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Editorial: Dorgan does right thing on Abramoff
Monday, December 19, 2005
| 
Photo United Tribes Technical College. |
"Sen. Byron Dorgan’s decision to give back donations from American Indian tribes that were associated with lobbyist Jack Abramoff was correct. The North Dakota Democrat also is right to resist calls to recuse himself from an investigation of Abramoff’s lobbying activities.
Abramoff is under investigation by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s Indian Affairs Committee. Dorgan is ranking member, and is one of about 60 senators who received money from tribes apparently at Abramoff’s behest. When Dorgan learned (in part because of an Associated Press story) that some $67,000 from several tribes was tied to Abramoff’s lobbying firm, he returned the money.
Dorgan and McCain have been going after Abramoff with extraordinary tenacity. If anything, revelation of the Abramoff-directed money to Dorgan hardened his resolve to get to the bottom of the lobbyist’s shady activities. Indeed, purveyors of Washington scuttlebutt suggested last week that the initial source of the AP stories was in Abramoff’s organization – the lobbyist’s attempt to tarnish Dorgan’s credibility and scuttle the committee’s work.
It didn’t work. Moreover, North Dakotans know Dorgan to be honorable and smart. Other than the usual gaggle of partisans, they understand he’s done the right thing regarding tribal money and the Abramoff investigation."
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Relevant Links:
Sen. Byron Dorgan -
http://dorgan.senate.gov
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