Top Republican lobbyist turns state’s evidence in Washington corruption scandal

In return for this cooperation, the Justice Department has agreed to request a sentence of between nine and eleven years in prison for Abramoff, and will allow him to serve concurrently the seven-year term he is expected to receive after he pleads guilty to separate fraud charges concerning his purchase of a Florida company that operated casino gaming boats.

The fallout from Abramoff’s plea bargain is expected to be far-ranging. Various estimates in the media put the number of congressmen, congressional aides and Bush administration officials who could be implicated in the vast web of bribery and fraud surrounding Abramoff at between eight and several dozen.

Regardless of the exact number of indictments, convictions or resignations produced by the Abramoff affair, its basic significance is what it reveals about the essence of official American politics, in which corporate lobbyists buy and sell congressmen and government officials, and the entire political system functions to enrich the wealthiest one percent of the American population.

Abramoff is only the most egregious of the corporate influence-peddlers who now number more than 20,000 in Washington. Under terms of his plea agreement, the former Republican operative will disgorge $25 million in funds swindled from clients, mainly Indian tribes whose interests he claimed to represent before Congress and the Department of the Interior—especially in the struggle for lucrative casino gambling licenses. He will also pay $1.7 million in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions, Abramoff has directed more than $4.4 million over the past six years to various candidates and campaign committees. While Abramoff and his various shell companies contributed exclusively to Republicans, much of the money provided by clients like the Indian tribes went to Democrats and Republicans in nearly equal amounts.

The Indian tribes were defrauded on a colossal scale, as Abramoff collected large fees from them while directing their business to the public relations firm run by his crony, Michael Scanlon. The latter was formerly the spokesman for the congressional office of Tom DeLay, who, until recently, was the Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives. Scanlon was Abramoff’s secret partner, kicking back to Abramoff about half of all the billings he received from the tribes.

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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/abra-j05.shtml