Big bad John.
Noriega camp say Cornyn tied to Abramoff
Democratic challenger Rick Noriega sent out an Internet ad Monday accusing Republican Sen. John Cornyn of doing the bidding of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The Cornyn campaign called the allegation blatantly false and irresponsible.
The Halloween-themed ad says Cornyn is trying to "dress up" his record in Congress. It shows an actor portraying Cornyn wearing assorted costumes as the announcer lists his votes against children's health care, a veterans bill and other measures.
The Cornyn actor is shown in a black-and-white striped jail uniform when the announcer says, "And he did the bidding of a convicted felon, Jack Abramoff. Even a wizard can't make that bad record disappear."
Adamantly dismissing the claim, Cornyn's campaign cited findings of a U.S. Senate investigation that were publicly reported in 2006 stating there was no evidence Cornyn acted on behalf of Abramoff in his court fight against Indian gambling in Texas when he was attorney general.
"It was heavily looked at and there was no wrongdoing found," said Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin, adding that the Web ad is a sign that Noriega's campaign is losing and desperate as the Nov. 4 election approaches.
Noriega's campaign said its ad is referring to a $1,000 campaign contribution Cornyn received from Abramoff in 2002 after Cornyn fought in court to have the Tigua Indian tribe's casino in El Paso shuttered. Abramoff was lobbying for a Louisiana tribe that wanted competing Texas Indian casinos closed.
A federal court agreed with Cornyn that the Tigua casino violated the state's limited gambling laws and shut it down.
E-mails from 2001 - released in 2005 as part of the Senate investigation - showed that former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed claimed in a message to Abramoff that he choreographed Cornyn's efforts against Indian gambling. Reed was working as a consultant with Abramoff at the time.
Cornyn has said Abramoff and Reed were irrelevant to what he was doing as attorney general, and that they were claiming credit for his decision to wage a legal fight against Indian gambling.
McLaughlin said Cornyn has never met Abramoff and met Reed briefly at a Republican National Committee meeting in Austin in early 2002, long after Cornyn filed suit in 1999 against the Indian casino.
Noriega spokesman Martine Apodaca defended his campaign's ad as truthful and said the e-mails between Reed and Abramoff "strongly suggest that they had been in contact with Cornyn."
McLaughlin said Noriega's camp should back up its claims with facts.
"We demand that Rick Noriega prove it or retract it entirely," he said of the ad, which is only on Internet sites and not on television.
Abramoff was sentenced last month to four years in prison for his role in a corruption scandal that upended Washington politics. The once powerful lobbyist already was serving prison time for a separate case in Florida.
Abramoff's name also entered Texas politics in the 2006 elections for his ties with associates of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who resigned from Congress in 2006. DeLay is awaiting trial on an unrelated money laundering charge in connection with 2002 state House elections.
In another Texas congressional race, between Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson and Republican Pete Olson in suburban Houston, DeLay's image is being used in a television ad against Olson that claims Olson improperly voted in Connecticut while being registered to vote in Virginia.
Olson is a former chief of staff to Cornyn.
Meanwhile, the Noriega campaign planned to air another round of TV ads starting Tuesday after having been off the air for several days. The Noriega campaign wouldn't comment on the contents of the new ad or the size of the ad purchase.
Cornyn's campaign, with millions more dollars than Noriega, has been running ads constantly since September.
Source
Well someone hurry up and find a smoking gun, I can't marry my box turtle until Cornyn's out of office!
Democratic challenger Rick Noriega sent out an Internet ad Monday accusing Republican Sen. John Cornyn of doing the bidding of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The Cornyn campaign called the allegation blatantly false and irresponsible.
The Halloween-themed ad says Cornyn is trying to "dress up" his record in Congress. It shows an actor portraying Cornyn wearing assorted costumes as the announcer lists his votes against children's health care, a veterans bill and other measures.
The Cornyn actor is shown in a black-and-white striped jail uniform when the announcer says, "And he did the bidding of a convicted felon, Jack Abramoff. Even a wizard can't make that bad record disappear."
Adamantly dismissing the claim, Cornyn's campaign cited findings of a U.S. Senate investigation that were publicly reported in 2006 stating there was no evidence Cornyn acted on behalf of Abramoff in his court fight against Indian gambling in Texas when he was attorney general.
"It was heavily looked at and there was no wrongdoing found," said Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin, adding that the Web ad is a sign that Noriega's campaign is losing and desperate as the Nov. 4 election approaches.
Noriega's campaign said its ad is referring to a $1,000 campaign contribution Cornyn received from Abramoff in 2002 after Cornyn fought in court to have the Tigua Indian tribe's casino in El Paso shuttered. Abramoff was lobbying for a Louisiana tribe that wanted competing Texas Indian casinos closed.
A federal court agreed with Cornyn that the Tigua casino violated the state's limited gambling laws and shut it down.
E-mails from 2001 - released in 2005 as part of the Senate investigation - showed that former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed claimed in a message to Abramoff that he choreographed Cornyn's efforts against Indian gambling. Reed was working as a consultant with Abramoff at the time.
Cornyn has said Abramoff and Reed were irrelevant to what he was doing as attorney general, and that they were claiming credit for his decision to wage a legal fight against Indian gambling.
McLaughlin said Cornyn has never met Abramoff and met Reed briefly at a Republican National Committee meeting in Austin in early 2002, long after Cornyn filed suit in 1999 against the Indian casino.
Noriega spokesman Martine Apodaca defended his campaign's ad as truthful and said the e-mails between Reed and Abramoff "strongly suggest that they had been in contact with Cornyn."
McLaughlin said Noriega's camp should back up its claims with facts.
"We demand that Rick Noriega prove it or retract it entirely," he said of the ad, which is only on Internet sites and not on television.
Abramoff was sentenced last month to four years in prison for his role in a corruption scandal that upended Washington politics. The once powerful lobbyist already was serving prison time for a separate case in Florida.
Abramoff's name also entered Texas politics in the 2006 elections for his ties with associates of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who resigned from Congress in 2006. DeLay is awaiting trial on an unrelated money laundering charge in connection with 2002 state House elections.
In another Texas congressional race, between Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson and Republican Pete Olson in suburban Houston, DeLay's image is being used in a television ad against Olson that claims Olson improperly voted in Connecticut while being registered to vote in Virginia.
Olson is a former chief of staff to Cornyn.
Meanwhile, the Noriega campaign planned to air another round of TV ads starting Tuesday after having been off the air for several days. The Noriega campaign wouldn't comment on the contents of the new ad or the size of the ad purchase.
Cornyn's campaign, with millions more dollars than Noriega, has been running ads constantly since September.
Source
Well someone hurry up and find a smoking gun, I can't marry my box turtle until Cornyn's out of office!