WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 - Representative Tom DeLay asked the lobbyist Jack Abramoff to raise money for him through a private charity controlled by Mr. Abramoff, an unusual request that led the lobbyist to try to gather at least $150,000 from his Indian tribe clients and their gambling operations, according to newly disclosed e-mail from the lobbyist's files.
The electronic messages from 2002, which refer to "Tom" and "Tom's requests," appear to be the clearest evidence to date of an effort by Mr. DeLay, a Texas Republican, to pressure Mr. Abramoff and his lobbying partners to raise money for him. The e-mail messages do not specify why Mr. DeLay wanted the money, how it was to be used or why he would want money raised through the auspices of a private charity.
"Did you get the message from the guys that Tom wants us to raise some bucks from Capital Athletic Foundation?" Mr. Abramoff asked a colleague in a message on June 6, 2002, referring to the charity. "I have six clients in for $25K. I recommend we hit everyone who cares about Tom's requests. I have another few to hit still."
The e-mail was addressed to Tony Rudy, who had been Mr. DeLay's chief of staff in the House before joining Mr. Abramoff's lobbying firm. Mr. Abramoff said it would be good "if we can do $200K" for Mr. DeLay.
The e-mail traffic was released this week by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which has conducted a yearlong investigation into whether Mr. Abramoff and a business partner, Michael Scanlon, Mr. DeLay's former House press secretary, defrauded Indian tribe clients and their gambling operations out of tens of millions of dollars. There was no immediate comment on the e-mail from spokesmen for Mr. Abramoff or Mr. DeLay, who has stepped down as House majority leader because of an unrelated criminal indictment in his home state.
Talk about corruption here. So Jack Abramoff was raising money for Tom DeLay through a private charity that Abramoff controlled. Abramoff raised $150,000 through this charity from his Indian casinos. And DeLay's chief of staff Tony Rudy was talking to Abramoff regarding this fundraising scheme. It is amazing how closely connected DeLay and Abramoff are regarding this constant shifting of money into different accounts for political and business favors. Some more details:
The focus on Mr. DeLay back in Washington has been over his ties to Mr. Abramoff, once one of the city's most powerful lobbyists and Republican fund-raisers, and Mr. Scanlon, who was among Mr. DeLay's closest aides on his House staff.
The hearings by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee have shown that through a network of outside companies and charities, Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon funneled tens of millions of dollars in lobbying fees from Indian tribes into activities that often had little connection to the interests of the tribes and their lucrative gambling operations.
Mr. Abramoff's private charity, the Capital Athletic Foundation, has come under scrutiny by Senate investigators since the foundation was used to underwrite overseas travel by members of Congress and senior government officials, as well as a Jewish day school that Mr. Abramoff had established and paramilitary training for kibbutz residents in Israel. Mr. Abramoff's e-mail messages describe the training program as a "sniper school."
In a chain of often cryptic e-mail messages that began on June 6, 2002, Mr. Abramoff communicated with members of his lobbying firm and his clients about Mr. DeLay's request that large amounts of money be raised through the foundation.
"Hi Tony," Mr. Abramoff wrote to Mr. Rudy, asking that he help in the fund-raising effort and describing the Capital Athletic Foundation as "a tax deductible foundation" that does "NO lobbying at all."
I love the hypocrisy here. Capital Athletic Foundation is "a tax deductible foundation" that does "NO LOBBYING AT ALL!" In the meantime, Capital Athletic Foundation is underwriting overseas trips or members of Congress--say a trip for DeLay to go golfing in Scotland? Or a DeLay trip to the Mariana's islands? It gets better:
Later that day, Mr. Abramoff wrote to Mr. Rudy again, asking him to pass on the request for a donation to one of the firm's major Indian tribe clients, the Saginaw Chippewas of Michigan. He wrote that the request would "look better coming from you as a former DeLay COS - we're gonna make a bundle here."
On June 20, Mr. Rudy wrote to Todd Boulanger, a different colleague at the lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, asking about the status of a $25,000 contribution to the Capital Athletic Foundation.
"Jack wants this," Mr. Rudy wrote, referring to Mr. Abramoff. "It is something our friends are raising money for." The e-mail did not identify the friends.
Mr. Boulanger replied the same day: "I'm sensing shadiness. I'll stop asking. I'll break it up over the various request to a total of $25K."
Mr. Rudy replied: "Your senses are good. If you have to say Leadership is asking, please do. I already have." Mr. Rudy did not return phone calls Thursday, so it was not possible to determine if "Leadership" referred to Mr. DeLay.
In e-mail on July 8, 2002, to the lobbyist for a Texas Indian tribe, Mr. Abramoff asked about the status of the tribe's contribution to the foundation for Mr. DeLay: "I am getting daily calls on this. When they return tomorrow, I have no doubt, Tom himself is going to call." Mr. Abramoff appeared to be referring to Mr. DeLay's return to Washington after the Fourth of July holiday.
Boulanger senses shadiness? He'll stop asking Rudy about the $25,000 contribution from a lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig--that's going into a charity account that's doesn't do any lobbying? I love Rudy's cryptic reply about Boulanger's "senses are good." Did Rudy ask "Leadership" if this was a money laundering deal? Is "Leadership" DeLay?
Incredible.
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