Jack Abramoff's associate, Ralph Reed, didn't bother showing up at the fundraiser for John McCain last night.  But, Reed sure created a firestorm by "humping" the event:

Reed was a no-show at a fund-raiser for John McCain Monday evening, following nearly a week of considerable drama surrounding his involvement in the senator’s campaign.

The Republican candidate had come under fire for associating with Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition who fell from grace after his involvement with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. McCain was one of the leaders of the investigation of Abramoff’s lobbying activities that led to his imprisonment. Reed was never charged.

By many accounts, Reed injected himself into the recent debate. He sent an email to friends announcing his participation in the fund raiser, which he says was a call for more support. Others took it as an assertion of his involvement with the campaign, going so far as to insinuate he was hosting the event.

From NBC's First Read:

Will Ralph Reed actually show up at today’s McCain fundraiser in Atlanta? We said it last week and we’ll say it again: Given the fact that McCain’s Senate Indian Affairs Committee helped uncover the Abramoff scandal and given that McCain has railed against Abramoff on the campaign trail, it’s striking 1) that Reed -- Abramoff’s former business partner -- has helped to raise money for today’s event and 2) that the McCain camp didn’t disassociate themselves from Reed’s participation. 

Last night, the Mouth of the Potomac, the blogs of the Washington Bureau of the NY Daily News, published yet another piece on the growing controversy over Ralph Reed's fundraiser for John McCain.  Something about this event doesn't add up without a big dose of hypocrisy thrown in:

John McCain, a champion of lobbying reform, is drawing fire today for allowing ex-Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed help organize a campaign fundraiser for him in Atlanta next Monday.

Democrats and watchdog groups are calling on McCain to pull the plug on the event because Reed is a lobbyist closely tied to convicted felon Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff and Reed both worked on behalf of the gambling lobby, a clientele that eventually led to Abramoff’s demise and conviction. Abramoff paid Reed millions of dollars to press Christian conservatives to oppose casinos that would compete with casinos owned by Abramoff’s gaming industry clients.

But here is the rub: McCain led a Senate investigation that helped bring down Abramoff and helped expose Reed’s role in the shady lobbying deals. Reed, who also worked closely with ex-Bush political boss Karl Rove, was angry over McCain’s proceedings and the two were all but enemies. McCain has even boasted that he helped take down Abramoff.

“Sen. McCain should not go to that fundraiser. McCain was a reformer who went after Abramoff. He says “I am an anti-lobbyist reformer,” but then he agrees to let Reed throw him a fundraiser. That is just so hypocritical,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the left-leaning legal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Before Jack Abramoff's ally, Ralph Reed, hosts the fundraiser for John McCain next week, McCain should probably review the emails between those two, which were collected by his Senate Committee.  We'd suggest starting with this one:

As we reported Monday, Jack Abramoff's ally, Ralph Reed, is hosting a fundraiser for presidential candidate John McCain next week.   We stand by our suggestion that John McCain should review the 66 pages of correspondence between Mr. Reed and convicted felon, Jack Abramoff, which were obtained by his committee.   Those emails between Reed and Abramoff are posted at governmentdocs.org.

In addition, we think McCain should cancel the fundraiser:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain so far is ignoring calls from several watchdog groups to cancel an Atlanta fundraiser promoted by Ralph Reed, a longtime friend and business partner of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Campaign Money Watch are urging the Arizona senator to cancel plans for the Aug. 18 fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and remove Reed from McCain’s Victory 2008 Team.

Reed lost his 2006 campaign for Georgia lieutenant governor in large part because of details about his relationship with Abramoff — much of the information uncovered by McCain’s Indian Affairs Committee investigation into the wide-ranging lobbying corruption scandal.

The Senate probe discovered $4 million in payments Reed accepted to run a bogus anti-casino campaign aimed at reducing gambling competition. An Indian tribe with a competing casino made payments to Reed, which according to the Senate investigation’s final report, were “passed through” Abramoff’s firm, Preston, Gates, Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, and another organization, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform.

On the campaign trail, McCain often touts his work tackling Abramoff’s corrupt lobbying practices as evidence of his commitment to cleaning up Washington and a straight-shooting style that transcends politics.

Considering all that, CREW's Melanie Sloan put this controversy into perspective :

Watchdog groups are floored that McCain, who has worked with them for years to reform campaign finance law, has called on Reed to help bundle contributions.

“[Reed’s] hypocrisy is legion — now matched only by John McCain’s attending a fundraiser he’s helping host,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director. “You just have to wonder who’s the bigger hypocrite.”

Next week, John McCain will attend the fundraiser for his campaign, which is being hosted by a close ally of Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed:

On Thursday afternoon, Republicans around Georgia received an invitation from Reed, who will serve as a host of a “special event” for McCain at the downtown Marriot Marquis on Aug. 18.

