DeLay Tried, Failed to Aid Abramoff Client

And here's another episode of The Tom DeLay Comedy Hour! They are coming so fast and furious, can we ever keep up with them? This is from Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay tried to pressure the Bush administration into shutting down an Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted closed — shortly after a tribal client of Abramoff's donated to a DeLay political action committee, The Associated Press has learned.

Carlos Bullock, left, and Herbert Johnson Sr., both members of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas tribal council, look around in the building where the tribe's casino was once located Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006 in Livingston, Texas. Former House majority leader Tom DeLay tried to pressure the Bush administration into shutting down the Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted closed shortly after a tribal client of Abramoff's donated to a political action committee DeLay launched, The Associated Press has learned. DeLay, R-Texas, demanded closure of the casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in a Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Texas Republican demanded closure of the casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in a Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Associated Press obtained the letter from a source who did not want to be identified because of an ongoing federal investigation of Abramoff and members of Congress.

"We feel that the Department of Justice needs to step in and investigate the inappropriate and illegal actions by the tribe, its financial backers, if any, and the casino equipment vendors," said the letter, which was also signed by Texas Republican Reps. Pete Sessions, John Culberson and Kevin Brady.

Sessions' political action committee received $6,500 from Abramoff's tribal clients within three months after signing the letter. A spokeswoman for Sessions said he considers gaming a state issue. She said the tribe was circumventing state law and Sessions signed the letter in defense of Texas laws.

Ashcroft never took action on the request. The Texas casino was closed the following year by a federal court ruling in a 1999 lawsuit filed by the state's attorney general, John Cornyn, now a U.S. senator.

Kevin Madden, DeLay's spokesman, said DeLay's actions "were based on policy considerations and their effect on his constituents. Mr. DeLay always makes decisions with the best interests of his constituents in mind."

So Tom DeLay sent a letter to Attorney General Ashcroft, asking for the Justice Department to investigate "inappropriate and illegal actions" against the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, and to close the casino there. Now here's the real kicker in this story:

The letter was sent at least two weeks after the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a tribal client of Abramoff's, contributed $1,000 to Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC. That political action committee is at the center of the campaign finance investigation that yielded money laundering charges against DeLay and forced him temporarily out of the majority leader's job.

The letter also was sent to Interior Secretary Gale Norton; the U.S. attorney for Texas' eastern district; the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who took over when Bush was elected president.

Its author appears to have been unfamiliar with the Alabama-Coushatta. It said the tribe was based in "Livingstone," and that the tribe had opened a casino "against the wishes of the citizens of Alabama." The tribe's reservation is in Livingston, Texas.

At the time of the letter, Abramoff was working for the Louisiana Coushatta and had portrayed the Alabama-Coushatta's Houston-area casino as a threat to his client's casino.

So Abramoff wanted to have the Alabama-Coushatta tribe's casino closed down because it was taking business away from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians casino. Abramoff was also working with the Louisiana Coushatta tribe, and was probably telling the Louisiana Coushatta tribe that the Alabama Coushatta's casino was a threat to the Louisiana Coushatta's casino. In other words, Abramoff was pitting two Indian tribes' casinos--Mississippi Choctaw and the Louisiana Coushatta tribes--against the Alabama-Coushatta tribe's casino, claiming that the Alabama Coushatta's casino would hurt the other two casinos' business. Well, the Mississippi and Louisiana tribes didn't want that, so they hired Abramoff to help lobby against the Alabama tribe's casino. And Abramoff goes to his friend Tom DeLay to help change the legislation regarding this matter. DeLay kicks off the letter writing campaign to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. That matter has been posted here and here. But now we've got this revelation that DeLay was also targeting Ashcroft to shut down the Alabama Coushatta tribe's casino. And DeLay succeeded. Consider this:

The Texas casino was closed the following year by a federal court ruling in a 1999 lawsuit filed by the state's attorney general, John Cornyn, now a U.S. senator.

Carlos Bullock, left, and Herbert Johnson Sr., both members of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas tribal council, walk through a parking lot near the building where the tribe's casino was once located Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006 in Livingston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

But there's more. Abramoff was also playing off all three Indian tribes, and collecting lobbying fees from all three tribes. We know that Abramoff was working for the Louisiana Coushatta and Mississippi Choctaw tribes. But Abramoff also ended up working for the Alabama Coushatta tribe as well:

The Alabama-Coushatta were never clients of Abramoff or Scanlon. But Abramoff targeted the tribe in his work for the Louisiana Coushatta, first trying to shut down their casino and then trying to become a lobbyist for the Alabama-Coushatta.

He and Scanlon were in a panic a month before the letter when the Alabama-Coushatta's chief said the tribe was opening a casino.

In e-mail, they discussed getting an official to threaten to jail the tribal chairman.

According to court documents, Abramoff also used the Alabama-Coushatta to carry out one of his bribery schemes.

Federal investigators have alleged that Representative 1 — later identified as Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio — agreed in June 2002 to introduce and pass a legislative provision that would eliminate a federal ban against commercial gaming for the Alabama-Coushatta "at Abramoff's request."

Abramoff pleaded guilty to telling Ney in June 2002 that a client, the Tigua tribe of Texas, was raising money for Ney's trip to Scotland. The Tigua had turned down Abramoff's request for the money.

Alabama-Coushatta Chairman Ronnie Thomas and McClamrach Battise, a tribal council member, said the tribe wrote a $50,000 check to Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation after the tribe was approached by the Tigua. But the tribe was not told the charity belonged to Abramoff. The foundation cashed the tribe's check on July 24, 2002, the same day the Alabama-Coushatta closed its casino.

"We never knew Abramoff was in the picture," Battise said.

Carlos Hisa, lieutenant governor of the Tiguas, said he did not tell the Alabama-Coushatta that Abramoff wanted the money.

"We told them it was for a golfing trip and certain individuals from Congress were going to go that were going to help us with our cause," Hisa said. "Abramoff had told us even from the very beginning the entire thing was top secret. Only a few could know because the language was going to be sneaked in."

Documents show Abramoff hoped to eventually be on the tribe's payroll, making millions for helping them reopen the casino DeLay wanted shut down. Abramoff was pressing a Tigua representative to get the Alabama-Coushatta to sign over 10 percent of the tribe's future gaming revenues to a "foundation" he would later designate.

Frederick Petti, an attorney for the Alabama-Coushatta, has filed a demand letter for return of its $50,000 and damages with Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's former employer.

Herbert Johnson Sr., a member of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas tribal council, stands near the entrance to the building where the tribe's casino was once located Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006 in Livingston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

So Abramoff was working with DeLay to shut down the Alabama Coushatta tribe's casino, on behalf of the Mississippi Choctaw and Louisiana Coushatta tribes, then was turning around and selling his lobbying services to the Alabama Coushatta tribe to help them "re-open" the casino. And while he was at it, Abramoff was asking the Tigua tribe to get the Alabama Coushatta tribe to hire Abramoff as a lobbyist. Abramoff was playing everyone off of each other.

It is incredible.