Abramoff: Over 150 Congress members, staffers visited NMI

Convicted felon and former CNMI lobbyist Jack Abramoff said his former lobby firm Preston Gates became a “travel agency,” organizing trips to the CNMI for over 150 Democratic and Republican members of Congress and their staffers from 1995 to 2001 as part of some $11 million worth of efforts to block legislation that will extend federal immigration to the CNMI.

Abramoff said they couldn’t bring the CNMI to Washington, D.C. so they had to bring the nation’s capital to the islands.

Abramoff’s lobby firm organized the trips not only for those friendly to the CNMI, but also for those they considered enemies for pushing federalization of the CNMI.

These “travelers” included Reps. Tom DeLay, George Miller, and Dana Rohrabacher.

The CNMI-funded, Preston Gates-organized trips by congressional members and staffers were meant to counter the negative attacks on the CNMI by those who wanted to federalize CNMI immigration.

By having U.S. lawmakers and their staffers make the long trip, they would be able to see for themselves that the accusations against the CNMI were “overblown and political,” and they would therefore be able to defend the CNMI when they go back to D.C., Abramoff said.

Thus, “for the next few years, our firm became a travel agency,” he said.

“We organized trips to the Marianas for every congressman and staff member who would go. Since the CNMI was not exactly just down the street, and required full day of travel just to get there, we had to work hard to get people on the planes. But when we were done, over 150 members and staff touched down on Saipan and got to see the place for themselves,” Abramoff said.

All these are laid out in Abramoff’s new book, Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption from America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist, which devoted several pages related to their lobby efforts on behalf of the CNMI. Proceeds from the book will help Abramoff pay for $23 million in restitution that he must pay to American Indian tribes.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and all other CNMI officials mentioned in the book have yet to read Abramoff’s book as of yesterday.

Abramoff said since the congressional ban on representatives accepting gifts, including travel, did not include governmental bodies, “the CNMI was able to pay for all these trips. They never spent their money wisely.”

While in the CNMI, these visitors met with government officials, visited garment factories, worker housing, met with factory workers, government officials, church leaders, and retired statesiders.

“Our travelers became fulltime supporters of the CNMI, resenting the media for their constant attacks,” Abramoff said.

He said while the attacks on the Republican visitors’ recreational activities were ceaseless, there was no mention at all of similar beach visits by those hostile members and staff who were attacking the CNMI.

“I personally witnessed Congressman George Miller and his staff enjoying a gambol at the beach, as did some of the media covering the island. But since Miller was the main opponent of the Marianas in Congress, his rendition of Beach Blanket Bingo drew nary a mention,” Abramoff said.

Most of these visitors also played golf in the CNMI.

“The real benefit of the congressional trips was only apparent once the representatives and staff had returned. From the end of the first trip to the Marianas during Easter recess of 1996, we had a permanent cadre on Capital Hill ready to stop any attacks on the CNMI.Whenever any representative or staff launched an anti-CNMI attack, one of the travelers would detect it early, inform us, and then usually take the lead in the counter assault,” Abramoff said.

Abramoff was convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy and was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional aides. He was released from prison in 2010.