WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., received more than
$40,000 in contributions from out-of-state Indian tribes
represented by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, campaign finance
reports show.
Murray's total places her ninth among lawmakers - and second
among Democrats - who received campaign donations from tribes
associated with Abramoff, according to the Center for Responsive
Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based group that tracks money in
politics. The money was received from 1999 to 2005, the group said
in a report posted on its Web site, www.opensecrets.org.
Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraud, corruption and tax
evasion in a wide-ranging political corruption investigation. In
Miami on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud
charges stemming from his 2000 purchase of a gambling boat fleet.
The contributions received by Murray were legal under federal
election law, and a spokeswoman for the senator said she had no
intention of returning the money or donating it to charity, as some
lawmakers have done. Murray does not know Abramoff and has never
met with him, spokeswoman Alex Glass said.
"This money is not coming from Jack Abramoff. It is not related
to him," Glass said Wednesday.
Murray "received contributions from tribes," Glass said.
"What we've seen throughout her career is she is a strong advocate
for tribal sovereignty and tribal issues, and that's why tribes
give to her."
A spokesman for Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, meanwhile, said the
Republican lawmaker is returning or giving away $8,500 in campaign
contributions related to Abramoff.
Smith returned $3,500 in contributions to two tribes before
Abramoff's guilty plea, and donated $4,000 to charity, including
$2,000 received from Abramoff in 2001 and 2002, spokesman Chris
Matthews said. A leadership committee that received $1,000 from a
lobbying firm where Abramoff worked also donated the money to
charity, Matthews said.
"Mr. Abramoff clearly engaged in shady business dealings, and
Senator Smith believes the best thing is to return the money to the
tribes and donate the other contributions to charity," Matthews
said.
The Center for Responsive Politics said Smith had received
$12,500 from Abramoff and his clients since 1999, but Matthews
disputed that number. An accountant for Smith's campaign has
reviewed campaign contributions in detail, but will continue to
look into it, Matthews said.
Other Northwest lawmakers also received contributions from
tribes connected to Abramoff, the report said, including Sen. Maria
Cantwell, D-Wash. ($10,000); and former Rep. George Nethercutt,
R-Wash. ($7,000).
A spokeswoman for Cantwell said the senator did not plan to
return the money, but declined further comment.
Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash. ($5,000); Adam Smith, D-Wash.
($2,000); Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. ($1,500); and Norm Dicks, D-Wash.,
($1,500) also received money from Abramoff-connected tribes, as did
former Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash. ($1,500) and Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore. ($1,000), the report said.
The bulk of the money given to the Northwest lawmakers came from
four casino-rich tribes concerned about gambling, school
construction and other issues, the report said.
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Michigan gave the largest
donations to a Northwest lawmaker, with $14,980 going to Murray
from 2002 to 2004.
Murray also received $12,000 from the Agua Caliente Band of
Cahuilla Indians in California; $9,000 from the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw Indians; and $5,000 from the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana,
the report said.
The money is a fraction of the overall support Murray has
received from Indian tribes since being elected to the Senate in
1992, Glass said. A majority of Murray's tribal contributions have
come from Washington state tribes, Glass said.
Murray is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a
former member of the Senate Interior appropriations subcommittee,
which has jurisdiction over funding for the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
Wyden's chief of staff, Josh Kardon, said Wyden would not return
the money, which came from the Saginaw tribe in Michigan.
"We've researched the contribution, and it did not come from
Mr. Abramoff. It came from the tribe," Kardon said.
A spokeswoman said Inslee also did not plan to return money he
got from the Agua Caliente, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw and the
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.
"Jay did not know Abramoff. This money was not given to him by
Abramoff. This had nothing to do with Abramoff - none of it," said
spokeswoman Christine Hanson.
Money received by Cantwell came from the Agua Caliente, Saginaw
and Pueblo of Sandia tribe in New Mexico.