From the AP:

A federal judge agreed yesterday to shave two years from former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's prison sentence for a fraudulent Florida casino boat deal because of his extensive cooperation in that case and a wide-ranging political corruption probe that upended Washington politics.

The decision by US District Judge Paul Huck guarantees that Abramoff, 49, will serve no more than an additional four years in prison - the sentence imposed by a Washington, D.C., judge last week in the separate corruption case.

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) put out a statement last night in response to our report that, according to a federal indictment, her office played a role in the corruption scheme headed by now-jailed ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

TPMmuckraker reported yesterday that excerpts from emails included in the indictment of Kevin Ring, a former Abramoff crony, identify a Wilson staffer as being actively involved in helping Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, retain its contract with the Sandia Pueblo Indian tribe. We also noted that a member of Ring's lobbying team -- likely Abramoff himself -- believed he had the power to influence Rep. Wilson's decisions with regard to a land deal the tribe was seeking, according to the email excerpts, and that the Wilson staffer received tickets to an LA Clippers basketball game from Ring.

In response, Rep. Wilson says in her statement:

I was completely unaware until today of any former staffer's e-mails ... I have not been contacted by the Department of Justice about this matter at any time.

Regarding the March 2003 e-mails between two rogue lobbyists concerning whether they would continue to be retained by the Pueblo, I am not sure whether to be amused or offended that they were operating under the delusion that I would help them retain their contract, or that losing their contract would hurt the Pueblo's longstanding relationship with me. As my constituents, I represent the Pueblo regardless of who they hire to represent them. At no time did I take any action on behalf of Greenberg Traurig with Sandia Pueblo

.
In reference to the Clippers tickets, the statement adds: "We have very strict rules in our office on gifts -- including tickets to events. We train our staff about House ethics rules and we enforce those rules up to and including dismissal."

The Abramoff corruption probe has already snared one GOP Congressman, Bob Ney, and implicated a few more, most prominently Rep. John Doolittle of California. But could there be another to add to the list: Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico?

An examination by TPMmuckraker of the indictment of former Jack Abramoff associate Kevin Ring, filed yesterday, suggests that Wilson's office was tied in to Abramoff's corruption network at a level not previously known. And John McCain's 2005 investigation into Abramoff's fleecing of Indian tribes, which McCain conducted as chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, made no mention of that fact.

The Ring indictment contains the following statements from prosecutors:

On or about January 30, 2003, a lobbyist at Firm B emailed a staffer for the New Mexico tribe's U.S. Representative, "Sorry I couldn't hangout last night. I greatly appreciate your taking the time to han[g]out with the [New Mexico tribe]. It meant a lot to [K]evin and I [sic]. BTW, you should be all set for the [Los Angeles] Clippers [basketball] game."

And:

On or about February 14, 2003, a lobbyist at Firm B forwarded an email from the staffer for the New Mexico tribe's U.S. Representative to defendant RING in which the staffer had written, "How did Kevin' s meetings with the [New Mexico tribe] go? If you guys lose that contract I would be disappointed."

And:

On or about March 4, 2003, a lobbyist at Firm B emailed defendant RING, "I'm going to kill [the New Mexico tribe] with [its U.S. Representative] if we don't get hired."

And:

On or about March 7, 2003, a lobbyist at Firm B emailed defendant RING, "[ The staffer for the New Mexico tribe' s U.S. Representative] is going to be in the meeting with [the New Mexico tribe] when they come to town. He's going to give the 'are you guys staying with [Firm B] this cycle? They did a great job on . . . legislation . . . and really cleared the path for you guys . . . . . yadda yadda.' He's gonna gather as much intel as possible for us."

It's clear from identifying details in the indictment -- which refers to a New Mexico Indian tribe that hired Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig around March 2002 -- that the tribe is the Sandia Pueblo Indians, who are represented in Congress by Wilson. So in other words, a staffer for Wilson was actively involved in helping Ring and Greenberg Traurig (Firm B, where Ring worked at the time), retain their contract to represent the Sandia Indians. And Ring's Greenberg partner -- most likely Abramoff himself, but certainly a member of Abramoff's team at Greenberg -- believed he had the power to affect decisions made by Rep. Wilson concerning the tribe's interests.

A spokesman for Rep. Wilson declined to comment on the information in the indictment.

We already knew that Wilson had accepted political contributions from both Abramoff himself and David Safavian, a former Abramoff crony and Bush administration official convicted for obstruction of justice as part of the Abramoff probe. But the information in the indictment suggests that her office worked with Abramoff more closely that has yet been reported.

