LegiStorm: Transparency's Sidekick

Former congressional aide Kevin Ring secured a hung jury in a corruption trial yesterday by claiming that showering gifts on members of Congress and their staff is the normal way of doing business in Washington. So how many precious gifts have been disclosed by congressional aides? Precious few, it turns out.

Our review of thousands of disclosures of congressional staff reveals only a handful of gifts that have been disclosed in recent years. Congressional rules require disclosure of all gifts greater than $50 and bans many kinds of gifts.

A common reason stated for receiving gifts has been for a wedding. When Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) staffer Richard Boykin got married in 2006, he received several gifts, including $500 from one of his boss's campaign contributors and $500 in china from long-time and well-known lobbyist Bernie Robinson (although Boykin did not disclose him as such). Gifts from lobbyists are banned by House rules.

The scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff continues to reverberate as another former congressional aide was indicted by a federal grand jury on public corruption charges.

Horace Cooper, a frequent television commentator and former counsel to Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

The indictment alleges that from 2001 to 2005, Cooper conspired with Abramoff, "to defraud the United States of his honest services and of its right oto have federal executive branch business conducted without improper influence," a Department of Justice press release indicates. He did so by taking official actions while being rewarded by Abramoff with thousands of dollars in meals, sports tickets and other favors for himself and his associates. The indictment indicates that Cooper took thousands of dollars of such gifts from Abramoff from 1998 to 2000 while he was a congressional staffer.

In what has lately seemed like a near-weekly occurence, another guilty plea has been entered with the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Today it was Ann Copland, a former aide to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), who pleaded guilty to accepting gifts from lobbyists in return for legislative favors. Court documents in the case revealed Copland asked for tickets to several events from lobbyists linked to Abramoff, even complaining that there were no hot dogs in the suite provided for a Baltimore Orioles game.

You can see Copland's salary history, the privately-funded trips she disclosed and her personal financial disclosures on LegiStorm.

About a month after his name was linked to the Jack Abramoff scandal, former staffer Fraser Verrusio was charged today for accepting a free trip from lobbyists in 2003.

Verrusio and fellow former staffer Trevor Blackann accepted a free trip to New York to attend the 2003 World Series. Blackann and two lobbyists who worked for Abramoff at the time - James Hirni and Todd Boulanger - have already pled guilty to charges of corruption related to the trip.

Verrusio, a former staffer to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), had been linked to the scandal last months when reports surfaced that he was the staffer referred to in court papers as "Staffer D" but no charges were filed until today.

The Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal won't die.

Yesterday, it was reported Kevin Koonce, a former staffer to Commerce Secretary nominee Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), is the person referred to in court documents as "Staffer F." The documents detail charges relating to a lobbyist providing Staffer F gifts in exchange for preferable legislative treatment. Koonce has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing.

The report follows two other news items relating to Abramoff in recent days. Last week, lobbyist Todd Boulanger, a former congressional aide and Abramoff associate, pled guilty to illegally providing congressional staffers gifts in return for favorable treatment for his clients.

In what has become an all-too-common pattern this year, another former congressional aide pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy in the long-running Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

James Hirni, a former legislative director to Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), admitted in court that he helped provide an all-expense paid trip to the 2003 World Series to two congressional aides. At the time, Hirni was a lobbyist working on Abramoff's team.

There's no reason to believe this is the end yet.

Nearly three years after lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and fraud, the scandal is still playing out.

Thursday, former congressional staffer Trevor L. Blackann pleaded guilty to charges he failed to report gifts he received from lobbyists on this tax returns.

Among the more than $4,000 in gifts received was a trip to New York City for the opening game of the 2003 World Series. Blackann admitted to knowing the trip was paid for by lobbyists. The court documents do not identify the lobbyists in question, but the Department of Justice issued a release calling the case part of the investigation into the lobbying activities of Abramoff. Blackann also did not report the trip to Congress.