. . . John Solomon, AP hit piece on Harry Reid, attempting to tie him to Abramoff. Lot's wrong with the piece and lot's weird about the piece, especially the reference to the Marianas Islands.

Just an FYI.

Update: The piece is out and Solomon's got nothing. More criticism here and here and a little snark here.

There is also some extended criticism from an Agonist friend after the jump.

The Associated Press Gets it Wrong

Harry Reid puts Nevada first. He has never written a letter to be helpful to Jack Abramoff or his clients. Reid wrote one letter supporting construction of tribal schools – consistent with his long held support of improving education – and three letters opposing the expansion of off-reservation Indian Gaming, actions consistent with his longtime stand on the issue. To cite just one example, here’s a 1992 article in the Seminole Tribune, saying that Senator Reid “led the assault on Indian gambling” with the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act: [Seminole Tribune, 11/13/92]

Early in his career, Harry Reid served as the chief gaming regulator in Nevada where he fought the influence of organized crime in casinos. When a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision broadened the authority of Indian tribes to conduct gaming on reservations, Reid played a leading role as a member of the Indian Affairs Committee in enacting the Indian Gaming Regulation Act of 1988 (IGRA).

IGRA promotes state oversight and limits the growth of tribal gaming by requiring Indian tribes to negotiate with States before engaging in casino-style gaming on their reservations. The 1988 law generally prohibits Indian gaming on non-tribal lands, including lands taken into trust for Native Americans after the law's effective date. But efforts to profit from Indian gaming by evading the requirements of IGRA are common.

The Associated Press article cites evidence that Reid was unsuccessfully lobbied by Abramoff associates. Abramoff’s client, the N. Marianas Islands, opposed extending U.S. minimum wage laws to the island. Reid was a co-sponsor of the bill introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2001, one provision of which would have extended the minimum wage to the N. Marianas Islands. Reid spoke on the Senate floor urging its passage [C.R. 5/6/02]

There is nothing new to this story. It has been reported on that Reid accepted $68,000 from some entities that also had affiliations with Jack Abramoff. . Harry Reid stands by the donations because he did nothing wrong in accepting lawful and publicly reported contributions.

The fact is that Abramoff’s firm, one of the largest lobbying offices in town, had contacts with every Senate office.

There’s nothing wrong with having had contacts with lobbyists. It would defy belief if one of the highest billing lobbying firms in Washington, DC had NOT had any contact with a Senator who was the Majority whip.

The bill in question would have applied the minimum wage to the Northern Mariana Islands, ending their exemption. This was exactly what Abramoff’s clients opposed. Reid was a co-sponsor of the bill, and spoke-out vigorously in support of its passage. [C.R. 5/6/02]

Of these four letters, three opposed the expansion of off-reservation Indian gaming. Two were written with Senator Ensign, and one was written with Senator Feinstein. These three letters are entirely consistent with Senator Reid’s longstanding position. He was the principal sponsor of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IRGA), which first established federal controls on tribal gaming, and he has consistently worked to ensure strict enforcement of the Act.

The fourth letter, sent in December of 2002, was also signed by six other Democratic Senators, and urged President Bush to support tribal school construction. Not only is improving education a core Democratic value, it is a cause which Harry Reid has consistently championed.

Native American Tribes have every right to participate in the American political process.

Senator Reid and Senator Ensign wrote to the Ethics Committee on December 14, 2005, after reports in the media questioned the propriety of one of the letters. They wrote: “We are confident that our conduct in this regard was appropriate, and we request that the Ethics Committee review this matter to confirm our understanding.” [Letter from Senators Reid and Ensign to Senators Voinovich and Johnson, 12/14/05]

Eddie Ayoob was one of many staff members employed by Senator Reid. As has been widely reported recently, the practice of staffers leaving the Hill to work on K Street is common. [See, e.g., ”Once a Lowly Aide, Now the King of K Street,” New York Times, 2/6/06 ] To address the issue, and any appearances of impropriety, Democrats have introduced legislation to stop the revolving door. [S.2180]

McCue was invited on the trip by long-time, prominent Democratic consultant Joel Johnson, formerly a top aide to leader Tom Daschle. She did not know Abramoff then; she does not know him now.

