The notorious mastermind of a massive public corruption scandal, Jack Abramoff, may be getting out of jail early.   Apparently, he's been very cooperative:

The Justice Department on Wednesday recommended a reduction in jail time for the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who became a crucial witness against lawmakers and Congressional aides.

Prosecutors asked federal judges in Washington and Florida to shave years off the sentence of Mr. Abramoff, citing his work in an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that sent numerous people to prison and contributed to the Republican Party’s loss of Congress.

Mr. Abramoff’s cooperation helped send to prison former Representative Bob Ney, a Republican, and former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles.

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.

Despite repeated denials from the Bush administration about its ties to Jack Abramoff, the notorious ex-lobbyist did have close relationships in the White House and was able to achieve his goals using those connections.  No surprise, really, considering Abramoff's staff considered Mehlman a "rock star".  The Washington Post has more:

If lobbyists find the path to their clients' riches obstructed by an implacably hostile federal official, they might achieve success by an end run or an appeal to more senior authorities. But a more extreme solution -- if the foe has high-level support -- is to pull strings at the White House and orchestrate the official's removal.

That option was chosen by Jack Abramoff and his colleagues at the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig in the Bush administration's early days, to oust Alan Stayman from a State Department negotiating job. Stayman had earned their ire by advocating labor reforms in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate where Abramoff's clients wanted to keep paying immigrants less than the federal minimum wage to work in textile factories.

Stayman was supported by James A. Kelly, who was a White House aide to President Ronald Reagan and served as the State Department's assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific from 2001 to 2005. Kelly, citing ongoing negotiations with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, told his department's personnel office on May 1, 2001, that he wanted Stayman to remain for two more years.

But Abramoff's path to success in what an aide called "the Stayman project" is spelled out in a set of internal White House, State Department and Greenberg Traurig e-mails provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and made public last week.

Providing a rare glimpse of high-level, behind-the-scenes string-pulling, they show how Abramoff, now serving a prison term for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, relied on key White House contacts, including Susan Ralston, executive assistant to political adviser Karl Rove; Monica Kladakis, then deputy White House personnel chief; and Ken Mehlman, then the White House political director.

Today, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for David Savafian, who as AP noted was "the first Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal." In response, Melanie Sloan issued the following statement:

Jack Abramoff routinely offered up meals, tickets and trips to government officials who seemed susceptible to such offerings and who were in a position to help him. David Safavian was just one such official. To make it clear to all other government employees that such conduct will not be tolerated and that they will be held accountable, it is imperative that the Justice Department retry Safavian for his crimes. The court’s decision today should have little bearing on any other Abramoff-related prosecutions. Anyone looking to the court’s decision here to save them from prosecution will be sadly disappointed.

Jack Abramoff was in the news again this week over his repeated meetings with President Bush. Now comes word that Abramoff's sentence in the D.C. corruption scandal may be handed down within months. Abramoff has been cooperating with the authorities:

Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, imprisoned for a fraud case in Florida, have asked a federal judge to sentence the former Republican power broker in September for his actions in the Washington lobbying scandal, according to documents filed in federal court.

Abramoff is currently serving five years and 10 months in prison for his role in the fraudulent purchase of a fleet of casino cruise boats in Florida. Under terms of his original plea agreement, Abramoff can expect to receive a jail sentence of 9 1/2 to 11 years, and he is required to make restitution of $26.7 million to the IRS and to the Indian tribes he defrauded. The initial plea in the lobbying corruption contemplated Abramoff serving a reduced sentence in exchange for his cooperation.

While serving his time at a federal prison in Cumberland, Md., Abramoff has been cooperating and received frequent visits from federal investigators who have secured convictions of more than a dozen lobbyists and government officials. Still under investigation are Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Tom DeLay , the former House majority leader.

for the U.S. Justice Department and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, imprisoned for a fraud case in Florida, have asked a federal judge to sentence the former Republican power broker in September for his actions in the Washington lobbying scandal, according to documents filed in federal court.

Abramoff is currently serving five years and 10 months in prison for his role in the fraudulent purchase of a fleet of casino cruise boats in Florida. Under terms of his original plea agreement, Abramoff can expect to receive a jail sentence of 9 1/2 to 11 years, and he is required to make restitution of $26.7 million to the IRS and to the Indian tribes he defrauded. The initial plea in the lobbying corruption contemplated Abramoff serving a reduced sentence in exchange for his cooperation.

While serving his time at a federal prison in Cumberland, Md., Abramoff has been cooperating and received frequent visits from federal investigators who have secured convictions of more than a dozen lobbyists and government officials. Still under investigation are Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Tom DeLay , the former House majority leader.