Abramoff - Sen. Tom Harkin failed to account for 2 Abramoff's fundraisers at MCI Center - 20Oct2005
Stefan Lemieszewski
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/102005/news3.html
The Hill
20Oct2005
Harkin pays tribe for his use of skybox
By Josephine Hearn
Sen. Tom Harkin failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in
lobbyist Jack Abramoff's skybox at Washington's MCI Center in 2002 and 2003,
according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and a
spokeswoman for the Iowa Democrat.
Abramoff, the subject of multiple federal criminal probes for his dealings
with Indian tribes and a Florida casino chain, routinely hosted political
fundraisers in skyboxes at four sporting venues in the Washington area.
Several members of Congress admitted earlier this year to having failed to
disclose properly or pay for the use of the skyboxes.
FEC rules require that lawmakers and their fundraising committees pay for
the use of such facilities or report the cost as in-kind donations in
monthly or quarterly reports.
Harkin only recently discovered that the events had been improperly
accounted for, said his spokeswoman, Allison Dobson.
"Over the last several months, given the current climate and in an abundance
of caution, we went back and did an internal audit and found these two
events," Dobson said.
Harkin's campaign committee and leadership political action committee
reimbursed a former Abramoff client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians, on Sept. 28 for use of the box, paying $1,800 for a campaign
fundraiser held July 15, 2002, and $1,900 for an event in December 2003 for
the leadership political action committee To Organize a Majority. An online
schedule for MCI Center showed that the WNBA held its all-star game July 15,
2002.
Those two events were the only two revealed by the internal audit, Dobson
said.
Harkin's disclosure is the latest example that the expanding Abramoff
scandal has the potential to ensnare a few Democrats the way it has many
Republicans. Although Abramoff was a solidly Republican lobbyist with strong
ties to conservative lawmakers, his staff at Greenberg Traurig included
Democrats, many of whom worked with Democratic lawmakers on legislative
issues and fundraisers.
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) reported a $1,800 in-kind donation from the
Choctaws for use of the same box in 2001. Dorgan has said that, despite
having held an event in Abramoff's skybox, he did not know the lobbyist.
Dorgan, who was among the lawmakers receiving the greatest amount of
campaign contributions from Abramoff's tribal clients, is now the vice
chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is leading an
investigation into Abramoff's questionable dealings with the tribe.
The Indian Affairs Committee's next hearing on Abramoff, slated for Oct. 26,
is expected to focus on the lobbyist's dealings with the Coushatta tribe of
Louisiana. A principal lobbyist working on the account with Abramoff was
Stephanie Leger Short, a Democrat married to Toby Short, a legislative
assistant in Dorgan's personal office.
It was unclear at press time whether the Indian Affairs Committee would call
Leger Short as a witness in the upcoming hearing. Leger Short, who once
worked as an aide to former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), now heads up federal
lobbying for the state of Louisiana.
Barry Piatt, a spokesman for Dorgan, said the relationship would not
influence his handling of the investigation.
"It was a very short period of time she was at the firm, and he was on our
staff. It was a negligible overlap," Piatt said. "[Dorgan] has been a full
partner with Senator [John] McCain [R-Ariz.] in this investigation. Both
have been relentless and aggressive, and that's not going to change."
Harkin said through his spokeswoman that Abramoff was not present at either
of his skybox fundraisers.
"He has no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Abramoff," she said.
Although the name on the outside of the skybox said "Jack Abramoff," a
handful of Abramoff's tribal clients, including the Choctaws and the Agua
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, paid for the box over the years.
Harkin's staff "did our own research and determined it was Choctaw" who
should be reimbursed, Dobson said.
Several Greenberg Traurig lobbyists attended the Harkin events, Dobson said,
although their names were not readily available.
Michael D. Smith, a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig, represented the Sac and
Fox tribe from Iowa and would likely have had significant contact with
Harkin's office. Smith's sister, Pam, is Harkin's legislative director.
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