By Peter H. Stone, National Journal, May 16, 2009

16 May 2009 // More than five years after the public corruption scandal that bears his name broke in Washington, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff remains imprisoned at the federal correctional institution in Cumberland, Md. But the Abramoff case is still racking up criminal convictions and causing fallout on Washington's lobbying business.

Consider: Former lobbyist Kevin Ring, a key associate of Abramoff's, is scheduled to go on trial in September in U.S. District Court in Washington on 10 counts of obstruction of justice, fraud, and other charges related to Abramoff's influence-peddling. Ring's onetime boss on Capitol Hill, former Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., and a few other former members of Congress are still under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in the Abramoff probe.

Two key figures in the wide-ranging case -- former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges, and former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles, who pleaded guilty to lying to Senate investigators about his relationship with Abramoff -- have already served prison time and are trying to rebuild their lives. Ney has moved into talk-radio news, discoursing on ethics, earmarks, and other matters. Griles, who once lobbied for energy interests, has returned to K Street as a consultant in a small firm.

Since December, two lobbyists, two former Hill aides, and one former Bush administration official linked to Abramoff have been convicted on charges related to the scandal. Overall, the Justice Department-led investigation into the network of lobbyists, lawmakers, Hill staffers, and Bush administration officials whom Abramoff and his associates cultivated for political favors through campaign donations and gifts of meals, tickets to sports events, and lavish golf junkets has notched 18 criminal convictions.

Abramoff, who went to prison in 2006 after pleading guilty to fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion, has continued to cooperate with prosecutors from the minimum-security camp where he is being held. He could be released as soon as 2010.

Meanwhile, Justice's ongoing Abramoff probe could face new obstacles. Two top attorneys at the Public Integrity Section, which has been spearheading the case, have black eyes from recent embarrassments in a separate public corruption case. Six federal prosecutors, including the head of Public Integrity, William Welch II, were at least indirectly tarred by Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to seek a dismissal of last year's conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, because prosecutors improperly withheld evidence from defense counsel. A federal judge granted the dismissal.

"Welch was not just a distant supervisor on the Abramoff case but has been actively involved in parts of it," says a former federal prosecutor who also worked on the probe.

Welch and several other attorneys are now under scrutiny by a court-appointed special prosecutor for their conduct in the Stevens case; Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility is also conducting an ethics probe.

As a result of the Stevens dismissal, prosecutors in the Abramoff case will proceed with "more caution and more pause," says Guy Singer of the firm Fulbright & Jaworski, who worked on the Abramoff investigation over a period of about two years in Justice's Fraud Section during the Bush administration.

Other former prosecutors agree that the turmoil resulting from the Stevens case could slow down some of the long-running Abramoff-related investigations. "The former members who are under scrutiny have a lot going for them right now," says ex-prosecutor Melanie Sloan, who runs the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. She points not only to "disarray at Public Integrity" but also to the problem of limited resources and staff turnover at the section.

Sloan notes that attorneys for Doolittle and other former lawmakers still under scrutiny have been aggressively invoking the Constitution's "speech or debate clause," which protects members of Congress from prosecution for official actions.

Still, Sloan says, Justice "has done a really good job on the Abramoff case, but so far some of the really big fish remain uncharged." She cites Doolittle; former lobbyist Ed Buckham, who was chief of staff to then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas; and DeLay himself, who was one of Abramoff's key allies on Capitol Hill.

To be sure, the lead prosecutor on the Abramoff case, Mary Butler, and several other attorneys in Public Integrity who have no ties to the Stevens case are pushing ahead with their investigations.

Since late last year, the Abramoff prosecutors have secured several guilty pleas--from former lobbyist Jim Hirni, who worked with Abramoff and most recently represented Wal-Mart in Washington, and from Ann Copland, a former top aide to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who was working in television in Mississippi.

