Abramoff's Election Meddling...

[WillyT]

From TPMMuckraker...

Abramoff's Election Meddling
By Paul Kiel - April 3, 2006, 12:20 PM


<snip>

Here's an underreported angle to the Jack Abramoff investigation: his repeated efforts to undermine democratic elections. At least three instances of this have been reported over the last couple years, and in two of the three, cooperation from Tom DeLay's office was essential to Abramoff's strategy.

Here's how it worked: a lot of Jack Abramoff's business came from small governments like Indian tribes and U.S. territories. In a number of instances, rather than sit on his thumbs while they elected a potentially unfriendly government, he decided to move in and make sure his guy got elected.

As far as I can tell, he tried this at least three times - and was successful twice.

<snip>

Link: http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000254.php#more

The picture seems to be getting clearer and clearer.

Check this one out too: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x824135

:shrug:

[Joanne98]

1. It would be nice if we could make an Abramoff/Diebold connect

[WillyT]

4. Well... Here's The First One I've Found !!!

From BradBlog - 1/10/2006

The Soon-to-be-Indicted Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio's Connection To Electoral Fraud
The Dots Connect Between Abramoff, Ohio 2004 Election Smokescreen and Ney's Former Staffer Revealed to be on Diebold's Payroll While Working for White House Law Firm
All the While as HAVA -- America's 'Election Reform' Bill -- is Used for Political Payoff in the Bargain...

More: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002261.htm

:evilgrin::hi::evilgrin:

Dontcha just love Google?

[WillyT]

5. And Is Referred To Here:

<snip>

Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio is in serious legal jeopardy as a result of the Abramoff corruption scandal. Last October the Washington Post wrote a very detailed piece outlining his many legal problems. In brief, Ney won election after a Democratic Congressman retired and districts were gerrymandered to make the district more Republican. He has since worked closely with Tom DeLay, has performed special favors for Abramoff clients linked to organized crime, and (allegedly) requested favors in return such as luxury skyboxes and a trip to Scotland paid for by an Abramoff fake charity. Now Abramoff and his partner have agreed to cooperate with authorities and evidence in the David Safavian case points to Ney. Indictment is almost certain. Just this week a definite link has been found between Ney, Abramoff, Diebold Corporation and the problems that occurred in the 2004 election in Ohio. All of the connections are outlined in detail in a great piece by bradblog. It's worth a read.

<snip>

More: http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/dailybriefing/index.php?ntid=68624

:shrug:

[mod mom]

6. another diebold/abramoff source:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenberg_Traurig#Bush-Greenberg_Traurig_Connections

11. Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc.:

* According to Common Cause (http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7BFB3C17E2-CDD1-4DF6-92BE-BD4429893665%7D/HAVA-CHART.11.04.PDF), Greenberg Traurig earned $275,000, from 2002-to-date:


* "Diebold Election Systems, owned by Diebold Incorporated, is one of the leading voting machine vendors across the country. The company has been the focus of a national debate about the role partisan politics should play in the voting machine selection process. Walden O'Dell, Chairman, President and CEO of Diebold Inc., is a Pioneer for President Bush’s reelection campaign, and has hosted a fundraiser with Vice President Cheney that netted $500,000. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/6/03) Diebold Inc. and Mr. O’Dell gave $100,965 in soft money to the Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle on the national level. Diebold Inc.’s executives and employees have given $63,290 in campaign contributions at the federal level since 1999, all but $4,775 was donated to Republican candidates and committees. (Center for Responsive Politics) Chairman and CEO of Diebold Inc., Walden O’Dell, rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 27, 2003. O’Dell also stated he is committed to 'helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year.' (N.Y. Times 12/2/03)."
* On behalf of Diebold, in 2004 alone, Greenberg Traurig lobbied: "A8833B, S6207, A9731, Budget Issues, Voting/Ballot Regulations, A9725, A9433 Electronic Voting Machines, Voting Regulations, HAVA Funding, Full Face Ballot."


