Abramoff Scandal - Congress in the bag

Via the HuffPo, the AP reports that dozens of members of congress took money from Louisiana Indian tribe casinos and then lobbied the government to deny another tribe permission to open a casino.

The tribes, including the Louisiana Coushattas and Mississippi Choctaw, were trying to block the Jena's gambling hall for fear it would undercut business at their own casinos.

*

In the midst of the congressional letter-writing campaign, the Bush administration rejected the Jena's casino on technical grounds. The tribe persisted, eventually winning Interior approval but the casino now is tied up in a court dispute.

*

"This is one of the largest examples we've had to date where congressional action was predicated on money being given for the action," said Kent Cooper, who reviewed lawmakers' campaign reports for two decades as the Federal Election Commission's chief of public disclosure.

*

In one letter obtained by AP, 27 lawmakers told [Secretary of the Interior Gail] Norton she should reject the Jena casino because gambling was a societal blight. But within weeks, several of the authors had accepted donations from Abramoff's casino-operating tribes. All but eight eventually got Abramoff-related donations or used his restaurant for political events.

The top money-getters:

GOP's Hastert-$100K
GOP's Cochran-$77K
GOP's Lott-$65K
GOP's Grassley-$63K
GOP's DeLay-$57K

The story also mentions several Democrats, including Senators Harry Reid and Mary Landrieu.