Bush re-election campaign giving $2,000 Saginaw Chippewa contribution to charity

Observer Staff

1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) -Republican officials said President Bush's re-election campaign was donating to charity a $2,000 campaign contribution by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan following a plea agreement by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff, who represented the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, agreed to tell investigators about alleged bribes to lawmakers and their aides in a wide-ranging probe.

Bush's re-election campaign was giving up $6,000 worth of contributions in all. Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe each donated $2,000 to the Bush campaign, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.

"At this point, there is nothing to indicate that contributions from those individual donors represents anything other than enthusiastic support for the (Bush-Cheney) BC-04 re-election campaign," Schmitt said.The money is being donated to the American Heart Association.

Bush, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., are either returning campaign contributions from Abramoff or giving them to charity.

Meanwhile, a political action committee controlled by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said it would return a $2,000 contribution from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.

The Mt. Pleasant-based Tribe has made more than $1 million in political donations since the 2000 election cycle, according to an analysis by nonpartisan PoliticalMoneyLine, and has supported both Democrats and Republicans in Michigan.

One member of the delegation said he was reviewing past contributions for any links to Abramoff while several Democrats said they had no plans to return donations.

Sage Eastman, a spokesman for Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, said Wednesday that the congressman was "doing a thorough review of all the records" for any contributions connected to Abramoff. Camp received a $500 contribution from Abramoff in 2001, and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe has made $20,000 in contributions since 2001, according to the PoliticalMoneyLine analysis.

Eastman noted that the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe is located in Camp's district, and the congressman had worked actively on American Indian issues in Congress.

Records showed $5,000 in contributions from other Tribes represented by Abramoff since 2001.

Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, has received $6,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe since 2001, and records show contributions of $8,500 from other Tribes linked to Abramoff since then.

Kildee, who has been heavily involved in American Indian issues during nearly 30 years in Congress, said in a statement that "whatever I do on behalf of Native Americans, I do because of my long-standing support for their cause, not because of who lobbies for them." A spokesman said he would not return the contributions.

"As for Mr. Abramoff, I have never met him, nor have I ever talked to him. My campaign has never received a contribution from Mr. Abramoff, his family or his lobbying firm," he said.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has received $4,000 in contributions from the Tribe since 2002. Angela Benander, a Stabenow spokeswoman, said the senator "has no connection with Jack Abramoff and never received money from him."

Benander said members of the Tribes were constituents in Michigan and "at this time she's not planning to return those donations."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., received $2,000 from the Tribe in 2002. Kathleen Long, a Levin spokeswoman, said he had no plans to return the money.

"These are our constituents, and they wanted to contribute to the campaign," Long said.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, has received $4,000 from the Tribe since 2004 but was not refunding the contributions. Spokesman Kris Eisenla noted that the Tribe "is not alleged to be connected to any wrongdoing."

Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, received separate $1,000 contributions in 2002 and 2003 from the Tribe. "He's proud to have contributions from Michiganders and he has no intention to return the money," said Dingell chief of staff Rick Kessler.

The Michigan Democratic Party, which received $4,000 in contributions from the Tribe in October, was not planning to return the contributions, spokesman Jason Moon said.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that Abramoff and former partner Michael Scanlon conspired to defraud American Indian Tribes in Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Texas of millions of dollars.

Abramoff and Scanlon's firm was retained by the Tribe in 2002 to perform lobbying and grass roots services.

Abramoff encouraged the Tribe to expand its contract with the company in June 2002, prosecutors said, without telling them he would receive about 50 percent of the profits. From June 2002 to October 2003, the Tribe paid the firm about $3.5 million. About $540,000 was secretly kicked back to Abramoff as part of the scheme, the court documents said.

Tribal Chief Fred Cantu said in a statement that the Tribe was "relieved to see that Jack Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon are now under judgment for their illegal activities."

The Tribe plans to cut its political contributions about in half in 2006, to about $250,000, Tribal lobbyist Larry Rosenthal told the Detroit Free Press. He replaced Abramoff.

"The current Tribal council believes that it's important to help people who support Indian Tribes," Rosenthal told the newspaper. "It's being tainted as something nefarious. It's all done ... in accordance with the law."