WASHINGTON – A little less than two weeks after being forced to clarify his position on whether an ISIS attack “was a good thing” and days after being criticized as ‘controversial’ for headlining a fundraiser for a Florida congressman, Dana Rohrabacher found himself in the hot seat once again this week for his work with notorious D.C. swamp creature Jack Abramoff. According to news reports, this year Abramoff attempted to use Congressman Rohrabacher to secure contacts between the government of the Republic of the Congo and the Trump Administration. In February, Congressman Rohrabacher “called the convicted felon ‘a patriot.’”
“Jack Abramoff doesn’t just represent the noxious culture of corruption in D.C. – he embodies it,” said DCCC spokesperson Drew Godinich. “Instead of looking out for the issues facing Southern Californians, Dana Rohrabacher is palling around with thrice-convicted felon Jack Abramoff. The fact that Congressman Rohrabacher would partner with a man like Abramoff speaks volumes about his character – and the three decades he’s spent in D.C. failing to deliver for his constituents.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Disgraced Lobbyist Abramoff Registers as Foreign Agent
Roll Call | Kate Ackley | July 26, 2017
http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/disgraced-lobbyist-abramoff-registers-foreign-agent
The conviction of Jack Abramoff, perhaps the most infamous modern K Street character, apparently wasn’t the end of the Justice Department’s interest in the former hot-shot lobbyist.
Abramoff, who was sentenced to prison in 2008 on federal corruption and other charges, recently filed a retroactive foreign agent lobbying registration for unpaid — and unsuccessful — work aimed at helping the Republic of Congo arrange a meeting with President Donald Trump, new DOJ filings showed.
A letter from Abramoff’s lawyers, Peter Zeidenberg and Matthew M. Nolan of Arent Fox, makes clear they don’t believe their client needed to file the registration but said they were complying with the Justice Department’s request to do so. Abramoff simultaneously terminated his work, they noted.
Zeidenberg said on Friday that his client “is not on probation and is not the subject of any ongoing investigation.” A Politico story in February about Abramoff’s trip to Africa, along with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., prompted the Justice Department’s inquiry and filing request, Zeidenberg said in an email.
The disclosure documents were filed under the 1938 law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Retroactive filings are not uncommon and are unlikely to result in legal action, but the law does carry criminal penalties.
The documents say Abramoff received calls in December from Costel Iancu of Bucharest, Romania, who was “attempting to obtain a contract to consult with the Republic of Congo.” Iancu hoped Abramoff could help arrange a meeting between Denis Sassou N’Guesso, the president of the Republic of Congo, and Donald Trump, then president-elect.
No such meeting occurred, according to the DOJ filings, which were first reported Thursday night by the Center for Public Integrity.
Abramoff did help facilitate communications between the African country and Rohrabacher, who later traveled to Brazzaville, the Congolese capital, and had a meeting with Sassou N’Guesso, the documents state. “Although Mr. Abramoff was in Brazzaville at the time, he did not participate in the meeting,” the filing added.
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Abramoff’s downfall was a wide-ranging scandal that stemmed from his multimillion-dollar lobbying campaigns for American Indian clients and from a failed casino venture. The scandal captivated Washington, sparked an overhaul of federal lobbying laws in 2007 and led to 20 convictions or guilty pleas including from former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio.
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