Documents Show Abramoff's Web of Influence in Capitol

This is a complicated article from the Associated Press. This article shows how the Coushatta Indian tribe had spent $32 million of its casino profits in government lobbying campaign, with lobbyist Jack Abramoff at the center of this web. Abramoff is under investigation by the Senate and a federal grand jury over allegations that he overcharged Indian tribes for his lobbying, and for his ties with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

What this article shows is the corrupting influence that money can have in the political process. What is especially of concern is how the Coushatta Indian tribe would transfer funds from one political group to another political group, to mask and disguise where this money had come from and where it is going. One memo from the Indian tribe recorded that a check for $10,000 that was issued to the Texans for a Republican Majority was to be reissued to America 21--a Christian group focused on voter turnout--because Abramoff was under a criminal investigation. The Coushatta Indian tribe then asked to cancel a $25,000 check to Americans for a Republican Majority, and to send the money to Sixty Plus, a group that helped Republicans get their Medicare prescription drug benefit through Congress. These examples show how "powerful leaders and special interests can hide money from a system that relies on public disclosure as its ethical safeguard."

"This shows how easy it is for interest groups, lobbyists or politicians to manipulate or redirect money into whatever avenue is dark and free of roadblocks, and the average person never sees any of it," said Kent cooper, a former federal election regulator.

This is scary.