Watchdog groups push for investigation of Reed

<p>Three Texas watchdog groups asked a Texas county official Thursday to investigate former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, who worked with lobbyist Jack Abramoff to press state officials to shut down two Texas tribal casinos.</p><p>Reed is seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia next year.</p><p>Texans for Public Justice, Common Cause of Texas and Public Citizen filed their complaint with Travis County Attorney David Escamilla.</p><p>They said Reed failed to register as a Texas lobbyist in 2001 and 2002, when he received a reported $4.2 million from Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon to push for the closure of casinos operated by the Tigua tribe of El Paso and the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston in East Texas.</p><p>"If he was crossing the border and crossing the legal line, Texans need to know about it and hold him accountable," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. "It appears he was part of the scheme to bilk millions of dollars from Indian tribes. We're asking the county attorney to help us sort out and get to the bottom of this."</p><p>Texas law says a person must register as a lobbyist if they spend or receive compensation of at least $200 or receives at in a calendar quarter to communicate directly with the executive of legislative branch to influence legislation or executive action.</p><p>The Texas Ethics Commission, responsible for enforcing state campaign finance laws, requires a person who spends more than $500 or receives more than $1,000 in a calendar quarter as compensation or reimbursement to communicate with the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or executive action must register.</p><p>McDonald said failing to register is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The Texas Ethics Commission could also impose a fine up to three times the amount of compensation.</p><p>Reed spokeswoman Lisa Baron called the complaint "specious." Reed's consulting company, Century Strategies, was hired by a major law firm to contact Texans and urge them to oppose gambling, she said. "We were not hired to lobby Texas public officials," she said.</p><p>Escamilla said he is reviewing the complaint, but said the statute of limitations on misdemeanors is two years.</p><p>The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee has been investigating Abramoff and Scanlon. In e-mails released by the committee, Reed discussed his efforts against the casinos. Investigators have alleged that Abramoff and Scanlon defrauded their tribal clients of some $80 million.</p><p>Last week, Scanlon pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials to assist clients. As part of his plea agreement, he'll pay $19 million to tribes he admitted to defrauding and is cooperating with investigators.</p><p>Abramoff and Scanlon were hired by the Louisiana Coushatta tribe in 2001 and worked to prevent the Alabama-Coushatta and another Louisiana tribe from opening competing casinos.</p><p>Reed rallied the religious community against the casinos, fed information he said he obtained from Sen. John Cornyn's staff when he was Texas attorney general to Abramoff and Scanlon, and met with state lawmakers to kill a bill that would reopen the Tiguas casino, according to his e-mails.</p><p>After the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta's casinos shut down, Abramoff and Scanlon persuaded the Tiguas to hire them to lobby Congress to change federal law so they could reopen their casino. They also tried to press the Alabama-Coushatta tribe to hire them.</p><p>____</p><p>HASH(0x1cdcca0)</p><p>HASH(0x1cdcd48)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/12/134349