Did McCain Try To Protect A GOP Governor From The Abramoff Scandal?
It is really looking that way: In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post — which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report — Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the “help” he received from Abramoff’s […]
It is really looking that way:
In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post — which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report — Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the “help” he received from Abramoff’s tribal clients.
An official with the Mississippi Choctaws “definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation,” Abramoff wrote, “including his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can’t qualify for a state contract or something like that.”
The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions about Riley’s victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama history.
And yet, despite the implications of the information, McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation, McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report was released.
Read the entire report here.