How to Really Say Thank YouIt’s apparent that Jack Abramoff’s crew was really thankful for the help of key Justice Department officials in helping out their client, the Mississippi Choctaw. One of those officials, Robert Coughlin, has pleaded guilty. Others are apparently under investigation.
But when it comes to brainstorming among the lobbyists on just how they ought to show their appreciation, I think this takes the cake:
Kevin Ring was exuberant. It was Feb. 4, 2002, and Ring, a young member of Jack Abramoff’s lobbying team at Greenberg Traurig, was laying plans to attend a Dave Matthews Band concert at the MCI Center. It was to be a celebration.
“I have the suite filling up with DOJ staffers that just got our clients $16 million,” he gushed in an e-mail to his colleague, Padgett Wilson. “Come to the show, baby.”
“Are there any tickets left?” asked Wilson, now director of governmental affairs for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. He then submitted: “And as for those DOJ staffers, those guys should get anything they want for the rest of the time they are in office — opening day tickets, Skins v. Giants, oriental massages, hookers, whatever.”
