An
AP story currently featured on Yahoo appears to smear Senator Reid with the Abramoff scandal.
The second paragraph implies Reid took money directly from Abramoff with these carefully worded (read twisted) lines:
The activities -- detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by The Associated Press -- are far more extensive than previously disclosed. They occurred over three years as Reid collected nearly $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients. (emphasis mine)
Yeah, sure, Reid received donations from "Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients" in the same way that George W. Bush received donations from "me (WisVoter), the RNC, several individual Republicans, corporations, etc.", i.e., not a dime from me, and all of it from the RNC, several individual Republicans, corporations, etc.
more after the jump...
Much later in the article, the authors refute the implication of the above quote, but by now the damage has been done:
While Abramoff never directly donated to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct one tribe, the Coushattas, to send $5,000 to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, in 2002. About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show.
I am a fan of Harry Reid, and therefore tend to disbelieve the implications of this story. But I have no way of knowing exactly what happened. The authors use a lot of isolated facts and incidents that lead the reader to connect the dots in ways not flattering to Reid. (By the way, is anyone familiar with the two authors, By John Solomon and Sharon Theimer? Must be part of that famous liberal media.)
There are a few token quotes from Reid spokesperson Jim Manley, such as the one below, but the overall tone of the article is to make Reid look guilty.
"All the actions that Senator Reid took were consistent with his long-held beliefs, such as not letting tribal casinos expand beyond reservations, and were taken to defend the interests of Nevada constituents," spokesman Jim Manley said.
I hope that Reid comes out with a strong, clear rebuttal of these accusations and insinuations and does so soon. If any of it turns out to be true... well it would break my heart, but 'tis better for that all to come out as well.