Senate investigation discloses details

Scott Csernyik

1/25/2005 12:00:00 AM

Details of a powerful Washington lobbyist and public affairs consultant's secret partnership that influenced a Saginaw Chippewa Tribal election in order to secure additional money from the Tribe emerged during a recent hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Jack Abramoff, former lobbyist for Greenberg Traurig, and Michael P. Scanlon of Captial Campaign Strategies, bilked six Tribes out of at least $66 million, according to the Sept. 29 investigation. About $14 million of that amount was from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.

The Tribes include the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, Mt. Pleasant; Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Palm Springs, Calif.; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Philadelphia, Miss.; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Elton, La.; Pueblo of Sandia, Bernalillo, N.M; and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of El Paso, Texas.

The three-hour hearing included testimony from Abramoff, Saginaw Chippewa Sub-Chief Bernie Sprague, Chairman Richard Milanvich of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, as well as former Saginaw Chippewa Legislative Affairs Director Chris Petras.

Chairman Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo. called the $66 million a "rather eye-popping sum of money," and that the pair helped "manipulate outcomes of Tribal elections for their own personal profit." He also said the seven-month investigation revealed a "story of green run amok."

Vice-Chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii was visibly and verbally disgusted over the pair's misleading actions.

"It saddens me that after the glorious events of last week when thousands of Native people came to our National Mall to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian and what we all hoped to be the beginning page in a new chapter in relations with the first Americans that we now must turn our attention to something that at the minimal appears to be another most unseemly manifestation of exploitation of the Native peoples of this land," he stated.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. said the fleecing of the American Indian "began with the sale of Manhattan and continued ever since." He also emphasized this investigation was "not an attack on sovereignty."

"Every kind of charlatan and every type of crook has deceived and exploited America's native sons and daughters," he stated. "I want Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon to know that their failure to cooperate in the face of a compulsory process will not be tolerated and their attempt to slow roll the committee will not be brooked."

Scanlon had dodged U.S. marshals attempting to serve him with a subpoena to appear, according to McCain. While under oath, Abramoff consistently invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

After having looked at the material presented during the hearing, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. called it a "cesspool of greed" and "truly a disgusting pattern of moral corruption."

E-mails sent between Abramoff and Scanlon referred to their clients as "morons," "monkeys," "troglodytes" and "idiots."

Campbell said he was "personally offended" by these comments.

"Why would you want to work for people that you have so much contempt for?" Campbell asked Abramoff. "Why would you refer to them in such despicable terms?

It does not sound like the comments of an educated man. In knowing your background, I happen to have a very, very strong concern for the Jewish people in America because in many cases they suffered the same things the Indians did. I would have thought you would have had a much more sensitivity to Indian people."

Inouye continued the blistering attack by asking Abramoff, "as a good citizen of the United States" if he filed a tax return.

Abramoff's consistency of invoking his Fifth Amendment right irritated Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

"I don't think you're doing yourself any favor here by invoking repeatedly your Fifth Amendment rights...many of these questions have nothing to do with your possible criminal conduct," stated Conrad. "They are questions that are outlined in the E-mails you wrote."

Sprague told the committee it has been a "difficult and trying period for the Tribe."

"We've endured generations of broken treaties and broken promises," said Sprague. "They may wear fancy suits and expensive shoes, but their greed, scare tactics and unscrupulous behavior is the same our people have faced for generations. Their goal to take from Indian people what is not rightfully theirs is once again being painfully repeated."

The investigation revealed the pair backed the "Slate of Eight" campaign in the fall of 2001, according to severals E-mails from Abramoff. During that election, seven of the eight candidates were elected to Tribal Council.

"We had less than three weeks to take eight guys we never met before and get them elected," according to a Nov. 7, 2001.

Sprague also testified before the committee that the Tribe purchased a Michigan voter database from CCS for $4.5 million that could have been bought for $75,000.

"To this day, we don't know where this money went and this type of spending was repeated over, over and over again costing our Tribe over $14 million," said Sprague. "To this day, we do not have a full account of what these lobbyists were doing."

Spargue later described Abramoff and Scanlon as "vultures."

Petras, who was employed by the Tribe for about five years, began as a policy research analyst before becoming interim legislative affairs director and then eventually director.

"If you could do it all over again would you recommend him [Abramoff} again," asked Campbell of Petras.

"I do not know if the allegations are true or not on Mr. Abramoff, so it would be difficult to say," responded Petras.

Inouye asked Petras if he received any gifts from Abramoff and Scanlon. Petras said he got a "video camera, a digital camera, leather travel document holder and some type of slide projector desktop screen."

"Did you feel that it was proper or improper?" quizzed Inouye.

"It was Christmas," replied Petras. The comment drew laughter.

McCain then talked about several E-mails that were not flattering to Petras. Some of these referred to him "always being dramatic" and "the Petras bullshit factor."

"Does that arouse any emotion in you?" asked MCain.

"I don't know what the context of it is," replied Petras.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. asked Petras if he had ever had his picture taken with key White House staff.

"I don't know about key staff," said Petras. "We had our photo taken with the President."

That reply also drew laughter with Campbell saying, "I think that qualifies."

While Petras fielded some of the senator's questions, he told them often that he did not recall or was not sure of the context the question was being asked. This prompted Dorgan to question his memory capability.

"How long have you had this problem with recall? Is this a new phenomenon or is it just related to this particular set of hearings or is this an ongoing serious issue?"

A sheepish Petras did not respond.

"He doesn't recall," replied Dorgan.

Johnson said Petras' employment with the Tribe sounded like almost like an "immaculate conception."

"It sounds like you did nothing but take a batch of papers from this and hand them to this group," he said. "Was that your role?"

"I'm not sure I would describe it like that," responded Petras.

Besides the gifts, they also grilled Petras about receiving any money from the pair or being promised future compensation or employment. Petras told the committee, "No."

The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.