The prosecutors said one legislative director in the Senate, identified only as "Staffer F," tried to help insert spending measures and add other amendments to legislation for Boulanger's clients. Later, the staffer asked Boulanger if he could "score some hockey tickets," and Boulanger got him front-row seats. [snip]
Later, Boulanger expressed confidence that the senator whom the staffer worked for would give them a favor. "Easy money," Boulanger wrote to Abramoff. The staffer "practically lives in our various suites. We are shady."
Another Senate staffer [Staffer E] sent an e-mail to Boulanger's colleague, Kevin Ring, asking for tickets to see Paul McCartney, Green Day, NSYNC, ice skating, the circus and a hockey game, detailing how many tickets she needed and where she would like to sit. An attorney with knowledge of the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, identified her as Ann Copland, a former aide to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who could help with legislation benefiting a client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
The AP was able to indentify Ann Copland as "Staffer E" right away. She had been with Senator Cochran's office for a long time and recently left for a cushy job with Mississippi Public Broadcasting. From the details in the Boulanger plea and the AP story it looks like she may have some legal problems and that Senator Cochran isn't any better managing his Senate office that Judd Gregg is at managing his.
The brief mystery of the Boulanger plea was the identity of "Staffer F".
As readers of my Diaries know, tracking the Abramoff scandal and the culture of corruption is a hobby of mine. It is how I spend my idle hours. Over the years, I have made the acquaintance of other scandal hobbyists. After the AP story broke on Friday, we traded tips about the possible identity of "Staffer F". I made a list of Legislative Directors for Senators who were mentioned in an Abramoff memo about contact for one of Jack's tribal clients. There were about a dozen names. One of them was Kevin Koonce. By Sunday dozens of clues pointed in his direction.
Kevin Koonce used to work for Judd Gregg. From March 2002 to the end of 2004 he was Gregg's Legislative Director (before that he a protégée of Jesse Helms). When Koonce left Gregg he signed on as a lobbyist at Cassidy & Associates where Abramoff, Boulanger and other members of his team found a working refuge as their web of corruption was exposed. From Cassidy, Koonce went on to become an original lobbyist at Sorini, Samet & Associates, a firm that specializes in helping international garment manufactures get their goods to US markets. Among other talents, Kooce seems to have built a career lobbying on behalf of sweatshops and the race to the bottom dominating the global textile trade, but once again, I digress.
Back in 2002, Koonce was on Judd Gregg's payroll while feeding and drinking out of the hand of Team Abramoff. Boulanger seems to have been his minder. The factual basis of the Boulanger plea spells some trouble for "Staffer F" and raises some questions about his boss (Emphasis added):
Conduct Involving a Member of a Senator's Staff
21. On July 16, 2002, defendant BOLJLANGER first met a legislative director for a United States Senator ("Staffer F"). Thereafter, from July 2002 through February 2004, defendant BOULANGER provided to Staffer F numerous tickets, meals and drinks, with the value of these things exceeding $10,000, to influence Staffer F to take official action favorable to Firm B's lobbying clients, and Staffer F on repeated occasions during this same time provided and agreed to provide such official actions. The things of value and official action included, for example, the following:
- On September 27, 2002, defendant BOULANGER emailed Staffer F that it was good to see him the other night and seeking Staffer F's help in preserving a $3.5 million earmark that was favorable to one of BOULANGER's lobbying clients, which earmark had been included in the House version of a defense appropriations bill.
- On January 22, 2003, defendant BOULANGER emailed Staffer F seeking his help in defeating a proposed amendment to a defense appropriations bill which would have enabled an Alaskan entity to establish a gambling casino, thereby threatening the market share of Native American tribes represented by Firm B which already owned or operated gambling casinos. Staffer F responded to defendant BOULANGER that he would tell his Senator and that his office had the proposed amendment "flagged."
- On February 14, 2003, Staffer F emailed defendant BOULANGER asking if he could "score some hockey tickets." Defendant BOULANGER forwarded the email to one of Abramoff's assistants noting, "[Staffer F] is a priority," and requesting, "Ice seats if possible." Defendant BOULANGER then responded to Staffer F that Staffer F was getting front row hockey tickets, telling him, "This is without a doubt the most in demand game of the season.... You, my friend, are in debt to me for a while!" Several days later, Staffer F replied, "Thanks [BOULANGER] - You the man. I got something for you too...."
- On April 1, 2003, defendant BOULANGER emailed one of Abramoffs assistants, asking if he could get two baseball tickets to an upcoming Redsox/Orioles baseball game for Staffer F, along with a parking pass, noting, "[Staffer F] is important." On April 2, 2003, Staffer F emailed defendant BOULANGER, "thanks for thinking of me for the sox. Let me know if! can ..... return the favor..."
- On June 12, 2003, Staffer F emailed defendant BOULANGER requesting tickets to a July 6th baseball game in Camden Yards. When defendant BOULANGER responded that Staffer F would get four tickets in the box suite, Staffer F replied, "but could you make sure there's beer this time...? [l} mean, the red sox, crab cakes, and fillet mignon's were nice but haha."
- On October 23, 2003, defendant BOULANGER emailed Abramoff that a potential client wanted to retain him to help with favorable action from the Senator for whom Staffer F worked. Defendant BOULANGER wrote, "easy money. [Staffer F] practically lives in our various suites. We are shady."
- On December 17, 2003, Staffer F emailed Hirni that he and another were going to be at Abramoffs restaurant, Signatures, the following day, "if you're around - likewise to [BOULANGER]." After Hirni forwarded Staffer F's email to BOULANGER, BOULANGER responded to Hirni that Staffer F just should have written, "'buy me some drinks".
On Wednesday, Erica Werner of AP was the first reporter to identify Kevin Koonce as Staffer F and make the link to Senator Judd Gregg. Soon after her story went up, James Grimaldi of the Washington Post added more details to the story. Other news organizations like the NYTs followed and the link between Gregg and Abramoff was briefly mentioned on the Rachel Maddow Show.
As usual, some blogs had some great reporting as well. One leader on the scandal beat is The Anti-Corruption Republican out of Texas. I am a partisan Liberal Democrat. He is a partisan Conservative Republican. I am certain that there is a lot we disagree on, but we both feel very strongly that we must expose corruption and flush it out of Washington-regardless of Party label. His blog is must reading for tracking corruption and he has been way out in front of many others on story after story.
Another site with some decent reporting on the Koonce/Abramoff/Gregg story is Raw Story. They added some more depth to Koonce/Gregg story by pointing out the links between the New Hampshire phone jamming scandal, Jack Abramoff and Senator Gregg's office:
Gregg's former chief of staff, Joel Maioli, was reported to have been involved in another Abramoff-related shenanigan.
New Hamphire author and journalist Jack McEnany reported that "former Republican State Committee executive director, and convicted phone jammer, Chuck McGee, has claimed under oath that Sen. Judd Gregg's chief of staff, Joel Maiola, personally delivered checks totaling $15,000 from the Mississippi Choctaw and Agua Calienti tribes to the NH Republican State Committee office a week before the 2002 election."
McEnany notes that "this was the exact amount paid by the NH GOP to the now-defunct Republican Marketplace to affect the phone jamming scheme. The tribes were clients of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff." [snip]
