New benchmark in D.C. corruption

The guilty plea of Washington, D.C., lobbyist Jack Abramoff is a benchmark of corruption. When a government controlled by Republicans nails a prominent Republican lobbyist, you might suspect the violations were egregious. And they were.

Only part of it was the violation of law — the counts of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. The conspiracy included an attempt to influence Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, with a trip to Scotland, and other incentives. The fraud included Abramoff's persuasion of an Indian tribe to hire a firm in which he had a secret half-interest. The tax evasion included the use of a charitable group, the Capital Athletic Foundation, to collect payments for lobbying work, thereby making the revenue tax-exempt. The foundation was supposed to be for athletics for poor children. Instead, it funded such pursuits as politicians' trips to the St. Andrews Links in Scotland and the private school where Abramoff sent his children.

Published accounts say a guilty plea is also expected in a Miami case, in which Abramoff and associate Adam Kidan have been accused of faking a wire transfer of $23 million. This was in connection with their $147 million purchase of the SunCruz casino-cruise company, whose previous owner died in a gangland-style slaying.

There is more here than violation of law. There is a manner, a style, that is offensive. Also, a magnitude. Abramoff and a partner, Michael Scanlon, charged Indian tribes some $80 million for lobbying work.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty to misrepresentation, which is illegal; but beyond that is this Mount Si of slush funds, which is not in itself illegal. Lobbyists, like other self-employed people, are free to charge what the market will bear.

That Indian tribes — not heretofore society's wealthiest members — were willing to pay Abramoff and Scanlon $80 million to influence the federal government tells us something about them, but also about our government.

The flow of private money through Washington, D.C., much of it chasing public money, grows deeper each year.