Again, to address even the appearance of impropriety, Democrats have introduced legislation banning trips paid for by anyone associated with a lobbying firm. Even though this has not passed the Senate, this policy has been made effective immediately to Senator Reid’s staff. [See, memo from Susan McCue to Reid staff, 1/16/06]

Sources say Reid is not a target of this investigation. “The Justice Department is not focusing on Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as part of an investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a source close to the probe said Wednesday in challenging a published report. The source, who requested anonymity, said the Justice Department is leading the investigation, which includes other agencies. [Las Vegas Review Journal, 1/12/06]

Reid has repeatedly and publicly declined to return the money. Many agree that Reid’s stand is a principled one. For example, John Samples of the Cato Institute wrote of the return of money from Abramoff clients: “Harry Reid, the minority leader in the U.S. Senate, has been an exception. He has refused to return the money on the grounds that the contributions were legal and involved no wrongdoing on this part. Of course, Mr. Abramoff may say that his contributions garnered favors from Sen. Reid. The senator can say that the dance of bribery requires two to tango, and for his part Mr. Abramoff's contribution was not a payment for a favor. The senator can then ask the public whether they should believe him, or a man who has admitted to felonies in two jurisdictions. . . . On balance, Sen. Reid's stand seems more likely to increase confidence in government. [John Samples, “Harry Reid is Right, Wall Street Journal, 1/19/06]

Senator Reid does not know Jack Abramoff.

Senator Feinstein and Senator Reid wrote a letter to Secretary Norton on November 8, 2002, about their concern that the Cuyapaipe Band of Mission Indians planned to turn a health clinic into a casino. Reid and Feinstein specifically noted that the proposed transformation “would circumvent the spirit of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” which Reid helped craft in 1988.

The IGRA promotes state oversight and limits the growth of tribal gaming by requiring Indian tribes to negotiate with States before engaging in casino-style gaming on their reservations. The 1988 law generally prohibits Indian gaming on non-tribal lands, including lands taken into trust for Native Americans after the law's effective date. But efforts to profit from Indian gaming by evading the requirements of IGRA are common.

As a principle sponsor of IGRA, and as Senator from a state where many commercial interests regard Indian gaming as competition, Sen. Reid has consistently opposed efforts to circumvent the 1988 law. For example:

• In 2001, Reid opposed an appropriations rider that would have enabled the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians in California to conduct gaming on non-reservation lands;

• In 2002, Reid opposed efforts by the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan to conduct gaming on non-reservation lands;

• Reid has repeatedly opposed legislation directing the Interior Department to take non-Alaskan land into trust for gaming by Alaska Native Corporations, and ensured that the pending Native Hawaiian bill (S. 147) does not authorize gaming.

Reid has consistently sought strict enforcement of the Act. As one example, here’s a statement form the Congressional Record , December 11, 2000, where Reid makes the same point he made in the November 2002 letter: “I stand for a conservative interpretation of the IGRA. As such, with all land bills involving Indian land, we must follow IGRA--in statute and intent. Congressional intent for Indian gaming under IGRA was to provide economic flexibility regarding the use of land which has a cultural or historical relationship to the tribal members. Congress did not provide in IGRA a mechanism for tribes to use to acquire and sell land which is only valuable because of its proximity to a commercially attractive area of high density traffic.”[CR, 12/11/00]

The alleged activity here is that Abramoff associates unsuccessfully lobbied Harry Reid. Reid was a co-sponsor of Senator Kennedy’s bill, The Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would have raised the minimum wage in the Northern Marianas islands. Abramoff’s clients were opposed to this legislation.

In fact, not only was Reid a co-sponsor of the bill, he called for its passage in a speech on the Senate floor on May 6, 2002, urging his colleagues move to make passage of the bill a priority. [CR, 5/6/02]

The fundraising was lawful, proper, and publicly recorded.

Again, the bill in question would have ended the exemption of minimum wage laws to the Northern Marianas Islands. It was opposed by Abramoff’s clients.

For a lobbyist to discuss the timing of a bill with the staff of the Democratic Whip is, in fact, perfectly normal. Senator Reid’s role as Whip meant that Reid was in charge of scheduling votes. His staff was repeatedly contacted about the Senate schedule.

That’s why Democrats have introduced legislation to end the revolving door between the Hill and K Street. . [S.2180]

As the article states, the trip was cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Again, McCue went on a trip that was pre-approved by the Ethics Committee.She had no knowledge of any connection to Jack Abramoff. No one from Abramoff’s firm was on the trip with her. She did not know him then, and she does not know him now.

