The full story of JD Hayworth’s involvement with Jack Abramoff has been told, just not by the man who would keep the money, violate the law, and pay his wife with over $100,000 of the tainted funds. That would be JD himself.
So in case the truth is important, minus the self-promoting, defense based distorted accounts presented by Team Hayworth in hopes no one will notice….take a look.
Hayworth Worked With Abramoff Associate Kevin Ring To Pass An Amendment That Benefited One Of Ring’s Clients, Even As Abramoff And His Team Were Under Investigation By Sen. McCain And The Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Lobbyist Kevin A. Ring sat silently as Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) displayed e-mails and canceled checks to support allegations that Ring and lobbyist Jack Abramoff inflated fees and concocted invoices to defraud their client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. … Ring is one of more than a dozen lobbyists who were members of ‘Team Abramoff,’ the tight-knit group who worked under Abramoff when he was at the lobbying helm of the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig LLP and, before that, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP. … For the Choctaws, Ring has tried to win support for an amendment by Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) that would exempt tribal casinos from labor laws on the grounds that the tribes are sovereign governments. … According to records obtained by The Post, Ring last month coordinated with Hayworth’s office on a letter to members of Congress from Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin seeking support for the tribal labor amendment.” (James V. Grimaldi, “Lobbyists, Clients Undeterred By Scandal,” The Washington Post, 6/26/05)
Ring Is Currently Being Re-Tried, With A Judge Ruling Just Four Days Ago That The Prosecution Against Him Can Continue.
A federal judge on Thursday let stand charges of honest-services fraud against a key figure in the Abramoff lobbying scandal – marking a victory for Justice Department prosecutors in the first high-profile challenge to one of the government’s most widely used, yet recently narrowed, anti-corruption statutes. … Judge Huvelle denied a motion for acquittal in the case filed by Mr. Ring, whose efforts were closely watched in legal circles since seven of the 10 charges he faces related to honest-services fraud.” (Ben Conery, “Judge Approves Retrial In ‘Honest-Services Fraud’ Case,” The Washington Times, 8/6/10)
Hayworth Also Lobbied The Department Of The Interior On Behalf Of One Of Abramoff’s Clients.
The pattern of donations and letters matches a similar Abramoff effort reported by AP last week. In that instance, 33 lawmakers wrote letters between 2001 and 2004 pressing the Interior Department to reject a rival Indian casino that Abramoff’s clients wanted defeated, while collecting more than $830,000. The Senate and House ethics committees were asked Tuesday to investigate. As they lobbied to win school funding, Abramoff and his team kept a tally of congressional assistance. One e-mail noted a Dorgan staffer planned to contact Interior to discuss the issue. A top agency official ‘is actively trying to kill’ the funding, Abramoff was told. That e-mail identified a half-dozen letters written or signed by 14 lawmakers on behalf of the tribes. One was written Jan. 23, 2003 by Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Republican Rep. Dave Camp, all of Michigan, on the Saginaw’s behalf. … Another letter, according to Abramoff’s e-mails, came from Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee and Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who run a congressional group on tribal issues. Hayworth got about $64,520 and Kildee $10,500 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004. ‘I can assure you the letter was not related to the contributions he had accepted previously or following that letter. He does not do quid pro quo business,’ Hayworth spokesman Larry VanHoose said.” (John Solomon and Sharon Theimer, “Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Money, Collected Donations,” The Associated Press, 11/24/05)
Hayworth Donated The $2,250 He Received Directly From Abramoff To Charity.
Abramoff directly gave a total of $2,250 to Hayworth’s campaign through separate payments in 1998 and 1999, the congressman said. Hayworth donated that amount to the Salvation Army’s Hurricane Katrina relief fund.” (“Hayworth Named As Target In Abramoff Probe,”)
However, Hayworth Refused To Return The Tainted Money From Abramoff’s Clients, Even After Other Politicians Announced They Would Give Their Contributions Back.
With four other politicians returning more than $250,000 in recent days to Indian tribes and others connected with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pressures have mounted for Hayworth and other recipients to follow suit. [Hayworth chief of staff Joe] Eule said that the Republican congressman has received campaign contributions totaling $150,000 from tribes affiliated at one time or another with the former lobbyist but that the donations had nothing to do with actions that have put Abramoff at the center of Senate and criminal investigations into possible influence-buying.” (Jon Kamman and Billy House, “Hayworth Will Keep Tribal Gifts Despite Scandal,”
