Group linked to Delay secretly funded by Abramoff

[ProSense]

Report: Group linked to DeLay funded by Abramoff clients
14 minutes ago


An organization with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay was funded largely by corporations associated with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing tax records and quoting former associates of the group.

Tax records, other documents and interviews bring into question the purpose of the U.S. Family Network, which functioned mostly by collecting funds from domestic and foreign businesses whose interests coincided with DeLay's activities while he was serving as House majority whip from 1995 to 2002, and as majority leader from 2002 until the end of September, the paper wrote.

During its five-year existence, the U.S. Family Network raised $2.5 million, but kept its donor list secret, the paper reported. That list, obtained by the Washington Post, showed that $1 million of its revenue came in a single 1998 check from a now-defunct London law firm whose former partners did not identify the money's origins.

According to the paper, two former associates of Edwin Buckham, the Texas Republican Delay's former chief of staff and organizer of the U.S. Family Network, said Buckham told them the funds came from Russian oil and gas executives. Abramoff had been working closely with two such Russian energy executives on their Washington agenda.

A spokesman for DeLay, who is fighting in a Texas state court unrelated charges of illegal fundraising, denied that the contributions influenced the former House majority leader's political activities, the paper wrote.

Russian energy executives who worked with Abramoff denied knowing anything about the million-dollar London transaction described in tax documents, according to the Washington Post.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051231/pl_nm/crime_abramoff_dc

[stepnw1f]

1. Talk About a "News Dump" (nt)

[rumpel]

2. US Family Network

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Family_Network%2C_Inc.

DeLay's Political Money Carousel

The Texas Observer published the following item April 28, 2000:

"The editors at Roll Call hired a tax accountant and consulted industry and academic authorities. Yet no one could figure why a 'grassroots lobbying' political action committee linked to Tom DeLay has raised $1.3 million from only five donors – then spent the money to buy a D.C. townhouse and a truck, and to lease a skybox at the Redskins stadium for fifteen years.

"Roll Call describes U.S. Family Network as one of a 'web of interlocking groups revolving around DeLay and Ed Buckham, his former chief of staff and top political advisor.'

"U.S. Family’s president, Robert Mills, was DeLay’s campaign manager in 1996. U.S. Family paid him a salary of $23,000 in 1997 and $28,500 in 1998. Buckham’s wife was paid a $59,000 salary. The truck the 501(c)4 non-profit purchased is registered at Buckham’s residence.

more at link

the best part:

The PAC’s mission statement on its tax return is the 'Promotion of social welfare for American Families' and funding projects to 'promote sound family values legislation.' The skybox, according to Thomas Susman, a lobbying law expert consulted by Roll Call, 'wouldn’t be grassroots.'"

[Bluesplayer]

3. It has "Family" in its name

It can't be bad!

[salin]

4. I can't get the link to work - but am interested per the timing

of the founding of the US Family Network. On at least one cite (I think it was the Center for Public Integrity) the link to the org was defunct citing that the org requested either has changed its name or is no longer functioning.

The timing - per its founding (stated "organizer" is Buckham) is particularly of interest in comparison to the timing of Buckham's tenure as DeLay's chief of staff. Most articles I have found on US FN refer to the case (allegations of RICO) where $$ was given from the RNC (?) then funnelled back to campaigns - articles which simply tie buckham to US FN - but do not go into the history of the organization.