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.

USA Today reports that Randy Scheunemann continued his job as a lobbyist while advising  the McCain for President campaign.  CREW's Melanie Sloan was asked to untangle the ethical conflicts and offered some sage advice: 

Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal-leaning watchdog group, said Scheunemann still has a conflict of interest because his small firm continues to represent foreign clients. The records that show Scheunemann ceased representing foreign countries as of March 1 also show his partner, Michael Mitchell, remains registered to represent the three nations. Mitchell said Tuesday that Scheunemann no longer has any role with Orion Strategies but declined to say whether Scheunemann still is receiving income or profits from the firm.

"I can see why the firm wouldn't want to give up the income," Sloan said. "But you can either work for a presidential campaign or be a lobbyist, but not both."

"What we did was perfectly legal and appropriate." That’s John McCain rationalizing his use of Cindy McCain's corporate jet for a fraction of the cost rate after having argued in favor of limiting senators’ use of corporate jets in last year’s ethics reform debate.

Remind you of anything? How about "There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of law." Al Gore in 1997, describing the fundraising phone calls he made from the White House. Gore was rightly pilloried for his comments, which instantly entered the pantheon of classic evasions of responsibility – not far removed from "mistakes were made."

Virtuous reformer John McCain's ill considered remark deservedly should suffer a similarly ignominious fate.

McCain's use of his wife's corporate jet is just another reason we need a functioning FEC. Get the FEC back in action – Go to CREW's new website today at FixtheFEC.org.

Controversy swirled over the weekend over the decision by the McCain for President campaign's refusal to release the tax returns of John McCain's wife, Cindy:

McCain's decision not to release his wife's returns baffled some Washington ethics experts. They noted that plenty of detail about the McCain children's trust accounts and even their credit card debt is included in the candidate's Senate financial disclosure forms.

"I think this argument about the privacy of the kids is really a red herring," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "The fact is, it is precedent that presidential candidates release their returns. When you don't, it looks like you've got something to hide."

McCain in 2007 donated about $105,000 to charities, most of it -- about $88,000 -- to the family foundation that he and his wife run. That amounted to nearly one-quarter of his reported income for last year. But because the McCains file separately, it is hard to know if that is a large part of the family income.

"The raw dollar amounts certainly are generous," said John D. Colombo, an expert on charitable-tax law at the University of Illinois law school. "But, we don't know what Cindy McCain's income is, and we don't know if John has sources of income," such as tax-exempt bond interest, which would not be reported on a federal tax return.

Today, John McCain released his tax returns.  However, McCain did not release the forms for his wife, Cindy, who files separately.  CREW's Melanie Sloan thinks that presents a problem for McCain:

The Associated Press estimated this month that Cindy McCain is worth over $100 million based on the value of her late father's stake in Hensley & Co.

In 2004, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry disclosed a portion of the tax returns of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir to a $500 million fortune, three weeks before the election.

Hazelbaker said Cindy McCain's situation differs from Teresa Heinz Kerry because Kerry had loaned money to her husband's campaign and Cindy McCain hasn't done so.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the failure to release Cindy McCain's returns shouldn't fly with voters because transparency has been ``a signature issue for John McCain,'' and not releasing her information smacks of hypocrisy.

``He should just release the tax returns and make it a non- issue,'' Sloan said.