Letter by Rep. Pryce revealed in Indian casino scandal

Friday, November 04, 2005
Sabrina Eaton
Plain Dealer Bureau
Washington

-- A letter by Columbus Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce is among the latest details to surface in a Washington scandal that surrounds lobbyist Jack Abramoff's representation of Indian casinos.

On Wednesday, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee released material it obtained from Abramoff's former employer, the Greenberg Traurig lobbying firm, that included a letter Pryce wrote to Interior Secretary Gale Norton about a Louisiana casino proposal.

The Sept. 12, 2003, letter from Pryce, the No. 4 Republican in the House, insisted that approving a casino proposed by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians would "set forth a dangerous precedent" and encourage "reservation shopping" by tribes.

Republican Whip Roy Blunt signed a similar letter to Norton dated May 21, 2003. A third letter, dated June 10, 2003, was signed by Blunt, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Republican Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor. Identical wording appears in all three letters.

An aide to Senate Indian Affairs Committee chairman John McCain said investigators believe the letters were authored by Abramoff and his employees and signed by the congressmen. A Greenberg Traurig spokeswoman declined comment on the letters.

A Pryce spokesman said she sent the letter at the request of Louisiana Republican Rep. Jim McCrery, in whose district the casino would have been built, and that his office gave Pryce sample text. He said Pryce's contact with Abramoff was "very limited," and Abramoff did not ask her to write the letter.

McCrery yesterday confirmed that he asked Pryce and the other legislators to write the letters, and said he had no idea why they'd be among Abramoff's documents.

"It would be terribly unfair to link Deborah Pryce to Abramoff, at least in terms of her writing that letter, because I asked her to do it and Abramoff had absolutely nothing to do with it," McCrery said.

A rival Louisiana tribe hired Abramoff to oppose the casino because they thought it would compete with their own operation. Wednesday's Senate Indian Affairs committee hearing focused on Abramoff's efforts to sway the Interior Department for his client.

The Interior Department approved the casino against Abramoff's wishes, but it wasn't built because of opposition from Louisiana's former and current governors.

Federal Election Commission records compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine indicate that Pryce's Promoting Republicans You Can Elect political action committee got $8,000 in donations from Abramoff's Indian gambling clients from 2002 through 2004.

Several agencies are investigating Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes and ties to Republican congressional leaders. Abramoff is facing wire fraud charges in Florida in connection with his purchase of a casino boat chain.

Florida authorities told the Miami Herald they are investigating whether Rep. Bob Ney, a Licking County Republican, put statements in the Congressional Record to improperly influence Abramoff's casino boat purchase.

Ney also agreed to sponsor legislation to let one of Abramoff's tribal clients reopen a closed casino in Texas. Records released yesterday showed that a 2002 golf trip to Scotland that Ney took with Abramoff was underwritten by a sham charity of Abramoff's called Capital Athletic Foundation. The trip's total cost was $166,634.

The Los Angeles Times reported that McCrery's chief of staff, Bob R. Brooks Jr., took a similar Scotland trip with Abramoff in 2003. McCrery said yesterday that he did not believe the trip gave Abramoff clout with his office.

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