Abramoff Spills to Vanity Fair

Raw Story has the scoop.

Vanity Fair is set to publish a tell-all interview with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, noting that his plea-bargain sentence can be "substantially reduced" by co-operating with investigators.

The piece makes much of many prominent Republicans' denials of having worked with Abramoff. Abramoff reminisces about jokes President Bush, who now claims not to remember him, made about his weight training program. Abramoff also recalls discussing the Bible, opera, and golf with Tom DeLay.

The author of the Vanity Fair article also spoke with Sam Seder on the Randi Rhodes Show Yesterday and dished a few details on his upcoming peice on Abramoff.

In the RS article...

Abramoff also alleges that RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman provided Abramoff political favors--including aiding in the removal of a State Department official.

Abramoff also claims to have funneled $50,000 donated by clients to a charity he set up to pay for a golf trip for himself, Ohio Republican Bob Ney, and former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed (currently seeking the office of Lt. Governor for the state of Georgia). Reed also once served as Abramoff's projects director.

Abramoff with Reagan and Norquist

From Sam Seder's interview, the Vanity Fair reporter stated that the thing that galls Abramoff the most is the attempt to "scrub his existence from the record" by his former friends and collegues. And the person that most annoys him in this regard, is Newt Gingrich. He found the attempts by the White House to erase all trace of his existence "completely overboard". Abramoff stated that most of his lobbying work was with Congress and had little to do with the White House - so there was little need to go to such extreme lengths of denial.

Other than the fact that that's IMO, their standard modis operandi - Deny Everything.

He further stated that "Abramoff is a right-wing ideologue", a Reagan-era Republican who believes devoutly, religiously in the righteousness of his cause. And that this is exactly what drove him to use any and all mean, neccesary and unneccsary to further his goals. He's an "Ends justifies the means type of guy".

Yeah, no kidding. But also what was most apparent to the VF interviewer is that Abramoff has absolutely no remorse, in fact he hardly feels that he did anything wrong at all - only played the game a little "better" than some others may have.

I think his eventual sentencing for bribery might change that view.

So let's review - those on the chopping block of extreme exposure from links to Abramoff appear to be Delay, Reed, Mehlman, Ney and Gringrich.

Guess what - not a single Democrat in the bunch, eh? Imagine that.

Having corruption allegations hanging around the necks of these people - particular Mehlman, whose a new player in this - leading into the 2006 elections should do a great deal to keep the Republican Parties heels dragging come November.

Gingrich's 2008 Presidential bid might also be on the back-burner - for good. It took him almost 8 years to live down his last scandal (an affair with one of his House assistants), which forced him to step down as House Speaker. Seeya in 2012 Newt.

Vyan