Abramoff divulges K Street secrets

By Kevin Bogardus - 11/02/11 05:48 AM ET

In a new autobiography, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff discusses in detail how and why he became K Street’s most infamous name.

Abramoff — who served three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of corruption, fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion — paints an ugly picture of the lobbying industry in “Capitol Punishment,” arguing that everyone on Capitol Hill and K Street is complicit in a system of favors and influence-peddling.An advance copy of the book was provided to The Hill.

Abramoff recounts in the book how he left the life of a movie producer to join the 1994 Republican Revolution.
“Lobbyists were those evil corporate pukes who disdained ideologues like me. They were the guys in the $2,000 suits who sucked the lifeblood out of our nation. Why would I ever become one of those guys?” Abramoff writes.

Abramoff was well-connected in the Republican Party, having served as chairman of the College Republican National Committee in the 1980s. He said he saw lobbying as a way to further the goal of “getting the government off everyone’s back.”
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