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Senate report clears Cornyn
No evidence of Abramoff influencing Senator
By Tara Copp
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate investigation has found no evidence that Sen. John Cornyn of Texas acted on behalf of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to influence Indian gaming laws in Texas.
In 1999, Cornyn, a Republican who was Texas attorney general then, sued to shut down the Tigua Indians\' Speaking Rock casino in El Paso on the grounds that it violated state laws.
In 2001, Abramoff \"took an interest\" because a closed Texas casino would mean better business for his Louisiana tribal clients, the report said.
In a series of e-mails that were subpoenaed and released publicly as part of the investigation, Abramoff and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed talked about orchestrating Cornyn\'s help for a successful lawsuit outcome. They discussed arranging for him to meet with dozens of anti-gambling pastors and said Cornyn would call them with an update on the status of the case.
When the e-mails became public in January, Cornyn told NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\" that Reed and Abramoff were just \"claiming credit and then bilking their Indian clients\" for influence over Cornyn and the state case that they never had.
In 2002, the Tiguas\' casino lost its legal bid and was closed.
This week, the Senate report said that Abramoff and Reed had no influence on the 1999 case filing and that beyond Abram- off\'s e-mail claims, there was \"no evidence\" Cornyn had placed the call that Abramoff had cited.
The Cornyn findings are a small part of a 357-page report issued by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Abramoff\'s tribal lobbying scandal. The report details how Abramoff and his associates used their ties to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, to influence clients and how they built that influence in Congress into $80 million in Indian lobbying contracts. DeLay left Congress in June.
Don Stewart, a spokesman for Cornyn, said the senator \"had no discussion of this case\" with Abramoff. He spoke with Reed, Stewart said, but it had no impact on the case.
\"What he (Abramoff) didn\'t understand is that public opinion and grass-roots support is fine on political campaigns, but in the court of law it doesn\'t matter,\" Stewart said.
The Tiguas also sought to influence Cornyn, taking out newspaper ads in November 2001 in \"Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth, imploring people to contact then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn and \'beg him to save our families,\' \" the Senate report said.
The Abramoff investigation is continuing. This week, he was granted a three-month extension before reporting to prison, which could be a sign that the information he is offering to investigators continues to turn up new leads. So far, he and four of his former colleagues have pleaded guilty to charges. Two of them are Michael Scanlon and Tony Rudy, both of whom worked for DeLay.Senate report clears Cornyn
No evidence of Abramoff influencing Senator
By Tara Copp
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 24, 2006
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate investigation has found no evidence that Sen. John Cornyn of Texas acted on behalf of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to influence Indian gaming laws in Texas.
In 1999, Cornyn, a Republican who was Texas attorney general then, sued to shut down the Tigua Indians\' Speaking Rock casino in El Paso on the grounds that it violated state laws.
In 2001, Abramoff \"took an interest\" because a closed Texas casino would mean better business for his Louisiana tribal clients, the report said.
In a series of e-mails that were subpoenaed and released publicly as part of the investigation, Abramoff and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed talked about orchestrating Cornyn\'s help for a successful lawsuit outcome. They discussed arranging for him to meet with dozens of anti-gambling pastors and said Cornyn would call them with an update on the status of the case.
When the e-mails became public in January, Cornyn told NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\" that Reed and Abramoff were just \"claiming credit and then bilking their Indian clients\" for influence over Cornyn and the state case that they never had.
In 2002, the Tiguas\' casino lost its legal bid and was closed.
This week, the Senate report said that Abramoff and Reed had no influence on the 1999 case filing and that beyond Abram- off\'s e-mail claims, there was \"no evidence\" Cornyn had placed the call that Abramoff had cited.
The Cornyn findings are a small part of a 357-page report issued by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Abramoff\'s tribal lobbying scandal. The report details how Abramoff and his associates used their ties to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, to influence clients and how they built that influence in Congress into $80 million in Indian lobbying contracts. DeLay left Congress in June.
Don Stewart, a spokesman for Cornyn, said the senator \"had no discussion of this case\" with Abramoff. He spoke with Reed, Stewart said, but it had no impact on the case.
\"What he (Abramoff) didn\'t understand is that public opinion and grass-roots support is fine on political campaigns, but in the court of law it doesn\'t matter,\" Stewart said.
The Tiguas also sought to influence Cornyn, taking out newspaper ads in November 2001 in \"Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth, imploring people to contact then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn and \'beg him to save our families,\' \" the Senate report said.
The Abramoff investigation is continuing. This week, he was granted a three-month extension before reporting to prison, which could be a sign that the information he is offering to investigators continues to turn up new leads. So far, he and four of his former colleagues have pleaded guilty to charges. Two of them are Michael Scanlon and Tony Rudy, both of whom worked for DeLay. |
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