Lynn Bartels has a followup where Schaffer actually speaks for the first time. That sure took a while.
A welcoming committee wanted to take Schaffer to his hotel, he said, but he prevailed. He said he found women working in a "sweatshop," and demanded leaders of the Northern Mariana Islands investigate.
"I was told that shortly after I left (the Marianas) that the factory was shut down," he said Friday, stressing he never verified the information.
But, last time he said they were all happy and smiling. This is the first we're all hearing of this amazing progress from his fact finding mission. I await the newspaper stories about the closing of said factory. Of course maybe this is just another case not being terribly engaged.
Schaffer again insists this was a fact-finding mission -- a mission paid for by the Traditional Value Coalition. I'm sure they're not concerned with forced abortions or say sex slavery are they? This report (hat tip to Talking Points Memo) came out from the Department of Labor a year before Schaffer's trip.
far more below the fold
And now, we have part four from the DenverPost detailing Abramoff's strategy for the Commonwealth of North Mariana Islands (CNMI). There's also Schaffer now openly fleeing from questioning reporters.
Wadhams claims no relationship.
Let me say as strongly and definitively as I can that Bob Schaffer did not know, does not know Jack Abramoff," Wadhams said.
It appears Mr. Wadhams is somewhat correct in that this is not direct proof they've ever been in the same room together. However, what the above document states is that Bob Schaffer as a 2nd term congressman wasn't important enough for Abramoff to spend his time on. However Preston-Gates staffers working for Jack Abramoff do find Bob Schaffer's staff an interesting bunch to speak with for over an hour on the subject of the minimum wage on CNMI.
Perhaps he didn't know such a meeting took place. I suppose that's an expected defense. However, that puts him in the bush league including a certain Enron CEO who claimed to not know what his direct employees are up to on his behalf
Let's delve a little deeper into some of these connections.
Schaffer - Fitial - Abramoff First there's more on Abramoff's strategy (email dated 10-18-01) to assist his friends on CNMI such as Ben Fitial, at the time running for the first time for Governor of CNMI.
Back in '99 Schaffer wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for Fitial's first campaign for Governor. For his 2001 run, with documented support from Abramoff, Schaffer wrote another endorsement letter. But surely they were just operating independently.
In part 2 I'll go into some of the other web entanglements Schaffer seems to be stuck to.
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