Reid: GOP’s attack over Abramoff is futile

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2006 | 12:34 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is sticking to his position that he did nothing wrong by accepting campaign contributions from clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In an interview Monday on the TV news program "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE, Reid said the Abramoff case remains a Republican scandal.

Although Reid accepted $68,000 in campaign donations from Abramoff clients, including American Indian tribes, the senator told Ralston he had no intention of returning any of the money.

Reid said while he has been a prime target of the GOP "spin machine," the Republicans' efforts have been "futile at this point."

"They would love to make this part of a Democratic involvement, but the fact is Jack Abramoff has been a Republican operative for many years," Reid said.

"He has given $250,000 to members of Congress, not a single penny to a Democrat. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the president. He has had pictures taken with the president, they say, untold times. Democrats have had nothing to do with Jack Abramoff."

The campaign contributions were related in part to positions that Reid has taken in opposition to off-reservation gaming, a position he said he has advocated for many years.

"The people who gave me the money did nothing wrong," Reid said. "My taking the money, I did nothing wrong. I'm not going to give the money back because it makes no difference."

On another matter - Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of hunting partner Harry Whittington in Texas - Reid said he was sympathetic about the accident but not about the amount of time it took the Bush administration to disclose details of the incident.

"The problem that developed is that they kept it secret," Reid said. "They kept it secret for 24 hours.

"The fact is that this is indicative of this administration. It is secretive. We can't find out how evidence was manipulated prior to going to war. We can't find out who they met with to set energy policy for this country. And the same applies to the shooting in Texas. They kept it secret for a day."

On Monday, Reid's former press secretary, Tessa Hafen, announced her candidacy as a Democrat against Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. Reid said he had "mixed emotions" about her candidacy but had nothing to do with her decision to oppose Porter.

"No one pushes Tessa Hafen into anything," Reid said. "And I did not push her into this. She's doing this because she wants to run, and I'm so happy that she is."

Porter has successfully fought off other Democratic challengers in the past, but Reid said Hafen is different because she comes from a prominent Henderson family - her father is Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen.

The second part of Ralston's interview with Reid will air today on Las Vegas ONE.

Steve Kanigher can be reached at 259-4075 or at steve@lasvegassun.com.