U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Prepared Remarks of Assistant Attorney General Alice..."

To: National Desk

Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2007 or 202-514-1888 (TDD), Web: http://www.USDOJ.gov

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is the text of prepared remarks of Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher at the news conference on the guilty plea of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff:

Good afternoon. I'm pleased to be joined here today by Chris Swecker, the Assistant Director of the Criminal Division of the FBI; Eileen O'Connor, the Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division; IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, and from the Criminal Division, Noel Hillman, the chief of the Public Integrity Section, and Paul Pelletier, the acting chief of the Fraud Section.

Earlier today in U.S. District Court here in Washington, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to three separate felony offenses -- conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion.

Abramoff has agreed to cooperate with an ongoing public corruption probe led by the Justice Department.

In court today, Abramoff admitted to a series of schemes, which fall into three main categories I will describe for you. These schemes involved Abramoff's use of his DC based lobbying practice, through which Abramoff corrupted government officials, and defrauded his own clients.

First, Abramoff admitted to conspiring-- with his former business partner Michael Scanlon -- to defraud four Native-American Indian tribes. These tribes hired Abramoff to provide lobbying and other services related to the tribes' interest in the casino business.

Scanlon, you'll recall, pled guilty to corruption and conspiracy charges in November. Scanlon is also cooperating in this investigation.

Scanlon and Abramoff agreed to defraud their tribal clients in a scheme they joking referred to, between themselves, as "gimme five." Let me explain to you how that worked.

As described in court papers, Abramoff would recommend that his tribal clients hire a company run by Scanlon, Capital Campaign Strategies or "CCS", to perform grass-roots and public relations services on behalf of the tribes.

But the tribes weren't getting the whole picture. Abramoff did not refer tribal clients to CCS solely to further the interests of the tribes. Rather, he did so to further his own interests. And to line his own pockets in ways which were fraudulent. And illegal.

For as they have both now admitted, Abramoff and Scanlon agreed that Scanlon would pay secret kickbacks of 50 percent to Abramoff each time a tribal client hired CCS. These secret kickbacks ran into the millions of dollars, and were never disclosed to the tribal clients.

But Abramoff's fraud on his tribal clients did not stop there. In another instance, Abramoff was so bold as to take fees to assist one client when he was actually working for another client to defeat the first client's interests.

Second, Abramoff admitted today to his participation in an extensive corruption scheme. Abramoff gave things of value to public officials, including foreign and domestic trips, campaign contributions, excessive meals and entertainment and other things of value -- all with the intent, and at times with the understanding, that the public official would act to benefit Abramoff or his clients.

The things of value Abramoff provided to goverment officials included:

-- an all-expense-paid trip to Scotland to play golf on a world-famous course;

-- tickets and travel to the Super Bowl in Florida in 2001;

-- tickets for concerts and other events in Washington;

-- repeated and regular meals at his upscale restaurant;

-- and campaign contributions.

Abramoff provided these things of value with the intent and often with the understanding that his clients would receive the official action they wanted.

As admitted by Abramoff, his actions often produced the official influence he sought.

For example, as he admitted today, Abramoff:

-- had a Congressman insert statements in the Congressional Record;

-- had a Congressman endorse a wireless telephone contract for the House of Representatives,

-- had a Congressman agree to seek passage of legislation favorable to Abramoff's clients.

Government officials and governmental action are not for sale. The Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute these types of cases, which have such a devastating impact on the public's trust of the government. We will not shy away from this responsibility, no matter where the trail leads.

I will note that while Abramoff engaged in the business of lobbying, his activities went far beyond lawful lobbying, to the illegal practice of paying for official acts. Lawful lobbying does not include paying a public official a personal benefit with the understanding, explicit or implicit, that a certain official act will occur. That's not lobbying -- that's a crime.

The third aspect of Abramoff's illegal conduct, as reflected in his admissions in court today, is tax evasion. Abramoff profited tremendously from the illegal arrangements outlined today, receiving an estimated $25 million in undisclosed kickbacks and other fraudulently obtained funds. Abramoff failed to report or pay taxes on these and other illegally obtained funds.

As Abramoff's crimes are serious so too are the consequences he now faces. As provided in his plea agreement, the federal Sentencing Guidelines call for a sentence of between nine-and-a-half to 11 years for Abramoff's admitted criminal conduct. If Abramoff cooperates truthfully and completely with the government's investigation, and otherwise complies with the terms of his agreement with us, he may receive a reduction in his sentence at the discretion of the sentencing court. And he will be ordered to pay a hefty price for his crime -- approximately $26.7 million in restitution and taxes.

As the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, combating public corruption is a top priority of mine. I am proud to report that over the past 3 years there has been a near 100 percent increase in the number of cases prosecuted by the Public integrity section of the Criminal Division. We have been doing more to combat public corruption at every level of government, and we will continue to do more at the federal, state, and local level.

There are a lot of people who have worked on this case, and will continue to work on this investigation as it moves forward. Here in the Criminal Division, the Public Integrity Section and its chief, Noel Hillman, played an important role in providing leadership to this complex investigation. I also want to thank attorneys from the Division's Fraud Section -- headed by Paul Pelletier -- and the Justice Department's Tax Division -- headed by Eileen O'Connor -- along with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, for their valuable role in this case. And of course, I want to acknowledge the great work of teams of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Interior, the Internal Revenue Service and the Inspector General at the General Services Administration. Everyone has worked together closely to help uncover the facts and help move this significant case forward.