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Editorial: Rep. Charles Taylor and Jack Abramoff
Friday, April 14, 2006

"It’s time for Congressman Charles Taylor to speak frankly with his constituents about his connections to political lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abramoff pleaded guilty earlier this year to a number of felony corruption charges.

E-mails that detail how Abramoff’s team worked to leverage assistance from the White House, the Republican Party and congressmen, including Taylor, raise serious questions about whether Taylor traded influence over legislation important to Abramoff’s clients for campaign donations.

On April 11, 2003, a month before Taylor wrote a letter on behalf of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe, Abramoff’s firm threw a fundraiser that scored thousands of dollars for his campaign. Taylor, who oversees a House subcommittee that controls the Department of Interior’s budget, wrote a letter with Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, who chairs a similar committee in the Senate, supporting the tribe in its request for $3 million to build a school. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, a part of Interior, had argued that the wealthy Michigan tribe, which operates a casino, shouldn’t qualify for the school program."

Get the Story:
Voters deserve some answers from Taylor (The Asheville Citizen-Times 4/14)

Saginaw Chippewa Letter:
Dear Congressional Appropriators (April 6, 2006)

Relevant Links:
Rep. Charles Taylor - http://charlestaylor.house.gov
House Appropriations Committee - http://appropriations.house.gov

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