Could Schaffer Be Hurt By Abramoff Ties?

By Josh Kraushaar

(The Politico)  The Denver Post has a front-page story today examining a decade-old trip that Colorado Senate candidate, former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), took to the Mariana Islands that was sponsored by jailed ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Per the Denver Post:

Just before boarding a plane to the Mariana Islands in 1999, then-Congressman Bob Schaffer announced he was embarking on a fact-finding mission to get to the bottom of repeated allegations of labor abuse in the American protectorate.

"I plan to walk right into those factories and living quarters to see for myself what conditions exist," Schaffer said in a news release in August of that year.

What he didn't say was that the trip was partly arranged by the firm of now-jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who represented textile factory owners fighting congressional efforts to reform labor and immigration laws on the islands and who was being handsomely paid to keep the islands' cherished exemptions.

Schaffer and his wife stayed for free at a palm-studded beach resort and, besides factories, also toured historical sites and met with clients of Preston-Gates, Abramoff's firm, according to a copy of the trip's agenda archived in Schaffer's congressional papers.


Schaffer is running against Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) to succeed Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), who announced his retirement last year. Polls have shown the race competitive at this early stage, with Udall holding a narrow advantage.