Reed, Abramoff, Talmadge Heflin ... Oh My!

Texas county attorney weighs Reed inquiry | ajc.com

Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to the Vo-Heflin rematch?

[Ralph] Reed, a staunch opponent of gambling, has said he was unaware that any of his financial backing came from gaming sources. He has yet to address the fact that several e-mails between him and Abramoff indicate the source of funding was well known.

Reed had three tasks in Texas: to push John Cornyn, then the Republican attorney general, to close an illegal casino operated by the Tigua tribe in El Paso; to push Cornyn to file a similar lawsuit against the Alabama Coushatta tribe in Texas; and to kill bills in the Legislature that would have allowed both tribes to operate their gambling establishments, according to documents released by a Senate committee.

The efforts were financed by the Louisiana Coushatta tribe, which operates a $300 million-a-year casino in southwest Louisiana. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were budgeted for phone banks and mailings.

The Texas Christian Coalition was listed as the source for some phone-bank operations. Others were attributed to the Committee Against Gambling Expansion ? a shell organization set up by the Louisiana Coushattas, according to documents released by federal investigators.

Escamilla's decision to prosecute will be largely based on e-mail and other documents that passed between Abramoff and Reed, which were made public by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Reed and others mention direct contact with Texas legislators, the lieutenant governor and the attorney general. Among them:

? In an undated memo on strategy surrounding a bill to restore the Tigua tribe's right to its casino is the notation that "Ralph presently has a call in to the lieutenant governor's office."

? On April 2, 2001, Reed wrote to Abramoff: "I am moving forward with the following: 1) Visiting with the staff of Rep. Talmadge Heflin to see where Rep. Heflin is on the H.B. 514 (the Tigua bill); 2) Meeting with Christian Coalition, [Texas] Family Policy Council, Eagle Forum to make sure H.B. 514 has the total focus of conservatives..." Efforts to reach Heflin last week were unsuccessful.

Well, I guess the best ol Tal can say is that he was just as responsive to Ralph Reed as he was to his constituents back home in 2001.