''Campaign Confidential''

"May 6, 2005


Donation Demand: The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, demanded last week that President Bush return the $2,000 campaign donation he received in 2004 from Jack Abramoff, the disgraced GOP lobbyist. Abramoff is being investigated by the FBI, a federal grand jury and a Senate committee over allegations that he defrauded and overcharged Indian gaming interests. An Orthodox Jewish philanthropist, Abramoff is also at the center of the ethics brouhaha over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's overseas travel.

"If President Bush is truly sincere about pursuing a reform agenda, he should immediately return the questionable funds he's received from Jack Abramoff," Dean said in a statement on the eve of Bush's April 28 televised press conference. "He should also sever all ties and make it clear that he is no longer just a phone call away from Mr. Abramoff as news reports have suggested."

Judging from the past, Dean's wish is unlikely to be honored. A Campaign Confidential perusal suggests that a donor's money is good until he gets indicted."-from The Forward, a newspaper for the Jewish community, published in New York.