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Justice Docs Suggest Identities of Team Abramoff Lobbyists Who Bribed Aide
Yesterday, Trevor Blackann, a former aide to Missouri Republicans Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Roy Blunt, pleaded guilty to concealing thousands of dollars in illegal gifts he received from lobbyists who were part of Team Abramoff.
Exactly who were those lobbyists? Today, Rollcall fingers Todd Boulanger and James Hirni as the top suspects:
According to documents provided by the Justice Department, Blackann received the majority of gifts -- valued at more than $3,100 -- in 2003 from an individual identified only as "Lobbyist D," a close Abramoff associate.But details provided about "Lobbyist D" match the career trajectory of Todd Boulanger, a former aide to then-Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who later worked for the firm Preston Gates and then Greenberg Traurig.
...
Although unnamed, details about "Lobbyist E" match those of James Hirni, a former Senate aide who at one time worked for Greenberg Traurig with both "Lobbyist D" and Abramoff.
Boulanger has long been known as a key member of Team Abramoff. In 2006, TPMmuckraker published a 2002 email he sent to fellow lobbyists, asking them to contribute to the re-election camapign of Mississippi GOP senator Thad Cochran, whose office, wrote Boulanger, had "never said 'no'" to the Choctaw Indians, a casino-owning Abramoff client.
Both Boulanger and Hirni are still in the lobbying game. Boulanger works for Cassidy and Associates, while Hirni is a "director of Republican outreach" for Wal-Mart, according to Roll Call. Neither returned the paper's calls for comment.
Perhaps ominously for both, Blackann is said by his lawyer to be cooperating with prosecutors as they seek to build other cases.
As for Bond and Blunt themselves, the office of the former said yesterday he had "no knowledge" of Blackann's ilegal activities. Blunt's office has not yet commented publicly on the matter.













Shit. Dude's hot for a Republican.
November 21, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love the fact that his corporate biography is too modest about his achievements to mention his previous employer by name:
Mr. Boulanger came to Cassidy & Associates from a medium-sized D.C. government relations firm, where he served as Director of Government Affairs...
November 21, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
James Hirni - Director of Republican Outreach for Wal-Mart.
I wonder what part, if any, the Blackann indictment played in the announcement that H Lee Scott was stepping down as CEO Wal-Mart?
November 21, 2008 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jeez--I am so sick of this game of six degrees of seperation to Jack Abramoff that the Feds are obsessed with. Did it ever occur to anyone that this is a case of someone admitting to something that isn't true--but that Justice wants to hear- in order to save his own ass and hundreds of thousands in legal fees?
Shouldn't DOJ be using their time and resources to go after REAl bad guys. Looking forward to having my taxes raised in 2009 so DOJ can have more funding to spend countless hours going after kids who went to sporting events, instead of going after terrorists, abusers and other actual lawbreakers that are a threat to our children and families.
What a waste of the time, energy and resources of the capable people at DOJ that devote their lives to public service instead of cashing in. You'd think they would want their legacies to be more meaningful than engaging in obsessive witch hunts.
November 23, 2008 12:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can understand your perspective, BB, but I think the argument could be made that this prosecutorial strategy is a very efficient use of taxpayer dollars: by going after lobbyists very aggressively in this case the DOJ is deterring other lobbyists from pursuing similar strategies to win federal money for their clients, thereby saving taxpayers money that might otherwise be wasted on earmarks and unnecessary programs.
November 24, 2008 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink