Firm knew Abramoff was paid by ex-DeLay aide before scandal broke, associates say

[Spider]

oops .......
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Firm_k...with_0102.html

Originally Posted by Raw Story

Officials at the lawfirm that employed indicted conservative lobbyist Jack Abramoff may have misled in public statements when speaking about what they knew about his role in a massive lobbying scandal and when they knew it, former Abramoff associates say.

Greenberg Traurig’s Connecticut Avenue offices in Washington provided the stables for a coterie of aggressive lobbyists who wooed members of Congress with lavish donations, skybox suites and Scottish golfing jaunts. The firm said they first learned of Abramoff’s misadventures when they appeared in the pages of The Washington Post.

Those familiar with the sequence of events say this is false. They maintain the company’s top executives learned of Abramoff’s financial relationship with Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-TX) former aide Michael Scanlon when they represented Abramoff in a bankruptcy trial.
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Greenberg Traurig attorneys took up Abramoff’s defense when he was sued by lenders after a fleet of riverboat casinos he purchased went bankrupt. As part of the SunCruz casino bankruptcy suit, lawyers at the firm obtained copies of Abramoff’s tax returns, former associates tell RAW STORY. They say the returns showed he had received tens of millions of dollars from Scanlon—money investigators later said had been bilked from Indian tribes.

The firm took no public action. On Feb. 22, 2005, the Washington Post reported that Abramoff and Scanlon had received at least $45 million from Indian tribes.

Five days later, a Greenberg Traurig statement asserted Abramoff had resigned after he "disclosed to the firm for the first time personal transactions and related conduct which are unacceptable to the firm.”

Jill Perry, a spokeswoman for Greenberg Traurig, did not return a phone call or email seeking comment. Andrew Blum, Abramoff’s spokesman, and Stephen Braga, Scanlon’s attorney, did not return requests for comment Monday.

Abramoff was indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with his purchase of the riverboat casinos in August 2005. He is expected to reach a plea agreement this week to testify against members of Congress and their staff relating to legislative favors he got in exchange for campaign donations and other gifts. Scanlon pled guilty in November and is cooperating with prosecutors.

One former associate said the firm knew long in advance that Abramoff had received large sums of money from Scanlon.

The individual doesn’t believe the firm knew the payments might be considered evidence of wrongdoing, and added that many individuals working at Greenberg held outside business interests. Moreover, it is not known whether Greenberg executives knew that the money was related to Abramoff's tribal lobbying work.

“It was common knowledge that shareholders in the firm had outside business interests,” the former Abramoff associate said.

A second former associate questioned whether the firm would have taken action against Abramoff had the story not made it into the Post. The Post reported this weekend that Scanlon met with Greenberg lawyers two months before Abramoff resigned.

Scanlon paid as consultant, report says

Those critical of the firm’s handling of the scandal also revealed that Scanlon was paid as a Greenberg consultant in 2001. They allege that firm had a tendency to defer to Abramoff, and that the firm sometimes relaxed screening of new employees in his favor.

An internal report, read to RAW STORY, is said to state the firm paid Scanlon for 721.8 hours in the first half of 2001 billed at a rate of $250 an hour. The report also stated that Scanlon billed 98 percent of those hours, and collected 92 percent of the hours billed. This would mean the firm collected roughly $166,000—though it leaves unclear how much Scanlon was actually paid.

Former associates question whether Greenberg officials are being candid when they say executives were “shocked” to discover Abramoff’s alleged illicit deeds. One former colleague said the firm has a history of “throwing the guy to the wolves and saying we’re not responsible.”

Abramoff hired in strategy to increase receipts

Before he was a pariah, Abramoff was Greenberg Traurig’s poster boy.

Upon his enlistment in 2001, Greenberg’s government affairs chairman said he planned to double the firm’s lobbying receipts, seeking to bring lobbying revenues to more than $9 million. A lawyer familiar with the firm told the trade magazine Influence at the time that Greenberg’s culture sought out aggressive talent.

"It’s a very entrepreneurial place," one lawyer familiar with the firm told Influence. "They do not have their noses in the air, so to speak. They don’t say ‘We don’t like this client’ or ‘We’re afraid of the image it may create.’"

With Abramoff, Greenberg Traurig did even better than they had hoped. The firm’s lobbying receipts leapt fourfold, from $3 million in 2000, to $16 million in 2001. At the peak in 2003, the firm grossed $26 million on lobbying alone.

The scandal hounding Abramoff isn’t the first the firm has faced. In 1998, the Federal Election Commission levied a $77,000 fine against Greenberg for knowingly soliciting illegal contributions from a foreign national. The fine given the German developer in the case, $323,000, was the largest of its kind ever assessed by the FEC.

Abramoff is currently under investigation by the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. In an earlier statement, Greenberg’s director of marketing and public affairs Jill Perry said his style was “antithetical” to the firm’s practices.