Wilson has been a stalwart supporter and prominent surrogate for John McCain, painting him as a crusader against Washington corruption. Just last night, she appeared on MSNBC's Hardball to make the case for him, and last week she told NPR: "John McCain has chosen a reformer ... to be his running mate and I think that's a perfect complement to who he is and what he's done in his life."

Wilson may have good reason to hold the GOP nominee in high regard. In his 2005 Senate investigation, McCain had access to the Greenberg Traurig email trove, presumably including the ones cited by prosecutors in the Ring indictment highlighted above. But his final report generally avoided focusing on members of Congress, and omitted any mention of Wilson.

The long awaited indictment yesterday of Jack Abramoff associate Kevin Ring contains over 100 mentions of a not-so-mysterious "Representative 5," California Republican Congressman John Doolittle, a long-known crony of Abramoff.

The indictment adds additional information to Doolittle's already thick record with Abramoff. According to the indictment, Ring expensed at least one suite for a sports event, eight concert tickets (including tickets for Dixie Chicks and Faith Hill), and five meals totaling more than $2000 for Doolittle. For Doolittle's staff and his legislative director in particular, Ring bought 29 sports tickets, four concert tickets, nine meals, and one gift from Macy's.

But Ring and Abramoff were well accommodated in return. As the indictment describes, Doolittle proved himself "a good soldier" by chairing a hearing on the Puerto Rico statehood issue for an Abramoff client and held up his opposition to an anti-gambling bill among other favors.

And Doolittle's staff was just as helpful. Doolittle's communications director helped Ring out with tax legislation to "earn [his] Sigs Sushi ;)," and his legislative director was so "tenacious on the appropriations front" that he earned an esteemed compliment from Ring in an email: "You the man."

It's been awhile since Doolittle and his wife Julie have come up, but page after page of gifts and favors in the indictment bring the happy couple back into the muck spotlight.

Julie Doolittle's involvement began when her business records were subpoenaed in 2004 after her "consulting company," Sierra Dominion, was hired by Abramoff. A few years later, in 2007, the FBI raided the Doolittle's home for additional evidence related to their investigation of Abramoff. The same day the raid occurred -- man of the hour, Kevin Ring, a Doolittle staffer prior to his work at Abramoff's Greenberg Taurig -- resigned from his subsequent job at a different lobbying firm.

Meanwhile, Doolittle was having his own problems. After the FBI raid became public, six of his aides were contacted by the feds and others testified before the grand jury related to the investigation.

Together, John paid Julie 15% of the takings from his PAC -- "payment" for money she reportedly raised herself. He also arranged for her hiring by Abramoff, requesting that she be given work, but not "too much," according to an email obtained in Ring's indictment. "Since she has responsibilities at home as a mother and wife." According to the indictment, Abramoff obliged giving Julie a $5000 a month job, as an events planner. As it turned out, all the events that she planned were canceled - but that didn't stop her from getting paid. In the end, Julie was paid $96,000 between 2002 and 2004 by Abramoff's firm.

Despite Republicans clamoring for his resignation, and the downfall of Abramoff and all those around him, Doolittle stood his ground, and until the last moment, maintained he we would run for reelection for his seat in Congress. But in January, he and Julie issued a joint statement, claiming that John would retire after this year, because they were "ready for a change."

Now that Ring pleaded not guilty to ten counts of public corruption, the big player in his indictment -- Representative 5 -- seems like the next tree to fall in the rotting Abramoff forest.

And if legal defense funds are any indication, Doolittle is playing with the big boys. In the last quarter alone he racked up $152,852 in attorney fees.

It appears that they're earning their keep. Doolittle's attorneys released a statement saying that "it is clear that portions of the Kevin Ring indictment were designed to make gratuitous references to the Congressman and his wife. This appears to have been done to titillate the public, with the foreseeable and therefore intended consequence of attempting to embarrass and pressure the Congressman."

Kevin Ring, the former underling of jailed former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has been indicted on ten counts of public corruption.

From the AP:

A 10-count federal indictment unsealed Monday charges Kevin Ring, 37, with conspiring with Abramoff to corrupt congressional and executive-branch officials by giving them things of value as a reward for helping Ring and his clients.

Prior to becoming a lobbyist with Abramoff, Ring worked for Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., who remains under investigation in the Abramoff probe.

