Abramoff Recipients at a Glance

For those of you who haven’t been following it, lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to federal charges in an influence-peddling investigation. For those of you who’ve not followed the saga, endless Democrats from Howard Dean to Harry Reid and eveyrone in between have said that this is a “Republican scandal.” No Democrats were involved, according to them.
Oh, really?
The Associated Press has seen fit to publish a list of politicians that had accepted donations from groups represented by Abramoff and–wouldn’tcha know it–the list is bi-partisan in nature.
Yes, there are Republicans on the list…but there are whole bunch of Democrats, too.
Abramoff Recipients Glance – Yahoo! News
Now, this list is not necessarily an indication that there was any wrong doing, but it’s a clear indicator that Abramoff’s ties spread across party lines. The list also includes the organization that will receive the money in question.
The List:
President Bush: $6,000 from Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan for the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign is being donated to the American Heart Association.
Senate Republicans:
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, $2,000 to be returned to the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Christopher Bond, R-MO, $12,500, the Salvation Army
Jim Bunning, R-KY, $1,000, St Elizabeth Medical Center inpatient hospice program
Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, $1,000, Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation
Thad Cochran, R-MS, $8,000, Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
Jim DeMint, R-SC, $2,750, a South Carolina anti-gambling hot line
Judd Gregg, R-NH, $12,000, Marguerite’s Place
Jon Kyl, R-AZ, refunding $4,000 to three Indian tribes
Mitch McConnell, R-KY, $18,500, Wayside Christian Mission
Craig Thomas, R-WY, $8,000, victims of the 2005 tornado in Wright, Wyo
John Thune, R-SD, $2,000, White Buffalo Calf Woman Society
Senate Democrats:
Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-IL, $11,000, American Indian Center of Chicago and the American Indian Health Service of Chicago
Maria Cantwell, D-WA, $17,865, National Congress of American Indians Education Fund
Tim Johnson, D-SD, $8,250, Billy Mills Running Strong for American Indian Youth
Barbara Mikulski, D-MD, $5,000, American Indian College Fund
House Republicans:
Eric Cantor, R-VA, about $10,000, William Byrd Community House
Kay Granger, R-TX, $2,000, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth
Melissa Hart, R-PA, $2,000, two women’s shelters
JD Hayworth, R-AZ, $2,250, Salvation Army Katrina Disaster Fund
Sam Johnson, R-TX, $2,000, Dallas-Fort Worth USO
Walter Jones, R-NC, $1,000, Salvation Army
Donald Manzullo, R-IL, $2,000 to be returned to the Mississippi band of the Choctaw Indian Tribe
Jim McCrery, R-LA, $35,000, Salvation Army
Marilyn Musgrave, R-CO, $1,000, Crossroads Safehouse
Chip Pickering, R-MS, at least $2,500, Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
Hal Rogers, R-KY, $32,000, UNITE Foundation
Paul Ryan, R-WI, $949, USO Operation Phone Home
John Sweeney, R-NY, $2,000, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Roger Wicker, R-MS, $250, Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund
Heather Wilson, R-NM, $1,000, Great Southwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America
House Democrats:
Henry Cuellar, D-TX, $500 to be returned to the Tigua Tribe of El Paso
Peter DeFazio, D-OR, $1,500 to be returned to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in California and the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Eliot Engel, D-NY, $1,000 to be returned to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe
Lane Evans, D-IL, $2,000, Community Caring Conference
Tim Holden, D-PA, $1,000, an animal shelter