"Greenberg Traurig accepted Jack Abramoff's resignation from the firm, effective March 2, 2004, after Mr. Abramoff disclosed to the firm personal transactions and related conduct which are unacceptable to the firm and antithetical to the way we do business,” Perry asserted. “In addition, conduct and comments by Mr. Abramoff which have come to light since he left Greenberg Traurig are contrary to our firm's values and culture.”

“We are conducting a comprehensive internal investigation of these matters and are cooperating with all government investigations," she added. Pressed for more, Perry said the firm was constrained from commenting because of ongoing investigations.

[Dizlexus]

I want em to get to the bottom of the murder of the Cruise Line's former owner -- you know these Neo Cons have gone gangland on us.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

I want em to get to the bottom of the murder of the Cruise Line's former owner -- you know these Neo Cons have gone gangland on us.

what cruise line owner ... be carefull is W*GS is watching

[Dizlexus]

I'll find the story after dinner -- want to do so any way.

[W*GS]

The "neo-cons" and their "gangland" ways are still pikers compared to the Democrats and the Trial Lawyer's Association and their extremely lucrative shakedowns of business via class-action suits.

Millions in graft, bribes and corruption pale in comparison to the TLA's billions.

[Spider]

see told you W*GS was Watching .........he dont like bad things said about Republicans.......take this thread for example http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=26393 ........

[Dizlexus]

Originally Posted by §Pide®

see told you W*GS was Watching .........he dont like bad things said about Republicans.......take this thread for example http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=26393 ........

He's in for an intelectual ass whoop'n. I'm here and armed with facts that neo cons hate so bad they call you names for bringing them up. I don't have a prob with the Rep. party, I might be registered as a rebublican, but I HATE the BUSH Adm (a Kabal of Criminals).

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by §Pide®

see told you W*GS was Watching .........he dont like bad things said about Republicans.......take this thread for example

Yeah, yeah. I've said plenty of "bad things" about Republicans. Not my fault those years of sucking diesel fumes have damaged your brain, thus preventing you from reading what I actually write.

That said, Abramoff and his cabal are criminal scum who ought to be slammed into prison faster than Clinton can suck down a health shake. McCain and Feingold ought to get into the Big House faster, however.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

He's in for an intelectual ass whoop'n. I'm here and armed with facts that neo cons hate so bad they call you names for bringing them up. I don't have a prob with the Rep. party, I might be registered as a rebublican, but I HATE the BUSH Adm (a Kabal of Criminals).

I will get the popcorn ......let the ass beatings begin

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

He's in for an intelectual ass whoop'n.

Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

I don't have a prob with the Rep. party, I might be registered as a rebublican, but I HATE the BUSH Adm (a Kabal of Criminals).

Get in line. We already got quite a few Bush haters here.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by W*GS

Yeah, yeah. I've said plenty of "bad things" about Republicans. Not my fault those years of sucking diesel fumes have damaged your brain, thus preventing you from reading what I actually write.

My bad ...... one of the hazzards of my job ya know

That said, Abramoff and his cabal are criminal scum who ought to be slammed into prison faster than Clinton can suck down a health shake. McCain and Feingold ought to get into the Big House faster, however.

Sounding like a true Boulderite ...... Thats the Spirit ............

[Dizlexus]

Originally Posted by W*GS

The "neo-cons" and their "gangland" ways are still pikers compared to the Democrats and the Trial Lawyer's Association and their extremely lucrative shakedowns of business via class-action suits.

Millions in graft, bribes and corruption pale in comparison to the TLA's billions.

I suppose the trial lawyers are more corrupt and dangerous in your eyes than the industrial/military complex eh? That an illconcieved and baseless lawsuit is worse for us than an illconcieved and baseless war eh? Wanna refer to "cost" again? Do you really want to get into a pissing match about whether the dems are more corrupt than than a gaggle of lieing chicken hawks?

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

I suppose the trial lawyers are more corrupt and dangerous in your eyes than the industrial/military complex eh? That an illconcieved and baseless lawsuit is worse for us than an illconcieved and baseless war eh? Wanna refer to "cost" again? Do you really want to get into a pissing match about whether the dems are more corrupt than than a gaggle of lieing chicken hawks?

Read the first post in

http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=35525

for an example.

Also, the Dems are highly dependent, apparently, on the largesse of George Soros and a few very other very rich individuals. Considering that the Dems traditionally raise less money than the GOP, the importance of those few individuals in dictating Democratic policy is very significant. I suppose there are Democrats who don't mind that Soros et.al. basically support their party single-handedly (because they agree with Soros' broad political views), but to me those are the perfect ingredients for truly epic corruption. Never mind that the supposed "party of the people" is addicted to the tens of millions of dollars in "donations" from a very few very wealthy individuals.