* According to NYC Lobbyist Client Search (http://www.nyc.gov/lobbyistsearch/search?client=Diebold+Election+Systems%2C+Inc) records, Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc. from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2004.

[WillyT]

7. And Then There's This:

<snip>

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) was one of the architects of HAVA (Help America Vote Act). In that role he worked with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and others to reform certain election procedures that had arisen from the controversial 2000 election. But where electronic voting machines were concerned, the HAVA architects neglected accusations that they were "hackable" and focused instead on lesser issues, in particular making it easier for blind people to vote.

Diebold, Inc., from Ney's home state of Ohio, is the leading company in electronic voting machines. In response to public demand dating back to 2000 for verifiable paper trails to accompany its machines (similar to their ATM machines' transaction receipts), Diebold argued that it wasn't practical. Ney, using his Congressional clout, blocked every piece of legislation that would have mandated such paper trails, even after the 2004 election and reports from Ohio and elsewhere that hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of votes had been flipped from Kerry to Bush. As many of you know, I witnessed this very thing in Florida as a pollwatcher.

When Jack Abramoff began to spill his guts in connection with the charges against him as a crooked lobbyist, Ney's name surfaced immediately as one who received money and favors from him. One of Ney's more recent free trips abroad, financed by Abramoff, he struck it rich, winning $34,000 on a single $100 bet...quite convenient, because his credit card bills at that point had risen to over $30,000.

Well, it turns out that Ney's former chief of staff, one David DeStefano, became a Diebold lobbyist after leaving Ney's employ. He's a chatty sort, it seems. DeStefano bragged about access to "hard to reach public officials" (might he possibly have meant Ney?), after which Diebold paid at least $275,000 to Abramoff's former firm (they severed ties with him), Greenburg Traurig, for "lobbying services." Meanwhile, Ney was telling Abramoff's Indian tribe clients that he would insert "gambling language favorable to them" in HAVA.

<snip>

Link: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/20/2006/1702

:shrug:

[leveymg]

10. Greenberg Traurig also ties Abramoff to NSA contractor scandals

Here's another link that ties Abramoff to powerful corporations that have taken over privatized NSA domestic spying functions. These Abramoff clients are big GOP contributors and heavily influence the agenda of the Republican Congress and the White House. They also run the NSA surveillance network that accesses everything there is to know about us, including how we vote.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/25/132559/979
Abramoff's NSA and Domestic Spying Scandal
by leveymg
Wed Jan 25, 2006 at 10:25:59 AM PDT
The National Security Scandals of Jack Abramoff - Part II

(Pt. 1, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/24/121156/129)

While Jack Abramoff's scandalous rip-off of Indian tribes is well know, his role as a GOP fixer for NSA and CIA contractors has gone virtually under the radar screen. Abramoff's lobbying activities raise serious questions about the role of his corporate and foreign clients in compromising highly sensitive NSA and Capitol Hill communications networks, in domestic spying and in other illegal national security-related activities.


leveymg's diary :: ::
We now learn that Abramoff is at the center of a much wider web of criminal activity involving private-sector NSA contractors and GOP lawmakers. Abramoff served as a conduit between the NSA and private companies that have become the focus of multiple criminal prosecutions and national security investigations, including the abuse of prisoners abroad, and alledged spying on Capitol Hill lawmakers by Abramoff clients.

Yesterday, we reported that Verizon (dba Qwest Wireless), is the focus of an NSA contracting scandal and a little-noticed trial of executives for cooking company books. Attorneys for Qwest's CEO, Joseph Nacchio, raised knowledge of classified government contracts anticipated by Qwest in 2001 as "one of the key elements to his defense." http://www.democraticunderground.com/... ; also, see, http://today.reuters.com/...

