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Politics
Abramoff used credit card to pay for DeLay's airfare


Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff used his credit card to buy the airline tickets then-House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) used for an overseas trip that was partially funded by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, The Washington Post reports.

The Post said it obtained documents that show Abramoff used his American Express card to buy tickets for DeLay at an expense of $6,938.70. Abramoff later asked the law/lobbying firm of Preston Gates & Ellis, where he worked at the time, for a reimbursement of $12,789.73 to cover DeLay's travel expenses.

DeLay, now the House Majority leader, claims he had no knowledge that Abramoff paid for his travel and other expenses. House ethics rules bar lawmaker from taking such gifts from lobbyists.

DeLay also maintains that the National Center for Public Policy Research funded the trip. But The Post previously reported that Abramoff got the Choctaws to contribute $50,000 to the center shortly before the May-June 2000 trip. Another Abramoff client donated $50,000 to the center.

Get the Story:
DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card (The Washington Post 4/24)
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Credit Receipts for DeLay Trip Raise Concerns (The New York Times 4/25)
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