It came about a year too late to do him any good, but the Justice Department has notified ex-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) that he's no longer under investigation for his ties to Jack Abramoff. Burns, you may remember, lost very narrowly to Jon Tester (D) last November, with Burns' Abramoff problem a huge issue in the election.

The feds had been investigating whether Burns helped Abramoff's tribal clients in exchange for tens of thousands in campaign contributions and other goodies. Abramoff himself said that he got whatever he wanted from Burns and that his staffers "pratically" used Abramoff's D.C. restaurant Signatures "as their cafeteria."

Abramoff continues to busily cooperate with investigators from prison. But whatever prosecutors came up with on Burns, they apparently didn't think it would stick in court -- bribery cases, of course, are notoriously hard to make.

Burns, who spent around $300,000 in campaign contributions on defense lawyers, fittingly got a lobbying gig after his forced retirement. And how does he feel about not being under investigation for the first time in more than two years? He says that he feels "so great that it's unbelievable." I'll bet he's "ready to go get knee-walking drunk."

Update: Don't forget that Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) and ex-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) are still very much on the hook.

Since we're on the subject of the Jack Abramoff investigation...

Conrad Burns, the senator from Montana who narrowly lost re-election last November due in large part to his association with Abramoff, continues to spend big money on his lawyer.

According to his recently filed campaign disclosure report, Burns paid more than $160,000 in legal fees to the law firm Powell Goldstein between January and March of this year. That means Burns' campaign has doled out more than $264,000 since he hired Ralph Caccia of that firm last April.

Burns is one of four lawmakers consistently reported to be in the sights of investigators. The other three are: ex-Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who's in jail; Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), whose home was searched by the FBI last week, and ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

Burns went to work as a lobbyist earlier this year.

Yet another senator who lost re-election because of his ties to lobbyists is heading to K Street:

Former Sen. Conrad Burns, whose ties to lobbyists helped sink his re-election bid, has landed at a new workplace: a Washington lobbying firm.

Burns will work for his former chief of staff, Leo Giacometto, at the firm Gage, which has lobbied for Montana interests and several national technology companies, often making headlines for its connections to Burns and his staff.

Well, at least there Burns will be able to earn more than enough to pay his lawyers as prosecutors investigating the Abramoff scandal bear down... although he's still got plenty left over in his campaign fund.

Update: As anonymontucky comments below, Burns and Giacometto are under investigation by the FBI for Burns' earmarking shenanigans, as first reported by Roll Call (sub. req.).

Well, this just proves the wisdom of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) decision to keep almost $300,000 in his campaign coffers.

Burns paid approximately $12,000 more to Powell Goldstein in early November, according to Burns' last FEC report, meaning that since he hired Ralph Caccia of that firm in April, Burns' campaign has doled out more than $103,500. And you can bet that number will continue to climb.

During his doomed re-election campaign, former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) did his best to convince voters that he wasn't worried in the least about what Jack Abramoff had told prosecutors. Hell, he's not even a target of the investigation!

If he failed to convince voters, that may be because he appears not to have convinced himself: rather than spend his bottom dollar on last-minute ad buys to eke out a win, Burns quietly banked nearly $300,000. He lost by 3,602 votes.

Playing the squirrel to Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) grasshopper, Burns is now sitting pretty. That's money he can use down the line to pay his lawyers, whom he's already paid more than $90,000. By contrast, Doolittle, the other lawmaker reported to be in prosecutors' sites, finished his successful re-election bid in debt. Silly grasshopper.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) has spent at least $91,500 in campaign funds on a white collar defense lawyer this year.

Last November, both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Burns is on the short list for Abramoff investigators. Burns finally hired defense attorney Ralph Caccia of Powell Goldstein in April of this year. At the time, Burns' spokesman said that Caccia had been retained to "[help] review all the facts in this matter."

The review must be continuing, as Burns' recent FEC disclosure shows a $27,460 payment to Caccia's firm in September. Together with the $64,000 that Burns had paid out since April, that makes approximately $91,500 in fees.

Burns joins Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), his companion on the Justice Department's short list (which also includes former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and soon-to-be-former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH)), in both shelling out money for a top-flight defense lawyer and publicly proclaiming that he's not a target of the DoJ's probe. To see why Burns has got investigators so interested, see our reference section.

Recent polls show Burns trailing his Democratic challenger, Jon Tester.

There he goes!

Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) campaign manager has proudly announced that his boss has confirmed he is not a "target" of the Abramoff investigation.

As we've learned from previous scandal figures, that can only mean one thing: the investigators are making progress.

"The Department of Justice told Sen. Burns' counsel that no, in fact, he is not the target," Burns' spokesman said yesterday afternoon. The comments came after Time Magazine reported that a source "close to the investigation" said that Burns was getting "particular scrutiny" in the wake of Rep. Bob Ney's (R-OH) guilty plea.

It's a statement finely tuned to sound like Burns has been exonerated. But of course, it doesn't really mean anything except that prosecutors won't be knocking down his door tomorrow. As the Great Falls Tribune noted:

"Target" is a specific term indicating that a prosecutor or grand jury likely has evidence linking someone to a crime.