That trial reveals something far more important about the corruption scandal that is gripping top GOP lawmakers. Abramoff and his associates manueuvered his clients -- including now bankrupt Enron, Global Crossing and Tyco International -- into federal contracts that gave them leverage over strategic U.S. markets, a role in framing foreign policy options, or unprecedented private-sector access to operating classified government data networks. This has resulted in the gravest constitutional crisis since Watergate, as well as a massive damage to U.S. national security.

The 2001 Contract to Privatize NSA's Surveillance Systems

In 2001 Verizon, along with CACI (a defense contractor shepherded by Abramoff that heavily contributed to the GOP), was awarded part of a multi-billion dollar NSA contract to privatize the NSA's information technology systems, capabilities that were then used by the Bush Administration to carry out illegal domestic spying. As part of that ten-year program, code-named Project Groundbreaker, NSA surveillance systems continue to be developed, operated and maintained by private sector IT companies. See, http://lists.jammed.com/...

SNIP

(Response to: mod mom (1000+ posts) Mon Apr-03-06 08:10 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. another diebold/abramoff source:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenberg_Tr...

11. Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc.:

* According to Common Cause (http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7BFB3C17E2-CDD1-4DF6... ), Greenberg Traurig earned $275,000, from 2002-to-date:


* "Diebold Election Systems, owned by Diebold Incorporated, is one of the leading voting machine vendors across the country. The company has been the focus of a national debate about the role partisan politics should play in the voting machine selection process. Walden O'Dell, Chairman, President and CEO of Diebold Inc., is a Pioneer for President Bush’s reelection campaign, and has hosted a fundraiser with Vice President Cheney that netted $500,000. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/6/03) Diebold Inc. and Mr. O’Dell gave $100,965 in soft money to the Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle on the national level. Diebold Inc.’s executives and employees have given $63,290 in campaign contributions at the federal level since 1999, all but $4,775 was donated to Republican candidates and committees. (Center for Responsive Politics) Chairman and CEO of Diebold Inc., Walden O’Dell, rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 27, 2003. O’Dell also stated he is committed to 'helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year.' (N.Y. Times 12/2/03)."
* On behalf of Diebold, in 2004 alone, Greenberg Traurig lobbied: "A8833B, S6207, A9731, Budget Issues, Voting/Ballot Regulations, A9725, A9433 Electronic Voting Machines, Voting Regulations, HAVA Funding, Full Face Ballot."


* According to NYC Lobbyist Client Search (http://www.nyc.gov/lobbyistsearch/search?client=Diebold... ) records, Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc. from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2004.

[babylonsister]

2. I want DeLay's name out there front and center and want him

put in the same boat as Abramoff. Oh, and a Diebold connection would be sweet!

[mod mom]

3. Court Papers show Ney takes favorable action for clients of Abramoff

DeLay ex-aide's plea names Ney in corruption case
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Sabrina Eaton
Plain Dealer Bureau

Washington- A former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay has pleaded guilty to participating in an influence-peddling conspiracy that included soliciting official actions from Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney in exchange for a golf trip to Scotland, restaurant meals and sports tickets.

Tony Rudy, DeLay's former press secretary and deputy chief of staff, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine under a plea deal filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington. Rudy agreed to cooperate with a congressional corruption investigation.

Prosecutors said that while Rudy was on DeLay's payroll, he performed official acts for lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for $86,000 from Abramoff, as well as trips to Hilton Head Island, S.C., and the U.S. Open golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Calif.

<snip>
Court papers say Ney, "in exchange for this stream of things of value," which also included meals and concert tickets, agreed to "take favorable official action and render other assistance on behalf of the clients of Abramoff and defendant Rudy."

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1143884427209190.xml?nnusa&coll=2

hmmh..I wonder if that includes Greenberg Traubig client Diebold?

[cmd]

11. deleted because it was covered above

[Wilms]

8. K&R n/t

[Old and In the Way]

9. The only reason Republicans act with impunity is because they

don't believe they can lose an election. I hope disillusioned Republicans and Independents change they registration for 2006. We need to make it impossible for them to steal it yet again.