Abramoff promised to lobby Rove on behalf of off-shore tax shelter for Tyco, the WaPo reports:

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove on behalf of a large, Bermuda-based corporation that wanted to avoid incurring some taxes and continue receiving federal contracts, according to a written statement by President Bush's nominee to be deputy attorney general.

Timothy E. Flanigan, general counsel for conglomerate Tyco International Ltd., said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that Abramoff's lobbying firm initially boasted that Abramoff could help Tyco fend off a special liability tax because he "had good relationships with members of Congress," including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Abramoff later said "he had contact with Mr. Karl Rove" about the issue, according to the statement by Flanigan, who oversaw Tyco's dealings with Abramoff and his firm and received reports from Abramoff about progress in the lobbying campaign. Flanigan's statement is the latest indication that Abramoff promoted himself as having ready access to senior officials in the Bush administration.

A White House spokeswoman, Erin Healy, said Rove "has no recollection" of being contacted by Abramoff about Tyco's concerns.

What a tangled web! We already knew that Rove's personal assistant at the time, Susan Ralston, was formerly Abramoff's secretary. But this piece highlights a new absurdity: Tyco's general counsel, Timothy Flanigan, "who oversaw Tyco's dealings with Abramoff and his firm," is currently awaiting confirmation to be US deputy attorney general! Reports the Post:

...Flanigan, who is still at Tyco while awaiting a committee vote on his nomination [to be deputy attorney general], said in his Sept. 15 written statement that he would "consult with DOJ ethics officials . . . and apply normal recusal standards" about the Justice Department's investigation of Abramoff. Flanigan said he would recuse himself from any Abramoff investigation involving Tyco.

Is this an accident that the Bush administration picks nominees who are so intertwined with those being investigated? Or is Flanigan a whistleblower on Abramoff's corruption? The LA Times reported earlier this week:

...The nominee (Flanigan)...wrote that Tyco discovered after an internal investigation that payments it made to a consulting firm recommended by Abramoff, GrassRoots Interactive, had been diverted to "entities controlled by Mr. Abramoff and were not used in furtherance of lobbying efforts on behalf of Tyco."

He said Tyco had concluded that the diversion was "in violation of Mr. Abramoff's ethical, fiduciary and contractual obligations to Tyco." The payments totaled $1.5 million.

Posted by Laura at September 23, 2005 07:12 AM