George Bush and Tom DeLay return money linked to Abramoff

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/bushdonations04.html

WASHINGTON-- President Bush, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his successor Roy Blunt Wednesday joined the growing list of officials shedding political donations from Jack Abramoff, the once powerful lobbyist who has agreed to testify in a broad-ranging political corruption investigation.

Bush's re-election campaign is giving up $6,000 in campaign contributions connected to Abramoff, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud, corruption and tax evasion charges in Washington. The lobbyist was due in federal court in Miami Wednesday afternoon to plead guilty to fraud charges stemming from his purchases of a Florida gambling boat fleet called SunCruz.

In a plea agreement with government prosecutors, Abramoff agreed to tell the FBI about alleged bribes to lawmakers and their aides on issues ranging from Internet gambling to wireless phone service in the House.

The full extent of the investigation is not yet known, but Justice Department officials said they intended to make use of the trove of e-mails and other material in Abramoff's possession as part of a probe that is believed to be focusing on as many as 20 members of Congress and aides.

[aquart]

1. Wasn't it $100,000?

[LSK]

3. thats what I read on Yahoo earlier

Bush got $100,000 and Abramoff had one of those "pioneer" titles or something. Bush was returning $6,000.

[Why Syzygy]

6. Also ABC

Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney '04 re-election campaign, earning the honorary title "pioneer" from the campaign. But the campaign is giving up only $6,000 directly from Abramoff, his wife and one of the Indian tribes that he worked to win influence for in Washington. The money is being donated to the American Heart Association.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1470083

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Deductions for FUZZY MATH/Enron/GOP type record keeping =

$94.000.00...
balance swiped $6,000.00


Control of all three branches of the Federal Government = Priceless

[TaleWgnDg]

2. You can try to run, George, and you can try to hide, George, but

you cannot hide the truth of who and what you truly are!

[blm]

4. Will they cancel the legislation and political favors they exchanged, too?

.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. How come the Dems. didn't give back any of their Abramoff contributions?

OH BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET ANY. NOT A SINGLE ONE. Of course if we listen to the media we would think that he was a big Dem. fundraiser.

[Botany]

8. Dept of closing the barn door after the horse has run away.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. Why didn't Bush return campaign money from convicted felon Koch?

Koch Energy is the largest privately energy company in the United States, owned by the vastly wealthy Koch brothers. In 2000, they contributed about $800,000 to the GOP and George Bush received $30,000 of that. Over the years, next to Enron, Koch has been one of Bush's biggest campaign contributors.

The Clinton Administration had filed 97 felony counts against Koch for releasing 91 metric tons of carcinogens into the air in Texas (where Bush was then governor) and in particular for covering it up from federal investigators. Koch faced federal fines totaling over $350 million and Koch executives themselves faced nearly a combined 100 years in prison. When Bush came into office, he had John Ashcroft dismiss nearly all the felony counts except one and dropped the fines to nearly nothing. When asked whether Bush would return any campaign money received from a now convicted felony, Ari Fleischer danced an incredible jig around the subject. The following transcript from Ari Fleischer's press conference where he addresses whether Bush will return the $30,000 received from Koch, held in the first weeks of the Bush administration is interesting reading. It is to be noted that Koch Industries is virtually inseparable from his top executives, as it is a family-owned business.

http://www.commondreams.org/ari/0502-04.htm

To me, Koch Industries is one of the biggest scandals of the Bush administration but, because it happened so early during his first term, it seems to be completely ignored.