In other words, the Feds ain't got the goods. Yet.

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What do Sens. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Bill Frist (R-TN) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) have in common? (Hint: they're frequent subjects on TPMmuckraker.)

The three men are the most corrupt senators in Congress, according to a new list of the most corrupt lawmakers in Washington.

It's the second year now that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released its list of 20 muckiest senators and congresspeople.

Although the group names the trio as "most corrupt," it doesn't rank the 17 House members they finger.

The group also identified five "members to watch" -- that is, folks with muck in their past that could be a harbinger of muck to come.

The list, in no particular order, is after the jump.

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Montana officials have accused a recently-departed fundraising chief for Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) re-election campaign with securities fraud, according to a press release.

State Auditor John Morrison says Pat Davison defrauded two families of $1.2 million. Morrison said Davison convinced them to withdraw the money from investment accounts so he could put them in "fake" investments, including a bond issue from a local school trust.

Officials from the school "confirmed that no such trust exists and they do not issue bonds," the release states. Morrison has referred the matter to the state attorney general for possible prosecution.

Burns named Davison his state finance director in January. According to Burns spokesman Jason Klindt, Davison left the campaign last month. "Pat Davison resigned on July 27th. He is not Burns’ finance chief," he said in a message. However, a search of the campaign's Web site turns up no press release announcing the departure, and a search of the Nexis database results in no articles mentioning the split.

Klindt added that the finance director spot was a "voluntary position."

Davison also convinced people to invest in several of his companies, none of which had been registered to offer or sell securities in the state, according to Morrison.

Calls to the Montana Attorney General's office were referred to FBI's Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. A bureau spokesperson said she could not confirm or deny "any sort of activity."

Reached by phone this afternoon, the Burns campaign appeared to be unaware of the charges. A receptionist there said all spokespeople were at lunch and unavailable. Telephone messages left at Davison's house and business went unreturned.

Full press release after the jump.

Update: This post originally referred to Davison as Burns' current state finance director.

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Montana officials have accused the former state finance director for Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) re-election campaign, Pat Davison, of securities fraud, TPMmuckraker has learned.

Developing. . .

Update: This post originally referred to Davison as Burns' current state finance director.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) to Senate Ethics Committee: Tell me I didn't do anything wrong.

Senate Ethics Committee: No, there's an ongoing criminal investigation.

Burns: “That’s a feeble excuse.”

Here's a story about an attack ad just waiting to double back on its maker.

In the spot, Republicans hit Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for bringing home pork to a Michigan Indian tribe. They neglect to mention that the tribe -- a client of Jack Abramoff's -- relied not just on Stabenow, but on senior Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), whose ties to Abramoff were stronger (and more lucrative) than Stabenow's.

The muddying has begun.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) is in political (and legal) trouble because he was a favorite of Jack Abramoff's - but there's been one earmark in particular that's made him look particularly bad, and that's the $3 million grant he inserted for Abramoff's client the Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan.

Dems have harped on this because it makes for a great sound bite: Burns delivered $3 mil to an Abramoff client, a filthy rich tribe that's not even in his state. Every member of the Saginaw gets $70,000 a year in gambling profits. The grant was from a program intended to help poor tribes repair dilapidated schools; but Burns forced the funding through over the objections of the Interior Department. What a filthy, filthy man.

Recently there's been an offensive of sorts to muddy the waters, to keep Burns from looking so bad. The Hill reported yesterday that Burns was simply helping out his Democratic colleagues, Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin of Michigan. And today there's an AP piece about Stabenow's money from Abramoff.

So was Burns bought? Let's review the facts.

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Just got a call from Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) spokesman Matt Mackowiak who, in response to our earlier story, unequivocally denied that Burns had ever earmarked money for Map Roi's Guam project. This contradicts Guam Gov. Camacho's assertion that Burns had.

"Burns never inserted it as an earmark in an Interior appropriations bill," he said. "The project was not funded through Sen. Burns."

He further said that he could find no evidence that Burns had even responded in writing or otherwse to Guam Gov. Felix Camacho's request for an earmark. Camacho had written a letter to Burns, explaining the virtues of the Map Roi program.

Soon after writing the letter, Camacho claimed in his "State of the Island" address that Burns had inserted the earmark. According to Burns, this was a total fabrication.

Another Conrad Burns earmark - maybe the best one yet.

Burns tried to push $20 million in federal funds to a company in which Ed Buckham, Tom DeLay's former chief of staff and a close associate of Jack Abramoff's, had a financial stake.

The $20 million earmark, which Burns inserted into an appropriations bill in early 2003, was to fund Guam's contract with a company called Map Roi, a software firm. Map Roi was hawking their program called GForce, which is advertised on Map Roi's website as (I kid you not) "Your complete system for winning government business."

So why was Burns (a human GForce in his own right) so eager to see Guam get more government money?

