WASHINGTON - Rep. Patrick Kennedy, citing his support for American Indian causes, says he has no plans to return any of the $42,500 he took from tribes represented by GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
"He's proud to have their support," Kennedy chief of staff Sean Richardson said Wednesday. "He's got direct personal relationships with tribes. ... He looks at it as a human and civil rights issue, the fact that they're still not treated with the dignity and respect they deserve."
Kennedy, D-R.I., was the top congressional Democratic recipient of Abramoff-linked funds, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group that analyzed contributions from 1999 to 2005. He was eighth overall among members of Congress.
Abramoff, who has admitted he defrauded some Indian tribes, is at the heart of a burgeoning Capitol Hill corruption scandal.
Kennedy was never lobbied by Abramoff or any of his associates and he did not receive any checks from Abramoff, Richardson said.
Call me crazy, but this "I never took anything directly from Abramoff" and "I was in the pocket of these Indian interests way before Abramoff came along" defense is ringing a little hollow.
And lets not fool ourselves into thinking that these guys were supporting the interests of American Indians. Indian groups who actually represent Indians don't have that kind of cash. Indian casino groups do, but anyone who is at all familiar with gambling on reservations can tell you that those casinos are doing more harm than good.