Sen. Dorgan Returns Tribes'
Donations
Yahoo News/AP
By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer
December 13, 2005
WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the Senate committee investigating Jack
Abramoff's Indian lobbying is returning $67,000 in donations in response to
Associated Press reports that he collected tribal money around the time he took
actions favorable to those of Abramoff clients.
Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., said Tuesday that
while he never met Abramoff and didn't take any actions at the lobbyist's
behest, he nonetheless wants to return the money to avoid any appearance that
tribal money was directed to him by the controversial lobbyist.
"Even though those contributions were legal and fully reported as required
by law, I will not knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is
even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action
Mr. Abramoff might have taken," the senator said.
Dorgan is the senior Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that
has spent more than a year investigating alleged fraud in Abramoff's
representation of Indian tribes, which were charged tens of millions of dollars
in lobbying fees between 2001 and 2004.
AP reported in three stories over the last month that Dorgan did not
disclose during the probe that he took actions favorable to Abramoff's tribal
clients, often around the time he collected donations from Abramoff's firm or
clients.
For instance, Dorgan:
_Used Abramoff's arena skybox in March 2001 to raise money, letting one of
Abramoff's tribes foot the bill. The senator says he didn't know at the time
that Abramoff leased the box. He recently reimbursed that money.
_Persuaded Congress in the fall 2003 to press government regulators to
decide, after decades of delay, whether the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of
Massachusetts deserved federal recognition. Dorgan met with the tribe's
representatives and collected at least $11,500 in political donations from the
Abramoff partner representing the Mashpee around the time of the help.
_Collected $20,000 from Abramoff's firm and tribes about the time he wrote a
letter in 2002 urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund a school
construction program that Abramoff's clients and other tribes wanted. The
letter mentioned one of Abramoff's tribes.
The Coushatta tribe of Louisiana told AP that Abramoff directed them to
donate $5,000 to Dorgan's leadership political action committee just a few
weeks after the 2002 letter was sent. "Because of that report, I have returned
all contributions to my campaign committee and my leadership political action
committee from tribes represented by Mr. Abramoff's law firm and from
individuals employed by his law firm during the time he was at the firm," he
said.
The return of the money was first reported in Tuesday editions of The Forum
in Fargo, N.D.
The most recent reports on file with the
Federal Election Commission show Dorgan's campaign had $660,920 in cash on hand
as of Sept. 30 while his Great Plains Leadership Fund PAC had $43,909 on hand
as of June 30.
The office of Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), R-Mont., another
lawmaker named in the AP stories, said Tuesday he has no plans to return the
$150,000 he got from Abramoff sources because he already has spent the
money.
Meanwhile, a government watchdog group, Democracy 21, asked the Justice
Department inspector general to monitor the criminal investigation into
Abramoff's dealings with the Bush administration and Congress to make sure
there is no meddling. "It is essential that ... any decisions about pursuing
criminal prosecutions in this matter be free from any political interference,"
Democracy 21 said in its letter.
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