Abramoff Returns

Abramoff Returns

Jack Abramoff lives! When’s the last time you heard his name? Washington had almost forgotten the disgraced lobbyist.

Luckily the Secret Service hadn’t. New logs released over the weekend show that Abramoff visited the White House a half-dozen times in the early days of the Bush Administration. Previously the White House claimed Abramoff had only been there twice. But the Justice Department explained that the Secret Service had quote “unexpectedly discovered” Abramoff’s other appointments.

Still, something is missing from this picture: the Congressmen Abramoff bought and used.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Jack Abramoff lives! When’s the last time you heard his name? Washington had almost forgotten the disgraced lobbyist.

Luckily the Secret Service hadn’t. New logs released over the weekend show that Abramoff visited the White House a half-dozen times in the early days of the Bush Administration. Previously the White House claimed Abramoff had only been there twice. But the Justice Department explained that the Secret Service had quote “unexpectedly discovered” Abramoff’s other appointments.

Still, something is missing from this picture: the Congressmen Abramoff bought and used.

When Abramoff plead guilty to bribery charges last January, press reports indicated that over a dozen Congressmen might be implicated. The Wall Street Journal put the number at sixty. Since then, not one has been charged. Aides have copped deals. A top Bush Administration official, David Safavian, was recently convicted for lying to investigators.

But I’m still waiting for the top guns to fall on Capitol Hill.

Your support makes stories like this possible

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

Ad Policy
x