Committee led by Dole to keep Abramoff cash
By Mary M. Shaffrey
JOURNAL WASHINGTON BUREAU
Saturday, January 7, 2006


WASHINGTON

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, headed by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., said yesterday that it was not planning to return any of the more than $400,000 that it has received from former clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"Those donations are legal. We feel it wouldn't be appropriate to return them," said spokesman Brian Nick. "We're a political committee. We don't affect legislation."

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks the role of money in politics, Dole's committee has received $436,500 over the last six years, from various Indian tribes that Abramoff once represented.

Included in this figure are $50,000 worth of donations from two separate Indian tribes since Dole took over as chairwoman of the committee early last year.

Dole announced earlier this week that she is giving $1,000 - the total amount that Abramoff donated to her own individual campaign - to charity. Rep. Walter Jones, R-3rd, is also reported to have donated his Abramoff contributions to charity.

Calls to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were not immediately returned. Over the same six-year period, it has received $423,480 from former clients of Abramoff's - including $75,000 in the 2006 campaign cycle.

Abramoff pleaded guilty this week to fraud and corruption charges as part of a federal investigation. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to tell the FBI about alleged bribes to legislators and their aides on issues ranging from Internet gambling to wireless phone service.

• Mary M. Shaffrey can be reached in Washington at (202) 662-7672 or at mshaffrey@wsjournal.com

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story can be found at: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satel ... 7645509099