Map Roi was founded by the son-in-law of Guam's former governor Carl Gutierrez, who is himself a stockholder. And even though the company's business is getting government money, on May 1, 2003, they signed up with Alexander Strategy Group, Buckham's lobbying firm, to help them land some government contracts. As payment, they offered ASG an option on 500,000 shares in the company. The lobbying disclosure filings don't show a significant amount paid in cash fees that year.

Map Roi signed up with ASG on May 1. On May 13, 2003, the Governor of Guam boasted to his island that Guam would be the beneficiary of Burns' generosity:

Working closely with Sen. Burns, I was successful in including Guam with the state of Virginia to be part of the appropriations budget for 2004 that develops a revolutionary nationwide program called MAP ROI. MAP ROI provides data on government procurement, available federal grants, market intelligence and business development tools ... to help companies turn marketplace knowledge into increased sales...

It also helps our government and private citizens obtain more grants and assistance. This economic stimulus package will provide approximately $20 million extended over five years to the University of Guam to house and train technical personnel to implement this program.

So it would seem that no sooner had Buckham received his stake in the company that Burns went to work drumming up big business.

Burns' spokseman didn't return our call seeking an explanation. The Burns response to the LA Times piece, which briefly mentioned the $20 million contract, was that the project was not funded. And Guam never signed up with Map Roi, according to the Pacific Daily News.

So somewhere along the line, the deal fell apart, but it wasn't for lack of Burns' trying.

Late Update: Be sure to see Burns' response to the story here.

President Bush said last night: "I kind of like being on the same platform as Senator Burns because he makes me sound like Shakespeare. I like a plain-talking fellow."

Now, we've spent a lot of time here at TPMmuckraker laying into Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Jack Abramoff's favorite senator, but we're prepared to acknowledge his positives too, and it is true that he has a talent for "plain-talking."

So in honor of what may very well be Senator Burns' last campaign, TPMMuckraker offers a compilation of his most colorful comments on Abramoff and the heat he's been taking over the guy:

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The Helena Independent Record reports that "rumors are swirling are swirling around Montana political circles" that Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) might drop out of the race before Thursday's filing deadline. A recent poll showed Burns trailing the leading Democratic challenger 48-43.

Burns' spokesman says that he's in it to win it.

Looks like we're in for a round of the Katherine Harris will-he-or-won't-he Do-Si-Do up there in Montana.

Here's our rundown of Burns' Abramoff troubles.

From the Helena Independent Record:

Bob Keenan, the top Republican leader in the Montana Senate, said Thursday he is considering challenging Sen. Conrad Burns in the primary election because he is "concerned" about Burns' re-election chances because of a lobbying scandal.

The Montana Democrats have done an excellent job of making the case against Burns, who was really tied in to Jack Abramoff (See our bio here for just how tied in). But last week's Vanity Fair piece has really sent the Republicans into a panic. It's easy to see why:

"Every appropriation we wanted [from Burns' committee] we got. Our staffs were as close as they could be. They practically used Signatures as their cafeteria."

As we noted, a woman who's central figure in most of the current GOP fundraising scandals disappeared from her D.C. lobby firm earlier this week.

High-powered campaign finance specialist Barbara Bonfiglio was treasurer or adviser to a broad range of Republican money operations, from campaign funds to political action committees. An unfortunate number of them seem to be turning up in headlines.

Here's a partial list of groups she's worked for: Rep. Tom DeLay's (R-TX) ARMPAC; Sen. Conrad Burns' (R-MT) leadership PAC; Rep. Richard Pombo's (R-CA) RichPAC; Santorum's senate re-election campaign and leadership PAC; Rep. Jerry Lewis' (R-CA) Future Leaders PAC; and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's (R-CA)American Prosperity PAC. DeLay, Burns, Pombo and Lewis all had ties to Abramoff, mainly by taking his and his clients' money. Cunningham, he's his own kettle of rotting fish.

A managing partner at Williams & Jensen now tells Will Bunch she's got a new job - as senior compliance officer with a Fortune 500 company. (Thanks to reader BK for the tip.)

Bonfiglio was recently nicked by stories coming out of the Pennsylvania media about Sen. Rick Santorum's (R-PA) so-called charity, Operation Good Neighbor, for which she was treasurer. The group raised hundreds of thousands of dollars promising to "break the cycle of poverty," but spent most of it on things unrelated to its mission, particularly travel and meetings.

In an old Public Citizen report, she's listed as working for 31 PACs from 1998 to 2001, more than anyone else. She's put her expertise, writing a book on the topic: How to Cross the Potomac Without Falling In, a guide on how politicians can take money and gifts and get away with it -- er, not run afoul of the law.

She's been subpoenaed at least once, in 2004, in connection with DeLay. What does she know? Who is she telling?

Has anyone read her book? Is it any good? It doesn't seem to show up on Amazon.

"[Abramoff] is a pathological liar who has no credibility and belongs in jail," a Burns spokesman tells AP. Burns' statement comes in response to Abramoff's comments to Vanity Fair, mentioned earlier today, that his clients got "every appropriation we wanted" from Burns' committee, and that Burns' staffers used Abramoff's restaurant, Signatures, "as their cafeteria."