| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Fredric L. Rice" |
| Date: |
03 Nov 2005 04:26:35 AM |
| Object: |
Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed felonies |
From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/2/05:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/1105/02reed.html
Senator: Reed helped to conceal Indian payments
By ALAN JUDD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ralph Reed helped orchestrate an effort to conceal payments he
received from the gambling revenues of a Louisiana Indian tribe,
according to a U.S. Senator speaking at a hearing in Washington.
Reed directed that his compensation from the Coushatta Tribe of
Louisiana be routed through "a variety of entities ... because of his
concern about being publicly associated with gambling money," U.S.
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said as the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
opened its latest in a series of hearings into lobbying fees charged
to tribes that own casinos.
Dorgan said documents to be released later today will show that a
$400,000 payment went from the Coushatta tribe to a tribal vendor to a
foundation associated with Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and,
finally, to Reed's Duluth-based consulting firm, Century Strategies.
Reed and others involved in the effort knew that the money came
directly from the Coushatta casino revenues, Dorgan said, citing a
tribal lawyer.
A former Coushatta official later testified that the tribe "has one
and only one business."
The accusation would establish for the first time that Reed -- a
former Christian Coalition leader now running for lieutenant governor
of Georgia -- knowingly accepted consulting fees directly from gaming
revenues.
Reed's campaign declined to comment until the hearing is over later
today.
Since his involvement with Abramoff, the target of several
congressional and criminal investigations, became known in 2004, Reed
-- an avowed gambling opponent -- repeatedly has said he accepted no
money from gambling income.
That distinction has become important to his campaign, which has
relied in part on his connections to the Christian evangelical
community.
Earlier revelations indicated that Reed worked as a subcontractor to
his friend Abramoff's law firms on behalf of gambling interests
seeking to limit competition.
Reed has said he was trying to stop the spread of legalized gambling.
Along with his work for the Coushatta tribe and the Mississippi Band
of Choctaw Indians, Reed helped kill a proposed ban on Internet
gambling on behalf of eLottery Inc., an Abramoff client that benefits
from online wagering.
Reed has not been accused of wrongdoing.
He has not been called to testify in the hearing.
Abramoff and one of his partners, Michael Scanlon, are the main target
of the hearings, televised nationally on C-Span.
Early testimony in today's hearing indicated that Reed performed more
work for the Coushatta tribe than previously known.
A former member of the Coushatta tribal council, William Worfel,
testified that when another tribe planned to open a competing casino
on the Louisiana-Texas border, Scanlon proposed using Christian groups
to fight the new facility.
Scanlon recruited Reed to help with grassroots efforts, Worfel said.
In questioning a former outside lawyer for the Coushatta tribe,
Kathryn Van Hoof, Dorgan asked about an e-mail she received from
Scanlon outlining proposed grassroots efforts to block competing
casinos.
Scanlon suggested urging "the wackos" who listen to Christian leaders
to help block the Coushatta competition.
Van Hoof said Abramoff asked if the tribe had another entity through
which it could pay Reed's firm.
It did not, she said.
But a friend of a tribal council member offered to use his company to
funnel the money to Reed.
"It was going to Ralph Reed," Worfel, the former tribal council
member, testified.
"The council sat there and approved it."
Dorgan asked, "Was Mr. Reed aware of where the money came from?"
"He should know," Worfel answered.
The committee's chairman, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said six
tribes paid more than $66 million to a company run by Scanlon and its
affiliates, plus millions more in lobbying fees, donations to entities
controlled by Abramoff and "dubious" charitable and political
contributions.
Considering how little the tribes received for the money, McCain said,
"some may say the payments were almost criminal."
The Senate investigation has unearthed evidence of "fraud and
deception," Dorgan said, revealing "a seamy side of American politics
and influence-peddling."
---
http://www.ElmerFudd.US/ http://www.rightard.org/ http://www.thedarkwind.org/
One doesn't have to be a Republican to hate Canadians. - Rita Refugee
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
