Abramoff Scandal Nets One More

February 20, 2009
The latest domino to fall in the Abramoff scandal is Ann Copland, former staffer of Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran.  Copland was identified as "Staffer E" in the Plea Agreement and Factual Basis for Plea of Todd Boulanger. Boulanger, the former legislative aide to Senator Bob Smith (R-N.H.),  pleaded guilty last month of bribing congressional staffers with gifts in exchange for pushing legislation favorable to clients.  Many of us suspected that Copland would be the next to fall.
From the Associated Press:

Court documents filed Thursday say Ann Copland took thousands of dollars worth of event tickets and meals out in Washington from Abramoff and associates at his firm. Prosecutors say the gifts were in exchange for her favors benefiting one of their top clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Charges against Copland were outlined in a legal document called a criminal information, which only can be filed with the defendant's consent and typically signals a plea deal. The document says Copland understood that Senate rules prohibit staffers from soliciting gifts from lobbyists, but still secretly did so.
"It was a purpose of the conspiracy for defendant Copland to be unjustly enriched by her receipt of things of value, and to conceal these gifts from the U.S. Senate and the people of the United States," the document said.

Copland worked for Cochran for 29 years, then abruptly left his office last spring after Abramoff prosecutors had netted a dozen convictions in the scandal.

Copland received more than $25,000 in tickets, meals and gifts in exchange for legislation favorable to Abramoff client, the Choctaw Indians.  The Washington Post reported that at the time Copland was trading gifts for influence, her boss, Senator Cochran was a "powerful member of the Senate Appropriations Committee."

Although Senator Cochran's office refused to comment, the AP reported:

Campaign finance records show that Abramoff, his associates and his clients gave Cochran at least $82,500 in campaign donations during the years in question, from 2001 to 2004. But there is no indication from the documents that Cochran, a Republican, knew of Copland's behavior or is being investigated.

The court document entitled,  "Information" was filed in the US District Court of the District of Columbia yesterday. Copland was charged with one count of 18 U.S.C. §371-Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud. 
The document states that she was lobbied by Jack Abramoff and Abramoff lobbyists Kevin Ring, former staffer of John Doolittle (R-CA), and Todd Boulanger, former legislative aide of Senator Bob Smith (R-NH):

Abramoff, Boulanger, and Ring offered and provided a stream of things of value to defendant COPLAND in an effort to reward her for actions she had taken, to
influence her in her official actions, and to make her more receptive to requests for official actions in the future. The things of value defendant COPLAND solicited and received from Abramoff, Boulanger, and Ring included, but were not limited to, thousands of dollars worth of tickets to professional sporting events, music concerts, and other events; and meals and drinks at Washington, D.C. area restaurants and bars.

Being influenced, induced, and rewarded by these things of value, defendant COPLAND performed various official actions, including but not limited to attempting to persuade other legislative and executive branch officials to take or abstain from taking official action, and assistance with inserting, protecting, removing, and preventing legislative amendments and appropriations.

So who were these legislative and executive branch officials she persuaded to take action?

CNMI Connection
There appears to be a CNMI connection.  In a previous post I wrote about former Governor Froilan Tenorio's side-trip to Mississippi that he took on one of his many Abramoff-arranged trips to Washington, DC:

In October 1997 Tenorio traveled again to meet with Abramoff's army in the Congress including former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Don Young (R-Alaska), former Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX), former Rep. Dick Army (R-TX), former Rep. Jesse Helms (R-NC), and, of course, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). 

During this trip Abramoff arranged for Governor Tenorio, his wife, Sophie, David Ecret (the governor's special assistant for telecommunications and utilities) and the rest of his party to travel to Mississippi to meet with the Choctaw Indians. Billing records indicate that they were in Mississippi for three days. 

Once back in Baltimore/Washington, billing records indicate the trip including attending "a game" where the CNMI visitors were "introduced to guests." (Red Skins vs. Dallas Cowboys?)

Why would Abramoff take the Governor of the CNMI to meet the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi? The billing records indicate that the governor and his party met with Choctaw Chief Martin, another client of Abramoff.  Was it to visit the casinos or to discuss mutually beneficial legislation? There are some common threads between the CNMI and the tribe.
Both Tenorio and Martin were praised by Abramoff friend, Rep. Tom Delay. Delay manipulated legislation to favor the Choctaw Tribe and he manipulated legislation for Tenorio and the CNMI. 

Delay praised Governor Froilan Tenorio on the House Floor.  From the March 19, 1997 Congressional Record:

Governor Tenorio has embarked on a bold course to promote economic and political liberty in the CNMI. The brave men and women who died for freedom at the battle of Saipan would be proud to know that Governor Tenorio has been a true
champion of freedom in the Western Pacific. Governor Tenorio recognizes that the market, and not the government, is the engine of job creation. Governor Tenorio has pushed forward with a program of privatization, fiscal restraint, and lower taxes for his people. Governor Tenorio did not come to Washington looking for taxpayer benefits, welfare, or handouts. He came to promote his market reforms. Mr. Speaker, Governor Tenorio deserves our support.