In the course of this post 9/11 fact-finding trip, McCue met with the Malaysian Prime Minister, as well as defense and tourism officials, economists and business leaders. When she returned, she completed the requisite disclosure forms.

On April 24, 2002, Sen. Reid’s Searchlight Leadership Fund sponsored a fundraising event in conjunction with a musical concert at the MCI Center. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana purchased two tickets to the event by means of a $5000 check dated March 6, 2002.

Press reports have questioned the relationship between the March 5 Reid/Ensign letter and the subsequent contribution by the Coushatta Tribe. These stories note that the Coushatta Tribe opposed the Jena Compact because the Jena Tribe would pose competition to ongoing gaming sponsored by the Coushatta Tribe.

In fact, there was no relationship between the contribution and the letter. As noted above, the letter was consistent with longstanding policy goals of Sen. Reid and the economic interests of Nevada-based companies. The two tickets purchased by the Tribe were among almost two dozen tickets sold for this routine fundraising event and were part of a regular course of fundraising by the Leadership Fund, similar to fundraising conducted by Senate candidates across the country.

The Leadership Fund employee who accepted the contribution was unaware of the March 5 letter and unaware of the Coushatta Tribe’s opposition to the Jena Compact. Indeed, she was basically unfamiliar with IGRA. By the same token, Senator Reid’s Senate office was unaware of the Coushatta Tribe’s interest in the Jena Compact and unaware that the Coushatta Tribe had contributed money to the Leadership Fund.

Viewed in context, it is clear that the March 5 Reid/Ensign letter did not constitute a quid pro quo for the subsequent contribution by the Coushatta Tribe to Sen. Reid. Allegations to the contrary are simply wrong.

Senators Reid and Ensign have worked to promote the interests of Nevada.

This letter is entirely consistent with Senator Reid’s record. For example:

Sen. Reid worked to strengthen administrative rules implementing IGRA, and successfully opposed a bill last Congress (S. 1529) that would have weakened regulatory aspects of IGRA. See, S. Rep. 108-380 (Views of Sen. Reid).

Reid Consistently Called for Greater Regulation of Indian Gaming: 'I've always said that I thought the regulation was lax with Indian gaming, and I still say that,' said Reid, a former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. 'I think there should be more oversight because I don't think it's controlled well.' [Las Vegas Review Journal, 2/16/05]

Reid Opposed Efforts to Undermine the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Senator Reid helped craft the Act, which regulates gaming on Indian lands, in 1988. The 1988 law was designed to protect Tribes’ historic gaming activities, such as bingo, pull tabs, etc, (referred to as Class I and II gaming), while providing for state regulation of Tribal gaming activities that would expand to include casino-type gaming (Class III gaming). The law mandates that Tribes wishing to pursue casino-type, Class III gaming may do so only pursuant to a Tribal-State compact that provides adequate protections. In the 108th Congress, Senator Campbell pushed a bill (S. 1529) which would have eliminated the distinction between classing of gaming and allowed Tribes to pursue full scale casino gaming without the state regulation provided for in IGRA. “‘The bill amends the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 to fundamentally upset the balance the act struck between the interests of tribes and the states,’ Reid said in the statement.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/15/04]

This action by Senator Reid is entirely consistent with his record.

Reid Puts Nevada First When it Comes to Gaming. “'I've never been a senator who represents national gaming interests,' Reid said. 'I don't like gambling outside the state of Nevada. ... I'm going to do everything I can to protect Nevada's number one industry, to help it. But I'm not going to be seen as a national gambling leader.' Reid insists he is not being inconsistent, that he can support the Nevada casinos of companies such as MGM Mirage, Park Place and Harrah's without boosting their gambling businesses outside the state…MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said Reid's stand against gambling outside Nevada does not cause problems for the casino industry. 'Although companies based here (in Nevada) are publicly held, and we must seek opportunities wherever gaming is legal, there is no requirement for Senator Reid to participate in that,' Feldman said. 'We know we have his full, unyielding support on issues affecting the people of Nevada.'” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 9/30/01]

Reid asked for money for school construction for Native Americans. This is a position consistent with his values and the values of the Democratic Party.

Native American tribes have every right to fully participate in the American political process.

This legal, properly disclosed fundraising activity had no connection with any letter.