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Scanlon Sentenced To 20 Months In Prison For Role In Abramoff Scandal

Susan Crabtree | February 11, 2011, 1:33PM

Michael Scanlon and Jack Abramoff

A U.S. District Judge sentenced Michael Scanlon, Jack Abramoff's partner in a wide-ranging lobbying sandal, to 20 months in federal prison and 300 hours of community service.

Scanlon also may have to cough up more than $20 million to compensate several Indian tribes, as well as Abramoff's former lobbying firm, for his role in defrauding them. Judge Ellen Huvelle ordered him to pay $20 million to the tribes and Greenberg Traurig, but Scanlon is disputing whether he should be forced to pay Greenberg Traurig, and that matter will be decided separately in the coming months.

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Topics: Greenberg Traurig, Jack Abramoff, Justice Department, K&L Gates, Michael Scanlon, Tom DeLay

U.S. Attorneys

Obama U.S. Attorney Pick Criticized Over Role In Disputed Bond Deal

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2010, 1:25PM

President Barack Obama and Michael Ormsby

Mike Ormsby, President Obama's nominee to be U.S. Attorney in eastern Washington state, is being called unfit for the job by critics of his role in a 1990s bond deal that ultimately resulted in Ormsby's firm paying $1.4 million to the IRS.

Ormsby's critics, who include the former mayor of Spokane, sent a letter to President Obama and Senate leaders about a year ago when Ormsby's name was first floated for the job. Now, with Ormsby's formal nomination earlier this month, the issue is surfacing again.

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Topics: Barack Obama, IRS, K&L Gates, Mike Ormsby, Patty Murray, Spokane, Washington, U.S. Attorneys

Lobbyists

Lobby Firm Tells Clients How To Sway Elections While Avoiding 'Public Scrutiny'

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2010, 12:54PM

In the wake of last month's Citizens United ruling, a powerhouse Washington lobbying firm is informing its corporate clients on how they can use middlemen like the Chamber of Commerce to pour unlimited amounts of money into political campaigns, while maintaining "sufficient cover" to avoid "public scrutiny" and negative media coverage.

A "Public Policy and Law Alert" on the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling, prepared by two lawyers for K&LGates and posted on the firm's site last Friday, notes that, thanks to disclosure rules, corporations could alienate their customers by spending on political campaigns -- especially because they could become the target of negative media coverage.