Washington – Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients’ behalf.
But Abramoff didn’t work only with Republicans.
He oversaw a team of two dozen lobbyists at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that included many Democrats.
Moreover, the campaign contributions that Abramoff directed from the tribes went to Democratic as well as Republican legislators.
Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill’s most powerful Democrats, including Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., the top two Senate Democrats at the time, Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., then- leader of the House Democrats, and the two lawmakers in charge of raising funds for their Democratic colleagues in both chambers, according to a Washington Post study. Reid succeeded Daschle as Democratic leader after Daschle lost his Senate seat last November.
Democrats are hoping to gain political advantage from federal and Senate investigations of Abramoff’s activities and from the embattled lobbyist’s former ties to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Yet many Democratic lawmakers also benefited from Abram off’s political operation, a fact that could hinder the Democrats’ efforts to turn the lobbyist’s troubles into a winning partisan issue.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Abramoff controversy impact both parties,” said Tony Raymond, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which gathers lobbying and campaign-finance information.
Democratic lawmakers who responded to inquiries for this article said that any money they received from the tribes had nothing to do with Abramoff. They were quick to say they did not know the man.
Federal investigators are examining the millions of dollars in lobbying and public relations fees that Abramoff obtained from the tribes.
They are also looking into his dealings with members of Congress and their staffs, lawyers involved in the inquiry said.
Most lobbying firms here are bipartisan to give their clients access to key lawmakers of both major parties.
Abramoff’s group was no exception. Although he was recognized as a Republican lobbyist who was close to DeLay and other party leaders, Abramoff was careful to add at least two Democratic lobbyists to his group during his five years at Greenberg Traurig. By the end, seven of his lobbyists were Democrats.
“Lobbying shops typically direct contributions to both parties because they want contacts on both sides of the aisle,” said David Hart, a public-policy professor at George Mason University. “Lawmakers in the minority can also have a lot of clout.”
