dirty
EOG Master
By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
<!-- Sidebar2 Table --><!-- startclickprintexclude --><!-- endclickprintexclude --><!-- plsfield:STORY -->WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada began receiving campaign contributions from at least four American Indian tribes only after they hired Jack Abramoff, Republicans charged this week in an effort to tie the Senate Democratic leader to the disgraced lobbyist.
On Thursday, Reid shrugged off questions about money he received from tribal clients of Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last month to three felonies after being accused of exchanging meals, travel and gifts for political favors.
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</NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- endclickprintexclude -->"I've said that I received money from Indians in the past and will continue to do so," Reid said.
Asked what he would say about tribes who did not give him money until after hiring Abramoff, Reid said, "What I've said all along."
The National Republican Senatorial Committee this week revived a charge that Reid received more than $50,000 from four tribes with gaming interests between 2001 and 2004 after they hired Abramoff. The Nevadan had received no money from those tribes before then, Republicans said.
The donations included:
? $19,500 from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of California.
? $5,000 from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.
? $7,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
? $19,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
"Harry Reid's ties to Jack Abramoff are too substantial for him to dismiss with Washington, D.C., denial and hypocritical accusations," Republican spokesman Tucker Bounds said.
Reid has acknowledged receiving $61,000 from tribal clients and lobbying colleagues of Abramoff. He has said the money was legally raised, that he has done nothing improper and does not plan to refund the donations.
An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group, shows that Indian gaming tribes as a general proposition increased their political donations substantially since the late 1990s, spreading money wider and deeper among members of Congress.
In the 1998 election cycle, tribes donated $1.5 million. In the 2004 cycle donations had increased to $7.2 million, the center found.
Gaming tribes "didn't break $2 million until 2000, and then it started going up," said center spokesman Massie Ritsch. "How much was due to Abramoff's influence, I don't know, He did not represent all the tribes."
The American Prospect, a self-described liberal publication, commissioned a study of donations by Indian tribes that Abramoff represented compared to tribes who were not clients.
The study, performed by campaign finance specialists Dwight L. Morris and Associates, suggests "it's likely that Abramoff had little impact on giving to Democrats," the publication said in a Jan. 27 report.
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STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
<!-- Sidebar2 Table --><!-- startclickprintexclude --><!-- endclickprintexclude --><!-- plsfield:STORY -->WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada began receiving campaign contributions from at least four American Indian tribes only after they hired Jack Abramoff, Republicans charged this week in an effort to tie the Senate Democratic leader to the disgraced lobbyist.
On Thursday, Reid shrugged off questions about money he received from tribal clients of Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last month to three felonies after being accused of exchanging meals, travel and gifts for political favors.
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Asked what he would say about tribes who did not give him money until after hiring Abramoff, Reid said, "What I've said all along."
The National Republican Senatorial Committee this week revived a charge that Reid received more than $50,000 from four tribes with gaming interests between 2001 and 2004 after they hired Abramoff. The Nevadan had received no money from those tribes before then, Republicans said.
The donations included:
? $19,500 from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of California.
? $5,000 from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.
? $7,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
? $19,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
"Harry Reid's ties to Jack Abramoff are too substantial for him to dismiss with Washington, D.C., denial and hypocritical accusations," Republican spokesman Tucker Bounds said.
Reid has acknowledged receiving $61,000 from tribal clients and lobbying colleagues of Abramoff. He has said the money was legally raised, that he has done nothing improper and does not plan to refund the donations.
An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group, shows that Indian gaming tribes as a general proposition increased their political donations substantially since the late 1990s, spreading money wider and deeper among members of Congress.
In the 1998 election cycle, tribes donated $1.5 million. In the 2004 cycle donations had increased to $7.2 million, the center found.
Gaming tribes "didn't break $2 million until 2000, and then it started going up," said center spokesman Massie Ritsch. "How much was due to Abramoff's influence, I don't know, He did not represent all the tribes."
The American Prospect, a self-described liberal publication, commissioned a study of donations by Indian tribes that Abramoff represented compared to tribes who were not clients.
The study, performed by campaign finance specialists Dwight L. Morris and Associates, suggests "it's likely that Abramoff had little impact on giving to Democrats," the publication said in a Jan. 27 report.
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