“John McCain believes in a strong national defense, a smaller, more accountable government, steady economic growth and opportunity, the dignity of life and traditional values,” wrote Reed, whose 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor sank under the weight of evidence detailing his relationship with Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff — much of it uncovered by McCain’s Indian Affairs Committee.

John McCain may want to review the 66 pages of correspondence between Mr. Reed and convicted felon, Jack Abramoff, which were obtained by his committee.   Those emails between Reed and Abramoff are posted at governmentdocs.org.

*Call CNN's U.S. President Jonathan Klein and ask him to exclude Ralph Reed from the "best political team on television" - (212) 275-7800*

Today, CREW and Media Matters for America sent a letter to CNN’s U.S. President Jonathan Klein, asking that former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, a proven liar with a deep bias against one of the major Republican candidates, no longer be afforded the opportunity to be a part of CNN’s self-proclaimed “best political team on television.” Most recently, Reed provided commentary as a “Republican strategist” during the New Hampshire presidential primary. The letter to CNN can be found here.

CREW's Melanie Sloan made this statement when we sent the letter:

If asked, most people would probably agree that “the best political team on television” would not include a person with a tenuous relationship with the truth and a well-known enmity toward a particular candidate. But Ralph Reed is just such a person. CREW and Media Matters sent this letter today asking that CNN no longer include Ralph Reed as part of its much-hyped political team in future presidential or other political news coverage.

Reed played a pivotal role in the recent scandal involving convicted felon and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, by secretly using his connections and his consulting firm, Century Strategies, to further the goals of Abramoff’s Indian casino clients, while publicly professing he would never take money derived from gambling. During Reed’s 2006 unsuccessful bid to become the lieutenant governor of Georgia, he repeatedly lied about his role in the scheme.

The truth is that Reed was deeply involved in creating television, radio and grassroots campaigns to drum up public opposition to the expansion of gambling in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, all paid for by tribal casinos seeking to avoid competition. Emails released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and available both on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee website and at governmentdocs.org, confirm both Reed’s role and the fact that he was aware of the various sources of the funds.

Reed’s disdain for Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, stems from Indian Affairs Committee hearings the senator spearheaded, exposing Reed’s work on behalf of Abramoff’s tribal clients. Reed’s primary opponent in the lieutenant governor race publicized the information that came out during the hearings, contributing to Reed’s defeat at the polls. It has been reported that Reed’s defenders allege that Sen. McCain released the email exchanges between Reed and Abramoff in revenge for Reed’s support of President Bush in the 2000 campaign. Given Reed’s hostility to Sen. McCain, Reed is hardly an unbiased voice commenting on the Republican candidates’ race for their party’s nomination.

We'll let you know if, and how, Mr. Klein from CNN responds.

Lots of Jack Abramoff related court news today. The Hill reports that one of Abramoff's co-defendants wants to be removed from a civil suit brought by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas:

A former colleague of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has asked a federal court to dismiss civil charges filed by a Texas Indian tribe that both lobbyists represented, claiming lack of jurisdiction.

Jon van Horne, who worked alongside Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig, filed a motion Thursday to dismiss fraud and racketeering charges against him in U.S. District Court. The suit, brought by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, names as defendants Abramoff, van Horne, former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, former Rep. Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) aide, Michael Scanlon, and former Rep. Bob Ney’s (R-Ohio) chief of staff, Neil Volz.

The Texas tribe alleges that Abramoff and his three fellow lobbyists worked with Reed to misrepresent opposition to a Texas bill permitting casino gambling on state tribal land. The lobbyists sought to convince lawmakers of conservative objections to the gambling bill, the complaint states, but in fact were working on behalf of a rival tribe in Louisiana.

The Hill article referenced an Associated Press report (from August 24, 2006) that Mr. Van Horne and his co-defendant, Ralph Reed, were avoiding being served in this case:

A Texas Indian tribe who filed a federal lawsuit against ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates says former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and another defendant have been avoiding being served with a copy of the suit.

The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston filed a lawsuit in July alleging the men engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino. Aside from Abramoff and Reed, the suit names their associates, Michael Scanlon, Jon Van Horne and Neil Volz.

Attorney Fred Petti said Van Horne and Reed are making it difficult to serve them "by making themselves unavailable."

"It's like they've gone underground," said Petti, one of the tribe's attorneys.

No update on whether the two defendants did receive their copies of the suit. Mr. Reed was an unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Georgia, losing in the Republican primary on August 8, 2006.

There has been enormous press coverage this week on the release of information about the number of visits to the White House made by Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, both close associates of Jack Abramoff. However, CREW knows it's not the full story:

The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington also sued for the records. The group disclosed Thursday that it was told during settlement discussions that the actual number of meetings for Reed and Norquist was much higher - closer to 200.

Executive Director Melanie Sloan said her group was not satisfied with the release of the documents so far and intends to continue pursuing its case.

"We believe there are more records out there," Sloan said, adding that her group will ask permission from the court to interview officials and gather documents on the administration's recordkeeping practices. "Mere documents won't settle our questions."