eva young
Eva Young is President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with her cat, Kiddleleewink. You can also read her other blog here.
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September 28, 2004

This is getting investigated federally....

For years, the head of Alabama's Christian Coalition John Giles has been putting money where his mouth is. He has been a major player in defeating most gambling proposals in the state legislature, and for years he's been saying none of the money for that fight came from Mississippi casinos. Dog track owner Milton McGregor didn't believe him. "He's caught. He's been being dishonest for four years to the media, to the public of Alabama and to state officials."

Several newspapers have reported that money from the Mississippi casinos may have made its way to Alabama and into the hands of John Giles. The allegations are the Indian casinos across the county paid two people at least $45,000,000 to stop all their gambling competition. Most of that money $31,000,000 allegedly went to a public relations executive Michael Scanlon to lead the fight. He then reportedly paid a man who has fought gambling for years - the former head of the national Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed, almost $4,000,000 for his help. It is believed some of that money went to John Giles to defeat gambling in Alabama so that wouldn't be competition to gambling in Mississippi.

Daily Kos has links to an All Things Considered Report and WaPO article connecting the dots to Tom Delay.

What a scam:

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon quietly worked with conservative religious activist Ralph Reed to help Texas shut down an Indian tribe's casino in 2002, then the two quickly persuaded the tribe to pay $4.2 million to try to get Congress to reopen it.

Dozens of e-mails written by the three men and obtained by The Washington Post show how they built public support for then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn's effort to get the courts to close the Tigua tribe's Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso in late 2001 and early 2002. The e-mails also reveal what appears to be an effort by Abramoff and Scanlon to exploit the financial crisis they were helping to create for the tribe by securing both the multimillion-dollar fee and $300,000 in political contributions, which the tribe paid.

Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, Tom Delay all seem to be caught up in this.