Fundraising scandal

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

Two Washington insiders close to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay are being investigated for squeezing $80 million from six Indian tribes by promising them access to influential politicians, according to a report in The Washington Post. The tribes paid Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff exorbitant fees to push for laws favoring their casinos. He used much of it to pay for luxury skyboxes at Washington sports arenas, where he held fundraisers for Republicans. Michael Scanlon, DeLay’s former spokesman, and Abramoff traded e-mails in which they mocked tribal leaders as “morons” and “monkeys.” “I want all their MONEY!” Scanlon wrote in one message. A colleague said Abramoff ran “one of the biggest schmoozing operations in town.”