Jack Abramoff: I had 100 lawmakers in my pocket 20
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Former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff arrives at the Miami Courthouse in Miami January 4, 2006. | Reuts Abramoff said he promised high-paying jobs to lawmakers' top staffers to gain influence. | Reuters Close By MJ LEE | 11/3/11 8:56 AM EDT
Jack Abramoff, the infamous K Street ex-lobbyist, says in an upcoming “60 Minutes” interview that he had 100 congressmen in his pocket and reveals his best weapon for gaining influence was to promise a high-paying job to the lawmakers’ top staffers.
“Now, the moment I said that to them or any of our staff said that to them, that was it. We owned them [the members of Congress],” Abramoff said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that will air on Sunday, excerpts of which were first reported in POLITICO Playbook on Thursday. Continue Reading Text Size
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“And what does that mean? Every request … of our clients, everything that we want, they’re going to do. Not only that, they’re going to think of things we can’t think of to do,” said the former lobbyist who served about three and a half years in prison after being convicted in a bribery scheme.
The tactics, Abramoff said, allowed his lobbying firm to hold sway with about 100 members of Congress. “I would view that as a failure, because that leaves 335 offices that we didn’t have strong influence in,” he added.
In his ’s new autobiography, “Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist,” set to be released on Nov. 7, Abramoff discusses how to rid Washington of corruption.
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