. . .The Justice Department said the indictment was returned by a grand jury on Friday and unsealed Monday after Ring was arrested. Ring was to appear in court later Monday.

Jack Abramoff was sentenced today to four years in prison. But that sentence means Abramoff won't spend any additional time in jail than he was already serving.

As Reuters explains:

Abramoff is already serving a nearly six-year term on unrelated charges and the new sentence will be served at the same time, meaning he will not spend any extra time behind bars once his original sentence ends in 2012.

Abramoff continued his performance of contrition before the judge today, telling her: "I've fallen into an abyss, and I don't quite know how to get out."

Judge Ellen Huvelle could have sentenced Abramoff to up to 11 years, but reportedly gave Abramoff a more lenient sentence on account of his cooperation in the FBI's influence-peddling investigation.

After lenient sentence recommendations from the prosecution, and pleading letters to the Judge, disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has finally received his sentence: 4 years.

From the AP:

A federal judge has sentenced disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to four years in prison. The judge could have sentenced Abramoff to 11 years, but he gave him credit for helping the FBI investigate influence-peddling scandal.

Late Update: Because Abramoff was already serving a six-year sentence on unrelated charges, today's sentencing, which will be served concurrently with the earlier one, means he won't be doing any extra time.

In June, an appeals court granted Jack Abramoff crony David Safavian a new trial.

Safavian, the former chief of staff for the General Services Administration, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to investigators about his relationship with Abramoff, but the sentence was put on hold while the appeal played out.

Today, he was given a new trial date, set for December.

From the Washington Post:

Former White House aide David H. Safavian, whose lying and obstruction convictions connected to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal were tossed out by a three-judge panel in June, will go back to court in December for a new trial, according to court documents.

On the eve of his most recent sentencing tomorrow, infamous former lobbyist Jack Abramoff did his best to explain his scurrilous past actions to the court. In a letter to Federal Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, Abramoff described himself as "not a bad man . . . although to read all the news articles one would think I was Osama Bin Laden."

Last week, the prosecution asked for lenient sentencing for Abramoff on account of his cooperation with prosecution.

From Abramoff's letter:

. . . And almost every day of the two years I have been in jail, I have spent time thinking and worrying about how I might tell you and convince you that I understand my acts and have been doing all I can to make up for them.

. . . I am not a bad man (although to read all the news articles one would think I was Osama Bin Laden), but I didmany bad things. I lied to clients, even while working to get them the results they expected. I cheated my law firm and took advantage of public officials.

. . . If I ever can earn more than a mere living again, I will be paying back those I have harmed for the rest of my life.

Well he can always fall back on teaching.

It looks like Sarah Palin's claim to represent a cleaner brand of politics could be about to take a bruising.

The Washington Post reports today that, while Mayor of Wasilla, Palin oversaw the hiring of a lobbyist, Steven Silver -- a former chief of staff to now-indicted GOP senator Ted Stevens -- to help win federal earmarks for the city.

But Silver appears to have additional ties that could further undercut Palin's image as a squeaky-clean reformer. According to Senate lobbying disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, from 2002 to 2004 Silver listed as a client Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig. On Greenberg's behalf, Silver lobbied the federal government on "issues relating to Indian/Native American policy," "exploration for oil and gas" and "legislation relating to gaming issues" -- the very issues that Abramoff headed up for Greenberg at the time. In other words, Silver appears to have been a part of "Team Abramoff."

Indeed, one specific bill that Silver lobbied on for Greenberg, according to the forms, was S.627, also known as the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. A former Greenberg lobbyist confirmed to TPMmuckraker that Silver would have been working to oppose the bill. And it was an earlier version of this very bill that Abramoff famously worked to spike, with the support of Christian conservative leaders Lou Sheldon and Ralph Reed.

There's additional evidence of ties between Silver and Abramoff. Emails released by a House committee in 2006 as part of a probe of Abramoff show the now-disgraced lobbyist scheduling a meeting with Silver in 2001.

Silver is a member of the Anchorage-based law firm of Robertson, Monacle, and Eastaugh, which the Post describes as having "close ties" to Stevens, and Alaska Congressman Don Young, who's under federal investigation for allegedly taking bribes. Since 2005, Silver has contributed $3500 each to Stevens and Young, according to campaign contributions records posted at CampaignMoney.com.

This is far from the first time that Abramoff's trail of corruption has led to Alaska. Last year, Mark Zachares, a former aide to Young, pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Abramoff in return for using his position to advance Abramoff's goals.

Silver did not immediately return a call requesting comment.