Abramoff's Problems Now Drag In Gale Norton

by Steve

Jack Abramoff has the makings of a gift that keeps on giving. There were already enough political land mines afield from Abramoff’s work with DeLay, his indictment for wire fraud, defrauding Indian tribes to support himself and the GOP, and representing shady business owners in the Marianas, but investigators now have Abramoff tied to the odious Interior Department of Gale Norton, and the recently departed J. Steven Griles. You’ll remember Griles as the former industry lobbyist whom BushCo brought in to pillage public lands for a couple years, only to get him out of town before people caught up to everything he may have touched during his tenure. Well, Abramoff’s associates are talking, and this problem sounds like it will at least go to Norton and beyond to the White House.

Read Jesse Lee’s write-up at the DCCC’s weblog the Stakeholder for a good summary of the issues at hand, and note that the DOJ career people seem to have trained their guns on Gale Norton.

You know it is a good day when you can tie together Gale Norton, Grover Norquist, Jack Abramoff, J. Steven Griles, conflict of interest, and investigation all in the same sentence.