Thursday, April 05, 2007
Abramoff Scandal Continuing
Italia Federici, the head of a Republican environmental advocacy group, has been told by federal investigators that she is a target for criminal prosecution in the corruption inquiry involving the lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The Justice Department told Ms. Federici that she faced up to five charges in the influence-peddling scandal that has produced convictions against one lawmaker, two senior Bush administration officials and several Congressional aides. Mr. Abramoff entered a guilty plea as part of an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors.
Ms. Federici was a co-founder of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, along with Gale A. Norton, former secretary of the interior, and Grover Norquist, founder of the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform. Investigators are looking at the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Ms. Federici’s environmental advocacy council received from Mr. Abramoff’s Indian tribal clients and from energy and mining companies.