[Spider]

Yeah W*GS far t oclever for me , I being a Democrat and all , Love the TLA , in fact , I have been trying to find away to connect you to Wyoming weather so I can sue you ........ any inside info you may want to share will help in my cause ........

[Dizlexus]

Originally Posted by W*GS

Read the first post in

http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=35525

for an example.

Also, the Dems are highly dependent, apparently, on the largesse of George Soros and a few very other very rich individuals. Considering that the Dems traditionally raise less money than the GOP, the importance of those few individuals in dictating Democratic policy is very significant. I suppose there are Democrats who don't mind that Soros et.al. basically support their party single-handedly (because they agree with Soros' broad political views), but to me those are the perfect ingredients for truly epic corruption. Never mind that the supposed "party of the people" is addicted to the tens of millions of dollars in "donations" from a very few very wealthy individuals.

First of all I believe you misrepresent the prominence of Sorros (I'll look for some numbers). Moreover, he attaches no strings to his contrabutions, which is well known, unlike the vast majority of Repub special interest and big biz money. Also, the Dems have recently dwarfed the Repubs in the # of small contributions recieved, which is just an interesting and unrelated point I wanted to flaunt incaes you are a Neo Con.

But the fact remains that it is a repub adm which lied us into a very stupid war and mismanaged our country with rampant cronyism and incompatance. It is they who are in up to their eyes with the likes of Haliburton, who have to defend the war profiteering as acts of liberation and the spreading of peace. It is they who have cloaked the government with suspicious secrecy. It is they who violate the constitution by suspending the Writ of Habeus Corpus (Pedia), by spying, and by userping the war powers of the Congress (the idiots). You speek of the potential for truly epic corruption but I am talking about truly epic corruption actualized. You can not tell me a poodle bites harder than a pit bull when there is a pitbull in the corner chewing on my severed leg!

[Dizlexus]

also, leaning on the tobbaco issue as evidence of Dem corruption is both weak and makes the issue way too over simple. I won't be baited by it. Is a seperate issue.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

also, leaning on the tobbaco issue as evidence of Dem corruption is both weak and makes the issue way too over simple. I won't be baited by it. Is a seperate issue.

you realy need to get a grip .... no way does anything the neo cons have done = Clinton getting a hummer from a fat chick ........

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

also, leaning on the tobbaco issue as evidence of Dem corruption is both weak and makes the issue way too over simple. I won't be baited by it. Is a seperate issue.

It's rather straightforward:

Dems use courts to de facto regulate tobacco industry (bypassing the legislature and violating the principle of separation of powers, and revealing their low views of the popular [i.e., elected by the people] branch of government);

TLA gets billions in "fees" as part of the above extortion of the tobacco industry;

TLA donates millions to Democratic Party.

The courts/TLA/Dems cabal tried to do the same to the firearms industry, but failed. Next target is probably the fast-food industry. Same steps as the above.

Pretty cozy, and thoroughly corrupt, "work" - if you can get it.

[Dizlexus]

it seems all to be very true but you never addressed that pitbull over there who is knawing on my legg.

[Dizlexus]

also, I'm not too sure of Mr. Will's journalism. His take has me interested but I am sure is not the gospel. I must learn more.

He has been giulty of supicious anti lib Journalism before.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200410250004

and there's the pre war stuff:
http://www.mediamonitors.net/williamhughes4.html

[W*GS]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

it seems all to be very true but you never addressed that pitbull over there who is knawing on my legg.

I'm not at all saying that the current crop of scumbags in the WH haven't done their share to trash our rights and make a mockery of the Constitution.

But both parties, in equal measure, are guilty of those actions. Bush and his cronies have been gratuitous, certainly - but every other administration, going back decades, has shown nothing but contempt for our rights and has used the power of the State for what I consider to be criminal ends.

Yeah, shaking down the tobacco industry for $248 billion isn't the same as starting a war on bad information, with no plan after the quick overthrow of the government, and stumbling from mistake to mistake, but the former is a little more subtle and IMHO more insidious because it's a grand perversion of the whole system. Indeed, one could almost argue that Bush and his minions have got away (so far) with their actions because previous administrations have engaged in criminal acts and didn't suffer as a result (OK, Nixon was a minor exception - remember how everyone said that his real crime was getting caught?).

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Wow!

He's only been here one day and Dizlexus is already putting the total WWF smackdown on the right-wingnuts.

Good work, amigo!

[alkemical]

i do have some stories in my news thread on this very topic.

[Rascal]

Originally Posted by Dizlexus

I don't have a prob with the Rep. party, I might be registered as a rebublican

And so far everything you have said in this thread backs that claim up, just like the other one about people calling you names....errrr....never mind.

[Spider]

Originally Posted by Rascal

And so far everything you have said in this thread backs that claim up, just like the other one about people calling you names....errrr....never mind.

Name calling ...pfffft ........Terms of endearment I say