Archive: Abramoff Scandal
Letters Paint Picture Of 'Humble' Abramoff
After more than two years at a federal prison facility in Cumberland, Md., Jack Abramoff is humble, remorseful and in the midst of the Jewish spiritual process known as "tshuvah" to apologize for his sins, according to 95 letters prepared by friends, family members and religious leaders in support of a reduction in his sentence of nearly six years.
By Derek Kravitz | August 28, 2008; 07:19 PM ET | Comments (21)
Justice Dept Seeks Reduced Abramoff Sentence
Both prosecutors and defense lawyers are seeking to reduce the sentence of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff because of his cooperation with federal investigators.
By The Editors | August 27, 2008; 07:11 PM ET | Comments (19)
Abramoff Associate Avoids Halfway House
Italia Federici, 38, was sentenced to 60 days in a halfway house. (Melina Mara/twp - Twp). Italia Federici, a figure in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal who acted as a conduit for Abramoff's dealings with the top ranks of the Interior Department, will not have to spend time in...
By Derek Kravitz | August 5, 2008; 11:03 AM ET | Comments (1)
Abramoff Ex-Partner Gets Sentence Reduced
Jack Abramoff, the disgraced former GOP lobbyist who pleaded guilty for his role in a federal influence-peddling scandal, has yet to be sentenced on those charges. He is serving prison time, though, in another case involving an ill-fated Florida casino boat business, as is his former partner, Adam Kidan. The...
By The Editors | June 25, 2008; 05:52 PM ET | Comments (0)
How Abramoff Pulled White House Strings
A rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes string pulling that allowed disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff to negotiate the firing of a State Department official is examined today by The Post's R. Jeffrey Smith. Abramoff, now serving a nearly six-year federal prison sentence for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, and his colleagues...
By Derek Kravitz | June 19, 2008; 03:43 PM ET | Comments (3)
Big Setback for Federal Abramoff Task Force
A federal appeals court today threw out some charges and ordered a new trial for David Safavian, the first Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Safavian, the former chief of staff for the General Services Administration, was convicted of lying to investigators about his relationship with...
By The Editors | June 17, 2008; 11:58 AM ET | Comments (0)
House Panel Approves Abramoff Report
After little debate and few corrections, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform this afternoon approved a 33-page report documenting the ties between disgraced uberlobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House. The committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has pressed for two years to determine the links between...
By Derek Kravitz | June 12, 2008; 06:01 PM ET | Comments (0)
Abramoff Scandal Reaches To Albany
Federal agents yesterday raided the offices of a New York congressman tied to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, as federal officials prepare for the former Republican power broker to be sentenced. Files and computers were collected Tuesday from Powers & Company, a Albany, N.Y., lobbying firm, The Albany Times Union first...
By Derek Kravitz | June 11, 2008; 07:12 PM ET | Comments (0)
Abramoff Sentencing Closer
Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, imprisoned for a fraud case in Florida, have asked a federal judge to sentence the former Republican power broker in September for his actions in the Washington lobbying scandal, according to documents filed in federal court. Abramoff is currently serving...
By The Editors | June 10, 2008; 02:54 PM ET | Comments (0)
Abramoff Had White House Juice, Report Says
A congressional investigation has found that lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced some actions by the White House by lavishing exclusive sports tickets and meals on political staffers in the executive mansion, but the panel has uncovered no indication that President Bush had a role in the actions, reports The Post's James...
By The Editors | June 9, 2008; 02:35 PM ET | Comments (0)
Another Hill Staffer Caught in Abramoff Net
It has been more than four years since The Post first reported on the questionable activities of now-disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The indictments are still coming. In the latest case, John C. Albaugh, a former chief of staff to a senior GOP lawmaker, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit...
By The Editors | June 3, 2008; 08:24 AM ET | Comments (0)
McCain's Man, The Rebel and Abramoff
Charles R. Black Jr., a key lobbyist for presidential candidate John McCain, has ties to a brutal Angolan guerrilla leader (Washington Post). John McCain's man in Washington, lobbyist Charles R. Black Jr., has ties to a brutal Angolan guerrilla leader, as The Post reports today, but he's not the...
By Derek Kravitz | May 22, 2008; 01:08 PM ET | Comments (0)
With Abramoff in Jail, Saipan Loses Its Fight
One of disgraced former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's biggest clients -- the tiny Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific just north of Guam -- has lost its 20-year fight to remain exempt from U.S. immigration and labor laws. The islands played a small, if somewhat noticeable, role in a...
By The Editors | May 8, 2008; 06:54 PM ET | Comments (11)
Justice Official Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case
A former Justice Department official today admitted accepting more than $4,000 worth of meals and sports tickets from Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for helping a variety of Abramoff's clients, including a Mississippi Indian tribe seeking federal money to build a prison, reports The Post's James Grimaldi. Robert E....
By The Editors | April 22, 2008; 02:55 PM ET | Comments (15)
Latest Abramoff Casualty: Congressman Doolittle
Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) said today he will retire at the end of his term, becoming the latest congressional casualty of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Doolittle has been under pressure from his party to step down ever since the FBI raided the congressman's Virginia home in April looking...
By The Editors | January 10, 2008; 05:56 PM ET | Comments (55)
Probe of Former Senator Is Dropped
One of the lawmakers who came under scrutiny in the public corruption investigation stemming from the activities of lobbyist Jack Abramoff will not face federal criminal charges, The Post's Susan Schmidt reports. The Justice Department has informed former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) that it has closed its investigation of...
By The Editors | January 3, 2008; 06:54 PM ET | Comments (0)
Abramoff Scandal Figures Sentenced
The woman who was lobbyist Jack Abramoff's conduit to the top ranks of the Interior Department was sentenced today to two months in a halfway house and four years' probation. Italia Federici, the one-time president of a Republican environmental group, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to tax evasion and...
By The Editors | December 14, 2007; 05:58 PM ET | Comments (3)
Witness for the Prosecution
Italia Federici, one-time president of a Republican environmental group, provided the government "substantial assistance" in sending former Interior deputy secretary J. Steven Griles to jail for 10 months earlier this year, according to a filing today by the Justice Department. In return, federal prosecutors are recommending that she be...
By The Editors | December 11, 2007; 07:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
Ruling Could Impede Probes of Congressmen
The Post's Susan Schmidt writes that the Justice Department fears that a little-noticed aspect of a recent appellate court decision could sharply limit investigations of members of Congress and hamper ongoing corruption probes. There are several congressmen under investigation in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and law enforcement...
By The Editors | November 21, 2007; 09:31 AM ET | Comments (0)
