White House May Have Torpedoed Abramoff Corruption Probe

In November 2002, the U.S. attorney in Guam, Frederick A. Black, notified Justice Department officials that he was opening an investigation into Jack Abramoff’s lobbying activities with Guam judges. Days later, Black was demoted and barred from pursuing public corruption cases, ending his investigation. The Justice Department’s Inspector General and the FBI are looking into Black’s demotion to determine whether Abramoff’s close ties to the Bush administration may have influenced Justice Department officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft, in any way. “What this starts to suggest is that Abramoff’s ability to corrupt the system was far more pervasive, certainly than we knew at the time,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA).