By Richard Lister

BBC News, Washington

John McCain led an inquiry into lobbyist Jack Abramoff While exuberant Republicans celebrated a new-found confidence at their convention in Minnesota, back in Washington DC - away from the limelight - there was another drama unfolding from an altogether murkier chapter of the party's history. In Courtroom 24a of Washington's District Courthouse, a tearful, middle-aged man apologised for the political conspiracies he had worked on with some Republican politicians and officials. Shortly after, Judge Ellen Huvelle sentenced him to four years in prison. The man is Jack Abramoff, a once-powerful lobbyist with friends in high Republican places. He was an integral part of the Republican establishment until he was charged with conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion three years ago. When those charges were revealed, the scandal shook the party faithful to the core and helped ensure the Republicans lost control of Congress in the 2006 elections. Close friends Abramoff was a larger-than-life figure in Washington politics; a hard-nosed lobbyist with a taste for big black hats. In his youth, he was a Reaganite and passionate anti-communist; he helped raise support for the Nicaraguan Contras before becoming a Hollywood film producer. After moving into political lobbying, he worked closely with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was later to call him one of his "closest and dearest friends". For years he wined and dined many prominent Republicans - and paid for holidays, sports and concert tickets for some of them too. In return, he was able to help shape legislation on behalf of his clients, Indian tribes who operate casinos on their reservations. They, for the most part, got what they wanted: laws to tax their operations were quashed and internet gaming regulations were limited. But they paid more for his services than they expected. Abramoff steered them towards colleague's consultancies which charged them over the odds and secretly split their profits with him. He made tens of millions of dollars but, when news of his illegal activities became public, it fed into a series of other corruption and sex scandals associated with congressional Republicans and there was a huge backlash against the party. Other convictions Since an earlier conviction on unrelated fraud charges in November 2006 (for which he was given a sentence of four years and 10 months) he has spent some 3,000 hours talking to Justice Department officials, giving them chapter and verse on who he did business with, and how. So far, his testimony has helped convict 11 people, all connected with the Republican Party. Among them are President George W Bush's former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles and former Congressman Bob Ney. Mr DeLay is among those who have been drawn into the investigation, which is continuing. Abramoff's co-operation ensured prosecutors did not ask for the maximum 11-year sentence for his crimes. So surely the timing of this courtroom drama in Washington could not have come at a worse time for the party faithful in St Paul? Well, not exactly. There was one senator who read an investigation into Jack Abramoff in the Washington Post and decided it warranted closer scrutiny. McCain inquiry In a series of hearings on Capitol Hill, he helped reveal the extent to which the political process had become corrupted, and paved the way for the criminal prosecutions that followed. That senator was one John McCain. The liberal blogosphere still charges that Mr McCain tried to limit the political damage from what he uncovered, though most observers (including the Washington Post reporter who worked on the original investigation) credit his inquiry with being thorough and even-handed. "Lobbyist" usually becomes a particularly dirty word in an election year - and this is no exception. But given that inmate number 27593-112 has revealed all too clearly that it takes two to perform his particular kind of political tango, I would not expect John McCain - for the sake of his party - to spend too long talking about how he helped to bring him down.



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