United Press International - Abramoff clients spent $72M on lobbying

WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff spent $72 million on political influence, including contributions to about 500 members of the U.S. Congress.

The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group in Washington that investigates money in politics, said it arrived at the $72 million by adding amounts given the political candidates and fees charged by firms Abramoff worked for from 1998 through 2004.

While Abramoff is most often linked to Republicans, his clients' largess was unbound by party limitations. CRP, pointing out that the donations appear to be legal, said the Abramoff clients made donations to the presidential campaigns of Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry, but also chipped in on the campaigns of 99 U.S. senators and 384 House of Representatives members. The donations totaled about $22 million, CRP said.

"What also becomes clear through this latest review is how widespread the reach of a single lobbyist can be is he represents politically generous clients," CRP said in a release.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty to a series of charges related to bilking clients out of millions of dollars. He entered a plea agreement with a promise to aid the influence-peddling investigation on Capitol Hill.