Byron Dorgan
Senator Dorgan of North Dakota is the vice chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is heading the Senate investigation of Jack Abramoff. He served in the House of Representatives from 1981 to 1992, when he was elected to the Senate and has been chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee since 1998.
Key Points:
Dorgan received $67,000 from tribal clients of Abramoff.
Between 2001 and 2004 Dorgan received a total of $67,000 from Abramoff tribal clients and related sources, which he has since returned, saying he did not want to "knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken."
Dorgan supported legislation with Burns in favor of Abramoff’s client.
Dorgan and Burns sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 11, 2002 asking for federal funding to be given to Indian tribes to support school construction. The letter, which specifically mentioned the Mississippi Choctaw tribe, longtime Abramoff clients who already received the federal benefits, called for the school funding to be given to other tribal clients like the Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan. Nine days after the letter was sent, the Dorgan campaign received $2,000 from the Choctaw. Over the next few months, Dorgan's PAC received $17,000 from three other Abramoff tribal clients and Abramoff's firm.
Dorgan used Abramoff's skybox for a fundraiser.
The event was organized by Abramoff associate Michael Smith.
Research by Amram Migdal and Josh Hudelson
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