Money & Politics

Former high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges, agreeing to cooperate in a federal corruption probe in Washington. Abramoff, 46, admitted that he did not disclose receiving kickbacks on payments from Native American tribes to a partner's public relations firm. He also acknowledged that some of his money did not go to charities, as he had reported, but paid for a golf trip to Scotland. Read More

With enactment of a $453 billion defense spending bill at hand, opposition is growing over a provision granting pharmaceutical companies wide protection from lawsuits. Read More

The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group. Read More

In two lawsuits, politically connected U.S. telecom companies have been accused of kickbacks to Former President Aristide and his associates. Read More

The former chief accounting officer of Enron pleaded guilty today to a single felony charge of securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, giving a significant lift to the government's case against the two leading figures in the scandal over Enron's collapse. Read More

Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu warned the American company Bechtel that the contract for the Brasov - Bors (Transylvania) highway could be annulled if the company does not follow the laws to the letter. Read More

The contract to operate the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory goes to a public-private partnership: the University of California and Bechtel - the largest private corporation in America, and one with a long history of scandal and not living up to expectations. Read More

Raise a few hundred thousand dollars in campaign cash for a winning candidate, and expect millions in favorable policies. Read More

Tort reform partly explains why 152, or 27 percent, of Mr. Kerry's 563 top fund-raisers, dubbed Vice Chairs and Chairs, are listed as lawyers. They raised at least $50,000 each for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. Read More

Long before George W. Bush began campaigning for the White House, his family built a fund-raising network of wealthy supporters to bankroll his political ambitions and propel him to the presidency. Read More