Movie Review
The movie, Jack Abramoff: A Lobbyist’s Playbook, is about the time Jack Abramoff as a former lobbyist to Washington. In it, Jack Abramoff, who used to be considered one of the most successful and powerful lobbyists in Washington, talks about how he used his client’s money to buy powerful friends and influence legislation. Additionally, he talks about how it was tremendously profitable to him personally, as he made in the double digit millions a year engaging in these acts. Some of the things he would do are to give Congressmen access to private jets, sporting event tickets, and restaurant meals. He spent over a million dollars a year on tickets to sporting events for Congressmen and their staffers. Additionally, he owned a restaurant where he gave free meals and drinks to Congressmen and their staffers.
He states that he would ‘try to make his actions fall into the category of legal’ but many times they did not. One of the most powerful tricks he used is to offer a staffer a job working for him whenever they were ready to leave Washington (This he proposed while they were still working as staffers in Washington). One Congressman, Congressman Ney’s former chief of staff admits to engaging in a corrupt relationship with Abramoff. Abramoff says that, at the height of his career, he had influence in 100 Congressmen’s offices.
Ney, the only Congressman who went down in the scandal with Abramoff, served 17 months in federal prison. Abramoff served 4 years in a medium security prison. Abramoff was charged with tax evasion and ripping of Indian tribes for more than $45 million. He now says that Washington needs to prohibit members of Congress and their staff from ever becoming lobbyists.
