Senator Conrad Burns
U.S. Senator Conrad Burns, facing reelection in 2006, has been at the heart of a number of scandals in recent months. To the right, you can find links to the websites of the candidates running against Senator Burns as well as a feed of the latest posts from a number of blogs across Montana and the country regarding Senator Burns. Below is a summary of the major scandals that Conrad Burns has found himself involved in and resources to find out more.
Scandals:
Conrad Burns and Jack Abramoff
So Sen. Conrad Burns says he didn’t really know Jack Abramoff that well at all and that he’s getting a bad rap for alleged ties to the disgraced power-lobbyist.The connections between Jack and Conrad are nearly endless. Conrad Burns took more money from Abramoff, his associates, and his clients than any other member of Congress. He also shared two staffers, Chief of Staff Will Brooke and State Director Shawn Vassell, with Jack Abramoff. Brooke and Ryan Thomas, Conrad Burns’ appropriations staffer, took a trip to the Super Bowl and to some casinos paid for by a company that Abramoff owned a stake in. That trip is under investigation by the Department of Justice.So let’s review a little history. Burns and Abramoff … the early days.
Senator Burns also did favors for Jack Abramoff and his clients. Shortly after meetings between Abramoff’s office and Burns’ office, Burns voted to protect the Marianas Islands, one of Abramoff’s clients. The Marianas are part of the U.S., but fall outside the protections of U.S. law and operate as sweatshop economies complete with forced prostitutions and other horrors. Senator Burns has also come under fire for helping line up a $3 million school grant for the Saginaw Chippewas of Michigan, an Abramoff client and one of the wealthiest tribes in the nation. While Burns originally maintained that the grant was given at the request of Michigan’s Senators, records reveal that he offered his support for the grant more than a month before Michigan’s Senators requested Burns offer his assistance
One of the most interesting claims made in that Josh Marshall piece linked above is that it was Burns and Brooke who originally went to Abramoff for fundraising help. Also, it was Ryan Thomas, nicely bought and paid for by Abramoff, who went to bat on the Chippewas grant.
Other Resources:
- Billings Gazette: Special Report on Burns and Abramoff
- TPM Cafe: “Burns and Abrmoff … The Early Years“
- Washington Post: “Tribal Grant is Being Questioned“
- MyDD: “Conrad Burns Pulled Closer into Abramoff Probe“
- Wulfgar: “Focus on the Focus on Burns“
- Left in the West: “Conrad Burns Smears Tribes“
INSA, the U.S.-Asia Network, Qualcomm, and Iraq’s Telecoms
The final story looks a little like this: a shadowy network of organizations, possibly financed with taxpayer money, looking to advance the interests of major campaign donors, lining the pockets of key political advisors, and providing money in-turn to Burns’ re-election efforts.For the past five years, Senator Conrad Burns has helped fund the Inland Northwest Space Alliance (INSA), a group ostensibly devoted to bringing space research to Montana. The problem with this outfit is that it has used its large federal earmarks, lined up by Burns, to hire people with connections to Conrad Burns and his former campaign manager U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg. INSA’s lobbyist is former Burns’ chief of staff and veteran Montana troublemaker Leo Giacometto.
George Bailey, the Executive Director of INSA, and Giacometto also comprise 2/3 of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Asia Network, a shadowy non-profit with connections to Qualcomm, Samsung, Lucent, and other telecom companies. Qualcomm and Samsung are the three major players behind CDMA wireless technology. The coalition behind CDMA worked hard to pressure the new Iraqi government to adopt their technology. The lobbying efforts held up installation of Iraq’s emergency networks for months, costing innocent Iraqis’ lives. Burns’ office was one of the major players pressuring the Iraqi government.
Other Resources:
- Left in the West: “Conrad Burns INSA Lotta Trouble?“
- Left in the West: “Burns, Giacometto, U.S.-Asia Network: The Lucent Connection“
- Mother Jones: “Crossing the Lines“
