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Author Jack Abramoff on the role of political influence in the DOE loans given to bankrupt solar-panel company was given.
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-- surrounding -- wondered did political influence play any role in these laws -- White -- denying it.
But who would know better about the equation power and money in Washington that Jack Abramoff.
He served three and a half years in prison for conspiracy and fraud and an infamous lobbying scandal is written a new book called capital punishment.
And he joins us now on up first on Fox Business exclusive good to see it thanks for being -- -- All right Solyndra the White House says no political influence was used in all of these loans and Jack Abramoff says.
That's probably laughable.
These kind of things absolutely -- political were always political.
And especially when it comes out that donors are involved and lobbyists are involved this is exactly what I used to be involved in.
And doing and this is a 100%.
-- almost impossible that is not the case -- have you ever seen or half a billion dollar loan or grant of some kind passed out without political influence.
The -- the I think I I even I would have been ashamed to ask for something like this as a lobbyist and political Jack Abramoff would have initiated obviously is what this is an egregious.
Example.
This is outrageous.
And I don't know that we could have with a straight days gone to the White House at any point.
During the Clinton and bush administration's I'm lobbying and tried so what what -- it what is extraordinary to me an edge just read some of these emails that show that.
Clearly -- or at least.
George Kaiser -- the Obama contributor was saying that Solyndra figured in -- some of the talks he had at his seventeen visits to the White House over the past couple years.
So how can the White House say Solyndra wasn't mentioned we have -- -- Well -- that the White House might be dissembling wouldn't be the first time that such -- thing happens.
It's obviously embarrassing when something like this ultimately gets unveiled.
People have reactions that are not on wanted to do something like that to say that none of this happened and then things start piling out.
Is the usually not a good way to handle scandal like this.
Is this likely to be just the first of many instances that we Begin to hear about as all of these billions of dollars are accounted for in in the stimulus spending well obviously -- Don't know I don't think -- there's -- yet what's coming but.
It seems that this is not a good beginning.
We have already seen -- -- in various.
2008 since the crash of 2008.
It is starting with the housing bill in 2008 that was authored by Chris Dodd friend of Angelo Mozilo was ahead of countrywide countrywide had made.
Hundreds of billions of dollars of bad sub prime alt A loans.
And yet they got to build written by Chris Dodd -- and -- zillow who was a friend of Chris Dodd Chris Dodd got a favor from countrywide of added up to about 75000.
Dollars worth of forgiveness on mortgages and then Chris Dodd went and wrote -- bill.
That essentially took away you all of the debts of countrywide and put him on the backs of taxpayers right if that's not political influence I don't know what it is they did this is the way unfortunately things go in Washington until there's some serious reform in Washington it's gonna continue and it's obviously continuing now.
-- the reform that that is being talked about now -- Dodd-Frank and everything.
Could lead to just the opposite could have because Chris Dodd the guy we just heard about.
Who got this special deal for Angelo.
Has his name attached to the new financial -- bill.
Right I had that's not what I meant by reform I think those are attacks on on -- free market -- economy what I mean by reform there isn't going on right now.
Which is to stop all of this insider dealing in all these.
Pay -- due to friends and people being able to take taxpayer money and give it over to companies like -- will that.
Ever -- as long as you have big government and bigger government that we've ever had in history that we've -- -- -- about hundreds of billions trillions of dollars.
The bigger the government is the more of this kind of lobbying -- there's no question about it they're 20000 lobbyists running around Washington DC.
Because there are hundreds of thousands of things like this that are going on in DC until the government is pare back.
To what it's constitutionally supposed to be.
You're gonna have things like this -- human beings are gonna act in certain way and that's what they're doing by the way -- -- we talked about finances but the TARP bailouts of course most of that TARP money has been paid back we wanna emphasize that but when the money was being passed out we had.
Money for institutions like one united bank that Maxine Waters husband was on the board of perhaps as a result of that influence that bank got TARP money that it wasn't entitled to of these things don't just materialize out of thin air they don't just lavish these funds often on.
And institutions that have absolutely no contact they don't know about their tend to go.
The people were close to them into their friend was it done by the way -- would take take Maxine Waters for example -- it was your phone call do you think that went from Maxine Waters who it.
Some assistant secretary of the treasury or how how does -- work office -- I can't speak to a she may or may have done this kind of -- little in the way.
On is that lobbyists per donor -- go -- and talk to the member talked to the staff.
-- educate them about what they need to come up with some reasons why this is somehow sensible.
Give them some cover.
Show them how politically they can get away with it and how won't come back to bite them in the in the rear.
And perhaps at the same time be doing a fund raiser for them -- take him out to dinner play golf for travel.
And then when it's all done they put him on the phone -- which is the safest way to do it not create -- written -- record.
And off they -- what was your record what was your track record I mean -- was was this just a few people that you were able to get this way or was -- most of the people you've dealt with well.
I think unfortunately because the way the system is.
Almost everybody there at some level -- susceptible to this kind of activity.
Because let me just put -- five -- almost everybody there is susceptible to you could've tapped into in the ways and some have somebody has some level aghast at some -- yes some some more -- -- simply some much more you know I have with much more -- The problem is the system the way it's rigged.
And the way its created by the very people benefiting from this system the congressman themselves.
It has to be change it has to be totally on done.
The Dodd-Frank bill all the financial regulations -- new regulations that had a lot of carve outs for the biggest banks because they spent.
Millions hundreds of millions of dollars sending lobbyists down a washing get those carve outs.
Can you stop that I mean -- the Supreme Court said that spending money on these issues is free speech well.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Should not be able to cash and in if you would come serve the public -- -- -- that you're was that your easiest lower where you were trying to get somebody to vote in your side you'd -- go to one other staff members say.
-- after you finish with congressman so and so you come to be -- -- -- certainly -- -- -- -- there was the most affected because ultimately when you offer somebody job even if they're not gonna take it.
They're so complemented that -- offered them the job.
That they're amenable to what you want to do but they're gonna take that job.
In two years for those two years they worked for that lobby's that don't work for the congressman you know there was a movie based a book called catch me if you can in which -- guy it was it was the most duplicitous who managed to -- a lot of people.
Was actually hired by the government to try to catch people.
If -- just a government tried to work with you in this way well I -- been actually trying to help not -- with the government but everywhere I can't educate the reason I wrote my book.
Is to make the American people aware of what's going on over there and the truth is the American people the ones who need to stand up to this and -- these bums out -- put new people is that.
Part of what the Tea Party movement is absolutely I think the Tea Party elections in 2010 shows the PB it can be done.
And so American people have to have the confidence that they can do it right now a lot of people approach me and and the Twitter me and send emails and Facebook's and they say yeah that's Abramoff dot com which -- have a site.
And they say that can't be done we can't do anything about the -- 2010 proved it can be done and America's got to rise up and do that I'm getting a -- now but.
What do you do with the rest of your life.
Well for part of -- I tried to help a bright make recompense for what I did for the last part of my life.
By trying to -- on any of your.
Initial values that you had when he -- it is absolutely a hold on to most of my guys I went -- path unfortunately have been -- -- severely.
But I'm back on path and I'm trying to do what's right.
Jack Abramoff good to see -- Jack the name of the book is capital punishment.
