memo from Federici to Eric Ruff, Norton's former communications director, highlights CREA's concern about gaming issues even though its mission says nothing about tribes. The document came as Interior was considering a gaming compact -- ultimately rejected -- that Abramoff's wealthy tribal clients opposed.
"You can see that
Ralph Reed and his firm are involved somehow," Federici told Ruff in what she termed was a "heads-up about what I've been hearing."
"From what I have been told, Ralph," Federici said, "is bending the ear of Karl Rove and possibly even the President about land-into-trust and gaming issues."
<snip>
Intersting huh? Here come Rove into the mix.
http://mail.indianz.com/News/2005/008410.asp