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.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
