Buffalo News - Sen. Harkin included in probe of Abramoff

By SHARON THEIMER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
12/4/2005


WASHINGTON - As Sen. Tom Harkin drafted letters to the Bush administration on behalf of an Iowa tribe, he had no shortage of ideas for wording: A tribal lobbyist who donated to the Democrat's campaign suggested language for him to use.
Harkin wrote at least three letters in 2003 pressing the government to release federal money to help the Sac & Fox tribe in his state cope with the temporary closing of its casino due to a tribal dispute, according to Interior Department documents obtained by the Associated Press and records provided by Harkin's office.

In doing so, Harkin accepted input from Sac & Fox lobbyist Michael D. Smith, a member of Jack Abramoff's tribal lobbying team at the Greenberg Traurig law firm. Smith met with the senator and also offered suggestions for the letters, Harkin spokeswoman Allison Dobson said.

"Absolutely, he did contribute to those letters," Dobson said, adding that she wasn't sure what Smith's suggestions were. Harkin also met with lobbyists on the other side of the dispute, she said.

Harkin is among dozens of members of Congress who wrote letters that benefited tribal clients of Abramoff's lobbying team while collecting political contributions from Abramoff, his clients or his lobbying associates.

The Justice Department is examining the proximity of donations to congressional action as part of its investigation of Abramoff's activities. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, while investigating allegations that Abramoff cheated the tribes out of tens of millions of dollars, has steered clear of examining specific members of Congress.

The letters to the Interior Department and National Indian Gaming Commission between June and November 2003 came as Harkin's campaign and political action committee harvested donations from Smith and Greenberg Traurig tribal clients.

Harkin twice used Abramoff's skybox for fund-raisers - once in 2002 and again in 2003 - without reimbursing. He also collected $17,000 from Smith and other Abramoff-related sources in 2003. The Sac & Fox gave $4,000 more to Harkin in 2004, about six months after the federal government allowed the tribe's casino to reopen.

Dobson said a recent audit found Harkin should have reimbursed for the skybox, and he did so this fall. As for the timing of the fund-raising help and letters, "I'm telling you there is no nexus," she said.

Harkin "wrote these letters and worked on this issue because over 1,300 Meskwaki people and Iowans were out of work," Dobson said. "This was a very dire situation for the community."

She said neither the senator nor his staff knows Abramoff or ever has met with the lobbyist.

Abramoff spokesman Andrew Blum declined to comment on the Harkin letters. Abramoff routinely billed at least one of his clients, the Northern Mariana Islands, for time he spent drafting letters for members of Congress, invoices the islands' government provided the AP under an open records request.