The Jack Pack: John Doolittle Edition

The feds have raided John Doolittle's house.

The Jack Pack Is Back

It looks like we are getting ready for another indictment as a result of the Jack Abramoff investigation. Italia Federici, who ran one of Ambramoff's front groups, Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, has received a target letter from the Justice Department. From the Legal Times:

Federici was central to the charges against J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Interior Department who pleaded guilty March 23 to misleading Senate investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, the infamous then-Greenberg Traurig lobbyist who pleaded guilty to several felonies last year.

As part of a plea, Griles admitted that because of his romantic relationship with Federici, he “gave Abramoff more credibility as a lobbyist” and “distinguished him from other lobbyists.”

According to the Jan. 19 target letter filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, investigators are looking at whether Federici violated five statutes in connection with running the group: conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, impeding the Internal Revenue Service, and obstructing proceedings and making false statements before the Senate. The letter makes no mention of Abramoff or Griles.

Federal officials also informed Federici that they believe she “may have assisted others in depriving the American Public of honest services of at least one administration official,” the letter states.

The letter advised Federici to seek an attorney and asked if she would be willing to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators. Whether she is currently cooperating or played a role in Griles’ plea is unknown.

Ah, young love. And who amongst us can forget the first time we ratted out a girlfriend to the feds. As for whether or not she'll plead guilty, the once high flying Federici has asked for a public defender.

Found via TPM Muckraker.

The Jack Pack: White House Edition

Today we learn that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff had 485 contacts with White House officials over a three year period, at least that is what Abramoff's billings suggest. That is an average of over three per week. Whether or not all of these took place, and I doubt they did, one thing is clear. Ken Mehlman appears to have been Abramoff's fixer at the White House. From TPM Muckraker:

In 2001, he [Mehlman] made sure a State Department official wasn't re-nominated for his post -- the official, Allen Stayman was a long-time foe of Abramoff's.

And according to a report from the Justice Department's Inspector General, Mehlman ordered one of his subordinates at the White House to keep Abramoff updated on issues related to Guam; Abramoff was keen to see the U.S. Attorney there replaced.

TPM Muckraker also notes the $16 million he freed up at the DOJ for the Chocktaw tribe that is referenced in today's Washington Post which clearly looks like criminal activity. What is unclear at this point is whether or not Mehlman performed these activities on behalf of party loyalty or if Abramoff had some dirt on Mehlman, perhaps something Mehlman would prefer to be locked up in some far away closet.

Bye Bob

Bob Ney is going to plead guilty for his part in the Abramoff scandal, but this caught my eye in this mornings Dispatch:

Another person familiar with the department’s investigation said that at least one of the criminal charges in Ney’s guilty plea would involve the accuracy of his contention in a House financial-disclosure statement that he won $34,000 in a London casino in 2003.

The winnings also had been under scrutiny by the Justice Department in part because the amount coincided to a surprising degree with the amount of debt on Ney’s credit cards. Ney’s host on that trip was a Cyprus-based aviation firm that was seeking congressional support for sales of airplane parts to Iran.

For more on this read what I wrote last year here, here, here, and here.