2008 Woodie Awards
The infamous lobbyist who was featured on the cover of Time magazine as “the man who bought Washington” is set to begin his nearly six year sentence on November 15. Although Jack Abramoff’s new title – Federal inmate 27593-112 – is decidedly less arresting (pun intended) than the one that Time bestowed, it is doubtful that this influential public figure will fade away and become just another number in America’s prison system. It should come as no surprise that Abramoff’s notoriety exerted a tangible effect on several midterm elections (chief among them, Montana’s senate race) and it is likely that his criminal activities ultimately played a key role in tipping the congressional balance of power. But despite everything that has happened, Abramoff is not without friends in the political sphere. Over 100 prominent political allies wrote to the sentencing judge asking for leniency on Abramoff’s behalf. Their efforts were not in vain as the 5 year 10 month sentence that Abramoff received was the minimum amount permitted under the law. During the upcoming jail time, the ex-lobbyist will likely continue to play an important role in political affairs given that he is expected to testify in more investigations pertaining to federal lobbying. One has to wonder if some politicians are afraid that new information will give rise to further scandals that could play a similar role in 2008.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Just another WordPress weblog
RSS 2.0