In the September 15, 1998 Congressional Record, Rep. Tom Delay similarly praised Chief Philip Martin of the Choctaw Indians:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute atrue economic success story—the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi. Lead by the dynamic Chief Phillip Martin, the Choctaw Indians, using the power of the free market and the philosophy of individual freedom, have improved the life of the members of the tribe and the surrounding community. For over 150 years, the tribe was mired in the deepest poverty imaginable. Unemployment was often as high as 75 percent. Life expectancy was only 45 years and local education stopped at the sixth grade. But lead by Chief Martin, the Choctaw Indians have seized the power of self-determination and economic freedom. By relying on the power of the market and not the power of government the Choctaws have become an economic powerhouse.

When visiting the Marianas in 1997 Delay praised Tenorio again saying, "You represent everything that is good about what we are trying to do in America." 

CNMI anti-federalization editorial writers also linked the CNMI with the Choctaw Tribe and Tom Delay.  In a December 2000 Saipan Tribune article that was an obvious pitch to gain support to retain Abramoff, John Del Rosario mentioned that Abramoff also represented the Choctaw tribe.  He also praised Delay:

We have invested our hard-earned funds in his services to ward-off any federal takeover of the basic tenets of our relationship with our mother country as laid out in the Covenant Agreement. He [Abramoff] was able to defend us by educating powerful Members of Congress and arranging a trip to these islands by the most powerful member of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Tom DeLay. He also arranged visits for several other Members of Congress who have since become unwavering friends of the Commonwealth.

A 2000 Saipan Tribune editorial by Governor Fitial's spokesperson, Charles Reyes, contained these words (emphasis added):

Mr. Abramoff, in a very real sense, is an ardent champion of the little guy--of the much maligned Northern Marianas as well as the Choctaw Indian tribe of Mississippi. He does us a valuable service, demonstrating once again that the true champions of the little guy cannot be found in the US Democratic Party, which promotes a victim mentality that expects solutions from the Federal Government. On the contrary, men like Abramoff support our own self-reliance.

A rather creepy Abramoff-promoting April 2002 Saipan Tribune article also linked the Choctaw Tribe, the CNMI, and Tom Delay through Abramoff:

Abramoff argues that Indian reservations and the Commonwealth are “just what conservatives have always wanted, which is enterprise zones-tax-free, regulation-free zones-where, with the right motivation, great industry could take place and spill into the general communities.” Abramoff is also considered an important Republican fund-raiser. According to him, he expects to raise as much as $5 million this year for the Republican Party and plans to donate as much as $250,000 personally.

Abramoff was chairman of the College Republican National Committee in the early '80's, where he made important contacts, such as Grover Norquist, a leading conservative strategist in Washington D.C. and president of Americans for Tax Reform, and Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition, who is a prominent Republican political consultant.

Abramoff's interest in raising money for Republicans and conservative causes is the foundation of Abramoff's relationship with DeLay.

“We are the same politically and philosophically. Tom's goal is specific-to keep Republicans in power and advance the conservative movement. I have Tom's goal precisely,” said Abramoff.

Norquist, who is friendly with both men, said of Abramoff, “He walks in to see DeLay and DeLay knows that he is representing clients whose views are in sync with DeLay's views.”

This 2000 Wall Street Journal article reported:

Under Mr. Abramoff's watch, Congress has failed every year to impose new immigration and wage standards on the Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory often criticized for its treatment of workers. During this time, he has brought more than 85 lawmakers and staff to the tiny islands, a 24-hour trip from Washington. Conservative organizations from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, to Citizens against Government Waste have played a key role in assisting the Marianas in Washington. Government and business officials from the islands have rewarded Mr. Abramoff with more than $8 million in lobbying fees.

Meanwhile, the Choctaw's conservative ties have continued to pay off. In 1998, Mr. Norquist's group produced a pro-Choctaw book and distributed it to key members of Congress. The book was a head-to-toe evaluation of the Choctaw and argued that they are a self-sufficient, antitax group that fits inside the conservative paradigm. It didn't reveal that the Choctaw help fund ATR.

The Choctaw subsequently received what Democratic Rep. Dale Kildee of Michigan, who heads the Native American Caucus in Congress, called "an unprecedented" exemption from national gaming regulations; the exemption was tucked inside a spending bill that attracted little attention by home-state Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. The Choctaw now are the only tribe allowed to self-regulate their gaming operations. Several months later, the tribe made that big $2.3 million payment to Mr. Abramoff's firm for six months of work.

I wrote about Ann Copland previously here, here, and here. Her indictment suggests that "Staffer D" identified as Fraser Verrusio, former staffer for Rep. Don Young (R-Abramoff) may be next. Or perhaps it will be Kevin Koonce, former staffer of Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), and former lobbyist of Governor Fitial who is suspected to be "Staffer F." 
Or could the trail of indictments finally be leading to the CNMI?  Coincidentally, yesterday I heard a rumor that Froilan Tenorio was in Washington, DC being deposed by the US Department of Justice.  Could this be more than a rumor? Another source said that there were three individuals from the CNMI being deposed in connection to the Abramoff scandal. Who will be the next domino to fall?
W. L. Doromal ©2009