Copland helped Abramoff and his colleagues secure legislative favors for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, one of several high-paying, casino-owning clients that Abramoff represented. In return, between 2002 and 2004 Copland received more than $25,000 worth of tickets to sporting events and concerts, as well as free meals and drinks at Washington restaurants.

On March 8, 2002, Copland sent an e-mail to Kevin Ring that included a wish list of goodies she wanted. Ring forwarded the list to Todd Boulanger, another key Abramoff associate, who responded, "Ann should get everything she wants."

Weeks before Copland's plea, Boulanger abruptly resigned from the firm Cassidy & Associates and also pleaded guilty to fraud charges, which could open up more targets for prosecutors. One Abramoff associate noted that Boulanger, who had strong ties to several Senate and House offices, played an important role in directing many of the campaign donations that went to other lawmakers from Abramoff's clients and other lobbyists.

According to two sources familiar with the investigation, another plea or indictment is expected later this spring or in early summer. The word is that it will represent a "bigger fish."

Sources predict that the next Abramoff ally to be charged could be Buckham or DeLay, both of whom have been under scrutiny by prosecutors for a long time. Buckham and DeLay were allies for Abramoff in seeking legislative help for his biggest clients, such as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Indian tribes with casino operations. Abramoff, Buckham, and DeLay took three costly trips, which Abramoff clients paid for, to the Northern Marianas, Russia, and Scotland, where they golfed at the famed St. Andrews links.

Two ex-DeLay aides, Michael Scanlon and Tony Rudy (who became Abramoff's associate), were among the first to plead guilty in the scandal but have yet to be sentenced. It is not uncommon for prosecutors to postpone sentencing until witnesses have provided all their assistance, a point that seems to bolster the view that charges against Buckham or DeLay may still come.

"Prosecutors want to hold the sword of Damocles over their heads to see the quality of their testimony or statements," before proposing sentences, said white-collar criminal defense lawyer Stan Brand.

Looking ahead, prosecutors are focused on the Ring case, which is scheduled to go to trial on September 9. Ring cooperated with prosecutors for almost two years before his indictment last September. He ultimately decided that he could not agree to a plea deal. Prosecutors pressed Ring hard for information about Doolittle and his wife, Julie Doolittle, who was paid $96,000 by Abramoff's then-employer, lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, to provide consulting help to Abramoff in 2002 and 2003.

During that period, Julie Doolittle was supposed to do fundraising for a nonprofit that Abramoff ran, but she never held any events for it. Ring's indictment charges that he lied to investigators about knowing how Abramoff obtained a job for Julie Doolittle.

Other e-mails between Ring and Abramoff underscore the close ties between the lobbyists and Rep. Doolittle (who is referred to as representative No. 5 in the indictment). In late 2000, Ring wrote to Abramoff touting Doolittle as "such a good soldier, doing everything we asked of him ... I know you are great about making sure he gets his fair share of contributions, but if the [client] is feeling generous this would be a very opportune time to get something to him."

Abramoff, Ring, and their associates hosted fundraising events for Doolittle at the Capital Grille and treated Doolittle staffers to free food, drinks, and other gifts, according to the indictment. The indictment refers to legislative favors--including earmarks--that Doolittle provided Abramoff's clients and alleges that in 2000 Doolittle complained to his chief of staff that he felt like a "subsidiary" of Abramoff's lobbying firm.

Ring has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Chuck James, an attorney for John Doolittle, told National Journal that he is hopeful that Justice will ultimately "cease the investigation."

As the probes continue, the fallout from the Abramoff scandal is still roiling the lobbying profession. In 2007, Congress enacted new curbs on lawmakers' ability to take the kinds of junkets that Abramoff's clients underwrote, and it ended lobbyists' longtime practice of buying food and drinks for members. More recently, the Obama administration has cited the Abramoff scandal as part of the justification for instituting strict new lobbying rules.

And in yet another nod to the scandal, the movie business is hard on the case. Academy Award-winning documentary director and producer Alex Gibney and feature director George Hickenlooper are working on Abramoff projects for the big screen.