Jack Abramoff's Blood Money?

Two people have accused lobbyist kingpin Jack Abramoff of seeking a deal with the government of Sudan to improve its reputation in the United States in exchange for a princely sum of money, the April 4th edition of the Los Angeles Times ("Abramoff Offered to Aid Sudan, Envoy Says") reported.

Sudan's ambassador to the United States (why we even entertain one is puzzling, to say the least), Khidir Haroun Ahmed, asserted that the Sudanese "never seriously considered" a lobbying contract proposal from Abramoff in late 2001.

However, a former Abramoff associate, who did not want to be named, gave more detail about the offer. The deal would net Abramoff between $16 million and $18 million, an amount that Abramoff considered a reasonable sum given the extent of the damage to Sudan's economy that has been caused by Sudan's atrocious reputation. Abramoff's job was to improve Sudan's reputation in the United States, especially with Christian evangelicals who were campaigning against human rights violations that have become standard fare in the war-torn country.



Andrew Blum, a spokesman for Abramoff, said that a conversation between Abramoff and the ambassador did take place, but no contract was sought because of Sudan's human rights record.

Maybe Abramoff has some standards.


Was the government behind this flag a possible client of Abramoff?

Blum also added that Abramoff instead objected strongly to Sudan's treatment of Christians and that the encounter was embarrassing to the ambassador.

This would not have been an unprecedented contract for Abramoff, if it went through. Abramoff has taken $12 million from the Malaysian government and has taken credit for arranging a meeting in 2002 between President Bush and the Malaysian president, who has been known to make derogatory comments about Jews.

Abramoff's former associate said that Abramoff talked about his ties with the former executive director of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed, as proof that Abramoff could make good on his end of any contract. Reed, now running for Lieutenant Governor in Georgia, has also worked with Abramoff in the College Republicans organization, suggesting a possible acquaintance dating for a couple of decades.

However, Reed's spokeswoman, Lisa Baron, insisted that Reed would never work on behalf of Sudan.

The former associate stated that Abramoff met with the ambassador and discussed a plan to stop the pressure from Christian groups, which included giving money to the Christian Coalition as well as setting up trips for Christian leaders to visit Sudan and talk with the government. Additional money would be spent on a campaign to improve the image of the country in the United States.

The former associate also said that Abramoff repeatedly told the ambassador that he would have Reed push the idea with Christian groups.

Luckily, this plan and this contract never was put in effect. Whether that's because Abramoff has some standards or Sudan has some standards is irrelevant at this point in time. Given what has happened since the time of this supposed meeting, it would be hard for Sudan to have any better reputation, no matter how hard Abramoff pushed. It's rather appalling to think that anywhere from 150,000 to 400,000 lives could be swept aside for as little as $18 million. Thankfully, we never had to find out if that was true.