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August 12, 2005
Abramoff Back on Page 1
Things had gone quiet in the ongoing saga of fallen GOP super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. After weeks of stinging headlines and juicy details about Abramoff extorting an Indian tribe, lobbying for sweatshop owners, and wining and dining powerful Congressional Republicans -- including a certain local leader in the U.S. House of Representatives -- the story had cooled off, as the press turned to Terri Schiavo, Karl Rove and Cindy Sheehan.
That certain local Congressman even seemed to be enjoying a bit of badly needed image rehabilitation among constituents, as he had a miraculous change of heart about public transit in Houston, delivered some pork for NASA, and opened a foster care home in the district. Motives aside, Houstonians benefited, and for that we're glad, but the whole episode has had a whiff of desperation around it.
The respite for both men is over. Mr. Abramoff was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Florida on 5 counts of fraud, surrounding a cruise-ship business deal gone bad.
One must now wonder, was our local Congressman's image rehabilitation effort designed to undo damage already done, or to establish stronger sea legs for what's coming next? While he's said "get thee away" to Mr. Abramoff for present purposes, the two were tight until things went bad. In short, Mr. Abramoff knows a lot, and facing federal prison time can have a remarkable loosening effect on the lips.
The curtain has risen on Act II of this drama.
Posted by houtopia at August 12, 2005 08:28 AM