Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Cohen: Jack Abramoff's Plea Deal Opens Doors For Prosecutors

(CBS)  Whatever. You get the feeling today in Washington that a large rock has been moved and tons of creepy, little creatures are scurrying around to get out from under the sun. Wouldn't it be ironic if Abramoff, the telegenic Poster Boy for political graft, were to end up serving through his testimony as a catalyst for massive reform of current lobbying practices? Wouldn't it be something if the criminal trials that come out of this plea deal serve to educate (and, necessarily, repulse) the voting public about how their laws truly get crafted and enacted? Bruce Springsteen said it best: from bad things, mama, good things one day come.

Already on Tuesday we saw why Abramoff was able during his salad days to charm the pants off both his poor clients — many of whom paid him so handsomely but who in the end were defrauded — and the politicians who like Claude Rains in Casablanca now claim to be shocked, shocked that Abramoff was up to no good. During his brief court appearance in Washington, Abramoff, less dapper than usual, practically oozed with remorseful soundbytes.

"Your honor," he said in court, "words will not be able to ever express how sorry I am for all this, and I have profound regret and sorry for the multitude of mistakes and harm that I have caused. All of my remaining days, I will feel tremendous sadness and regret for my conduct and for what I have done. I only hope that I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and from those I have wronged or caused to suffer. I will work hard to earn that redemption."

Cue the violins. Of course, this tearjerker would play even better if 1) it had been televised, and 2) Abramoff's illegal conduct had taken place in an instant instead of over many carefully-choreographed years. But clearly Abramoff and his attorney know how the pre-trial game is played in Washington; know how to come off as a repentant and polished witness. This is just another headache for all those pols to treat as their year of living dangerously begins. And, of course, the difference between the sleazy Abramoff and the sleazy politicians he dealt with is that the former isn't an elected official entrusted to honorably conduct the nation's business.

It's hard to overplay what the Abramoff deal means for the investigation now underway in Washington. What's different about this deal compared with the plea deals we've seen recently involving former corporate executives is that Abramoff isn't a small fry who now will help the feds get the big chiefs. He isn't a Richard Causey who now will try to bring down Enron's Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Abramoff instead is the big guy in all of this, the Don, the center of the wheel who now will help the feds collect the spokes. He's a big prize for the feds. And a big worry for his former vessels of money.