October, 27 2010, 11:10am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Garrett Russo 202.408.5565
CREW: Why Did the Department of Justice Silence Jack Abramoff?
WASHINGTON
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed suit in federal district court seeking records related to the Department of Justice's efforts to keep Jack Abramoff from talking to the media while he was imprisoned. The former lobbyist reportedly had agreed to cooperate with a documentary filmmaker who then was making a movie about Mr. Abramoff, but the Bureau of Prisons exerted pressure to dissuade him from granting media interviews.
In response to the suit, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan released the following statement:
"It is troubling that the United States government apparently pressured Mr. Abramoff to keep him from talking about one of the largest congressional corruption scandals in history. Who exactly was the government trying to protect - one of the many members of Congress or Bush administration officials implicated in the affair? Why, even now, is the Department stonewalling to prevent the public from seeing records related to how the Bush administration handled requests to interview Mr. Abramoff? Mr. Abramoff bought and paid for legislative favors with extravagant golf trips, expensive meals and box seats to concerts and sporting events, yet only one member of Congress, Bob Ney (R-OH), was ever criminally charged in connection with Mr. Abramoff. The full story on this sorry saga has yet to be told."
CLICK HERE to read CREW's letter of complaint against the Department of Justice.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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