Here's a story from NPR today on this subject, indicating that there's another trip of Delay funded by Abramoff: to a premier Scottish golf course, for Delay, his wife, several associates and their spouses also, that cost $120,000. Sounds like a nice little holiday.
This is a transcript of an interview with the WAPO journalist who wrote the story linked to by arch13 above.
Quote:
JENNIFER LUDDEN, host:
A report in today's Washington Post adds new detail to questions surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his relationship with lobbyists. The Texas Republican has been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee. Joining us on the line is Washington Post reporter R. Jeffrey Smith.
Welcome.
Mr. R. JEFFREY SMITH (The Washington Post): I'm glad to be here.
LUDDEN: Your story concerns a trip to London and Scotland in 2000 when Mr. DeLay was majority whip. What did you find?
Mr. SMITH: We found that the airfare for this trip happened to be charged to a lobbyist's credit card, and we also found that expenses at a golfing hotel in Scotland happened to be charged to a second lobbyist's credit card.
LUDDEN: Now this was described as an educational trip. It included a stay at--as you mentioned, it was actually one of Scotland's premier golf courses. Mr. DeLay's wife went along, as well as aides and their spouses. Is that right?
Mr. SMITH: Yeah, everybody had a good time. I think if you're staying in a hotel room in London that costs $790 a night, you're racking up $145 in room service charges, you're getting a valet pressing of your clothing and you're spending $302 for a private car to bring you in from the airport, I would say it was not a hardship trip. They paid tens of thousands of dollars to play golf--I mean, the whole group played. The fact that his aides were there and that they also benefited from this--that the total trip exceeded $120,000 in cost for 10 days--that's just a lot of money for an educational trip.
LUDDEN: Now Mr. DeLay says he did nothing improper. He thought his expenses for this trip were being paid for by a non-profit organization, the National Center for Public Policy Research. If that were true, would it make a difference in relation to House ethics rules?
Mr. SMITH: You know, his lawyer contends that it does make a difference. I think there might be other people who would say differently. This will probably wind up being investigated by the House Ethics Committee at some point, and they'll decide whether it was appropriate or not.
LUDDEN: The credit card in question here belongs to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Tell us about him.
Mr. SMITH: A very colorful figure. Some of his clients paid him hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly some Indian tribes that he was representing in Washington. He's now at the center of a federal criminal and tax probe. There's a whole task force of government investigators who are looking into his affairs. And the fact that he is so tightly linked to Mr. DeLay must not be of great comfort to Mr. DeLay at this moment in time.
LUDDEN: Now Tom DeLay says the arrangements for this trip were made by his staff, and that he did not personally know of any involvement by Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm.
Mr. SMITH: Well, Mr. DeLay had said through his spokesman that the entire trip was organized by this non-profit group and that he had no way whatsoever of knowing that the lobbying firm of Mr. Abramoff had been involved in it. They modified that yesterday in response to our questions and said that, in fact, Mr. DeLay's staff had worked directly with the lobbying firm, but they said Mr. DeLay still had no way of knowing what his own staff was doing.
LUDDEN: House Majority Leader DeLay has been admonished several times now by the Ethics Committee. How significant do you think this latest information is going to be for them?
Mr. SMITH: Well, this is the first information that connects Mr. Abramoff and another lobbyist directly to payments for travel on Mr. DeLay's behalf. And House ethics rules state, without exception, that registered lobbyists are not allowed to pay for the travel by members of the House of Representatives.
LUDDEN: R. Jeffrey Smith is a reporter for The Washington Post. Thank you.
Mr. SMITH: My pleasure.
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