WASHINGTON – Lobbyist Jack Abramoff instructed an Indian tribe to make a $5,000 donation to Sen. Byron Dorgan shortly after the lawmaker signed a letter requesting federal money for a school program that Abramoff’s tribal clients wanted, the tribe’s lawyer said Monday.
The disclosure from the Louisiana Coushattas came as Dorgan, D-N.D., sharply criticized The Associated Press for reporting last week that he had collected $20,000 in donations from Abramoff’s lobbying firm and tribal clients around the time of his Feb. 11, 2002, letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Dorgan told a news conference in North Dakota he saw no reason to step aside as the top Dem-ocrat on the Senate committee investigating Abramoff’s controversial lobbying.
Dorgan said he never met the lobbyist and his letter had nothing to do with Abramoff or the donations. He said he wrote the letter because he supported the tribal school construction program and believed tribes in his state might benefit.
“The Bush administration wanted to shut the program down. I disagreed. The program saves the federal government money and gets results. That makes sense to me,” he said. Dorgan’s staff said Dorgan believes the letter was drafted by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who also signed it.
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