Jack Abramoff

Ashcroft Aide Pleads The Fifth In Trial Of Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | September 17, 2009, 5:19PM

We told you it was likely to happen. And now it has.

John Ashcroft's top aide from the Justice Department has pleaded the fifth in the trial of a member of Team Abramoff.

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Topics: David Ayres, Dick Cheney, Jack Abramoff, John Ashcroft, Justice Department, Kevin Ring, Lobbyists

Jack Abramoff

Ring Prosecutors: Top Ashcroft Aide Helped Abramoff Client, Didn't Disclose Hoops Tix

Zachary Roth | September 7, 2009, 11:18AM

We told you on Friday that David Ayres, a close John Ashcroft ally, looks set to plead the fifth in the latest corruption trial of a Jack Abramoff underling. And over the weekend we got fresh detail on what looks like Ayres's cozy relationship with Team Abramoff.

In documents filed yesterday in the corruption trial of Abramoff aide Kevin Ring, and examined by TPMmuckraker, prosecutors asserted that Ayres -- who at the time was Ashcroft's chief of staff at the Justice Department -- helped Ring win federal money for a prison to be built on the reservation of the Choctaw Indians, an Abramoff client. Prosecutors also asserted that Ring then gave Ayres tickets to the 2002 NCAA basketball tournament in Washington D.C. And, they say, the following year, Ring gave Ayres's wife tickets to a pro hoops game after she had said that she wanted them as a birthday gift for her husband. Ayres didn't report any of these tickets on financial disclosure forms, say the Ring prosecutors.

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Topics: David Ayres, Jack Abramoff, John Ashcroft, Justice Department, Kevin Ring

John Ashcroft

Top Ashcroft Aide May Plead Fifth In Trial Of Abramoff Crony

Zachary Roth | September 4, 2009, 11:33AM

Did the Abramoff scandal extend into the highest reaches of the Justice Department?

John Ashcroft's chief of staff at DOJ may plead the fifth in the trial of Kevin Ring, the Team Abramoff operative accused of bribing lawmakers and public officials, according to court documents.

A motion filed this week by Ring's lawyers and examined by TPMmuckraker states:

Counsel for Mr. Ayres and counsel for Ms. Ayres [Ayres's wife] have indicated that each would invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege if subpoeaned.

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Topics: David Ayres, Dick Cheney, Jack Abramoff, John Ashcroft, Justice Department, Kevin Ring, Lobbyists