Indictment: Heather Wilson's Office Tied to Abramoff

[babylonsister]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/heather_wilsons_office_tied_to.php

Indictment: Heather Wilson's Office Tied to Abramoff
By Zachary Roth - September 9, 2008, 1:15PM

snip//

It's clear from identifying details in the indictment -- which refers to a New Mexico Indian tribe that hired Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig around March 2002 -- that the tribe is the Sandia Pueblo Indians, who are represented in Congress by Wilson. So in other words, a staffer for Wilson was actively involved in helping Ring and Greenberg Traurig (Firm B, where Ring worked at the time), retain their contract to represent the Sandia Indians. And Ring's Greenberg partner -- most likely Abramoff himself, but certainly a member of Abramoff's team at Greenberg -- believed he had the power to affect decisions made by Rep. Wilson concerning the tribe's interests.

A spokesman for Rep. Wilson declined to comment on the information in the indictment.

We already knew that Wilson had accepted political contributions from both Abramoff himself and David Safavian, a former Abramoff crony and Bush administration official convicted for obstruction of justice as part of the Abramoff probe. But the information in the indictment suggests that her office worked with Abramoff more closely that has yet been reported.

Wilson has been a stalwart supporter and prominent surrogate for John McCain, painting him as a crusader against Washington corruption. Just last night, she appeared on MSNBC's Hardball to make the case for him, and last week she told NPR: "John McCain has chosen a reformer ... to be his running mate and I think that's a perfect complement to who he is and what he's done in his life."

Wilson may have good reason to hold the GOP nominee in high regard. In his 2005 Senate investigation, McCain had access to the Greenberg Traurig email trove, presumably including the ones cited by prosecutors in the Ring indictment highlighted above. But his final report generally avoided focusing on members of Congress, and omitted any mention of Wilson.

[AspenRose]

1. I want to see her go down in flames soooo bad

[calimary]

4. I want to see ANY of these people who've shilled and covered up and slimed on behalf

of EITHER of these schmucks - bush OR mcsame - go down in flames.

And the sooner, the better.

[speedoo]

5. And I want the flames to get to McSame as well.

Two douchebags, deserve to flame out together.

[annabanana]

26. He sat on the hot pot and kept it from boiling over

He kept BUNCHES of corrupt repugs from getting scalded.

[SpiralHawk]

17. Heatherrrrrrr is such a total republicon

In this day and age, you can't go any lower.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Is Greenberg Traurig on trial too?

[babylonsister]

9. There already was an investigation, and looks who's involved

up to his eyeballs-Randy Scheunemann, foreign policy adviser for John McCain.

In Split Role, McCain Adviser Is Sometimes a Lobbyist

By MICHAEL COOPER
Published: August 13, 2008


When Senator John McCain led a Senate investigation three years ago of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist who later pleaded guilty to fraud charges, Mr. Abramoff’s old firm turned to a former McCain campaign adviser for help.

The firm, Greenberg Traurig, which had quickly cut its ties to Mr. Abramoff, hired Randy Scheunemann, who had been the McCain campaign’s foreign policy adviser in 2000 — and is again this year — for advice on handling the Senate investigation.

“After Greenberg Traurig severed ties to Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Scheunemann advised the law firm on how best to cooperate with the Senate investigation,” said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign. “The record reflects that the law firm cooperated.”

Mr. Rogers said he believed that Mr. Scheunemann was hired because he had worked in Congress for more than a decade and had experience with investigations, and not because of any ties he had to Mr. McCain. He added that Mr. Scheunemann had served the firm in an advisory role, and had never spoken with Mr. McCain about the issue.

Since the Russian invasion of Georgia, Mr. Scheunemann has drawn attention for his lobbying efforts on behalf of the Georgian government, for which he lobbied until March. Mr. McCain has been outspoken in his support of Georgia. During a flight on Tuesday on the McCain campaign plane, Mr. Scheunemann told reporters that Mr. McCain has known the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for more than a decade.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/us/politics/14mccain.html?ref=todayspaper

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Just wondering when I read over some of the old archived newspaper

articles, if that law firm comes up, is it an immediate red flag?

[babylonsister]

16. My antenna would go up; look at the company they keep. nt

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Ha, ha, ha! n/t

[malaise]

6. Oh happy day

Adios Heather
Reminds me of the old Brook Benton song
Heather, thither and looks like Yon. :D

[VP505]

8. She is on the way out anyway but

what this could do is prevent her from running for some other office.

[stillcool]

7. Couldn't happen to a better person..

that woman is like something from an old Joan Crawford scary movie.

[Octafish]

10. She joined Pete Dominatrix to pile on David Yglesias, honest US Attorney.

Gee. That's weird how Maverick McSame missed the connection when he led the Senate investigation. Probably just a coincidence.

[Barack_America]

11. Fantastic!

I certainly do hate her!

[Vinca]

12. If Wilson goes down I swear I might start believing in Jesus.

:rofl: I can't stand her.

[tannybogus]

13. Crossing my fingers!!!!!nt

[KharmaTrain]

14. And There's More On The Way

Heather needs to go back to teaching Gym classes...her political career is toast. She lost her party's primary and still has questions to answer about those phone calls to David Igelsias back in 2006...hopefully under oath next Spring.

Hurricane Abramoff still churns and he just concluded a plea bargain where he supposedly gave up a lot of names and specifics so he could be sprung from the shitter in 2012 (maybe sooner depending on how many of these names end up with convictions). He's tied in with Grandma's lobbying efforts and his name is sure to show up in other races as well.

I love the new Obama commercial with all the lobbyists...and I'd like to see the NAMES of these people exposed that would surely be a real broadside into Commander Huff'nPuff's "mavrick" image.

[chill_wind]

18. McCain's report (....) omitted any mention of Wilson, huh? K & R

[jgraz]

19. HA HA HA

I heard that freak's interview on The Young Turks where she said Obama voted to kill newborn babies. I hope she rots in prison for a very long time.

[fascisthunter]

20. I Really Like this Quote implying McCain's Duplicity:

"And John McCain's 2005 investigation into Abramoff's fleecing of Indian tribes, which McCain conducted as chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, made no mention of that fact."

So why didn't McCain see this before????????? Covering up for your "friends", McCain?????

[jtrockville]

21. Wilson... isn't she implicated in the US attorney firing scandal too?

[babylonsister]

22. Yes, she is. She's been a busy gal. nt

[VP505]

23. Yes she was, she and her mentor

Senator Domenici were reported to have tried to influence prosecutor David Iglesias, one of the ones fired to prosecute some Democrats on unfounded voter fraud charges. Its thought that they may have had something to do with the decision to have Iglesias fired.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. Nutjob Heather's finest moment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyIn6eay9Mw

Ironic, the little bit about Enron and ethics, huh?

[radfringe]

25. WOOT WOOT another "brand" on mcBush

he's got ABRAMOFF branded on his butt!!!!! mccain-maverick? NOT

[annabanana]

27. BIG rec here. . . .n/t

[radfringe]

28. abramoff is singing to get a reduced sentence

keep your eye on albert stanley, just got nailed for nigeria bribes for KBR

word has it - stanley will be singing too!!!

[radfringe]

29. kicking

[seafan]

30. Kick. n/t