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The monetary influence of Jack Abramoff ran deep in Washington, as Jack Abramoff spent millions of dollars to influence and entertain both Republican and Democratic politicians. Abramoff had a reputation for largesse considered exceptional even by Washington standards. In addition to offering many Republican members of Congress expensive free meals at his restaurant, ''Signatures'', Abramoff maintained four skyboxes at major sports arenas for political entertaining at a cost of over $1 million a year. Abramoff hosted many fundraisers at these skyboxes including events for Republican politicians publicly opposed to gambling, such as John Doolittle.〔()〕 Abramoff gave over $260,000 in personal contributions to Republican candidates, politicians, and organizations, and funded numerous trips for politicians and staffers and gave none to Democrats. From 2000 to 2006, funds and Leadership PACs of numerous Republican candidates for Congress.〔("Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Political Contributions, 1999 - 2006" ), ''(Capital Eye )'', Accessed on March 15, 2006.〕 Under his guidance, his Indian tribe clients loosened their traditional ties to the Democratic Party, giving Republicans two-thirds of the $2.9 million they donated to federal candidates since 2001.〔("One More Look at the Washington Post Clown Show..." ) ''(TPM Cafe )'', Accessed on March 15, 2006.〕 He raised $100,000 for the reelection of George W. Bush, making him a Bush Pioneer. Abramoff and his wife gave $10,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund, shortly before Abramoff joined Greenberg Traurig, which forgave over $314,000 in legal fees incurred by the Bush Campaign in the 2000 Florida election recount.〔("Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k" ), ''(therawstory )'', Accessed on March 15, 2006.〕 Of the approximately $85 million in tribal money entrusted to Abramoff, his employers, or his related organizations (see Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal for more), over $4.4 million since 1999 were directed to at least 250 members of Congress, primarily Republicans in leadership positions or on relevant committees, and Democrats with standing connections to Native American interests (in a 2:1 GOP ratio). These contributions have since become tainted by their association with Abramoff's criminal behavior.() Abramoff was associated with Tom DeLay's and Grover Norquist's K Street Project to bring Republican dominance to Washington lobbying.〔Balz, Dan and Bimbaum, Jeffrey H. (Staff Writers) (Case Bringing New Scrutiny To a System and a Profession ), ''The Washington Post'', January 4, 2006.〕 ==Skyboxes and St. Andrews== Through the front company Sports Suites LLC, Abramoff owned skyboxes at MCI Center and Camden Yards, and two at FedEx Field. Between 1999 and 2003, Abramoff hosted 72 events for members of Congress, all but eight for Republicans. On May 7, 2000, while Abramoff was actively lobbying against the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act in the House of Representatives, Tom DeLay attended a performance by the Three Tenors in a skybox at Washington's MCI Center. Several major donors to DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority PAC were also invited. It was later revealed that the skybox was leased and paid for by Jack Abramoff, at an estimated cost of $3,600–7,500. Although Federal law at the time did not require disclosure or reimbursement of this sort of gift-giving from a lobbyist to a PAC, the law was changed several months later, and the incident was cited in later criticisms of DeLay's acceptance of gifts.〔()〕 On May 25, DeLay departed on a 10-day trip to Scotland together with Abramoff and DeLay's aides Tony Rudy and Susan Hirschmann. In documents filed after the trip as required by House rules, DeLay claimed that the purpose of the trip was primarily "educational", to hold meetings with Conservative leaders in Britain, including former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and that the total cost of the trip was $28,106. The filings indicated that the trip was being paid for by the "National Center for Public Policy Research", a think tank then chaired by Jack Abramoff. On the same date as DeLay's trip departure, Abramoff clients eLottery and the Mississippi Choctaw sent checks totaling $50,000 to the National Center for Public Policy Research. eLottery and the tribe both later claimed that they were unaware that the money was intended to pay for a trip.() Details later emerged that many parts of the trip were paid for directly on Abramoff's credit card, and a card belonging to Edwin A. Buckham, another prominent lobbyist. Although the trip did include a meeting with Margaret Thatcher, according to detailed bills leaked to the ''Washington Post'', the trip also included golf at the exclusive St. Andrews Golf Resort, theater tickets, and "superior" room accommodations at the London Four Seasons. The total cost of the trip was estimated at $70,000–120,000, of which approximately $12,000 was reimbursed to Abramoff by Preston Gates. The length of the trip, expense, source of funding, and activities of the trip are significant as House ethics rules at the time prevented representatives from accepting gifts from private parties if it would "create the appearance of using public office for private gain." () 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Monetary influence of Jack Abramoff」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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