http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060107/NEWS09/601070432COLUMBUS - An activist group called on President Bush yesterday to disclose the sources of all campaign contributions collected by former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and other Bush "Pioneers" and "Rangers" convicted, indicted, or under investigation on corruption allegations.
"The President should not fall victim to the Nixonian tendency to keep bad things secret," said Ned Wigglesworth, analyst for TheRestofUs.org, a watchdog group based in California. "He owes it to himself and the American people to disclose this information so the public can take a closer look at the Pioneers."
In October, a federal grand jury in Toledo indicted Mr. Noe on charges he laundered donations into Mr. Bush's re-election campaign. He has pleaded not guilty. State officials have accused the former Maumee coin dealer of stealing at least $4 million from the rare-coin investment he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Mr. Noe attained the elite status of a Bush Pioneer in 2004 by raising at least $100,000 for President Bush's re-election campaign.