his clients in two thousand and six he was convicted of raping office clients jack abramoff served three and a half years in prison guilty of conspiracy fraud and tax evasion mr thank you very much for coming since your release from jail you've been very vocal about corruption in washington i read your book and i got a sense of your frustration about the fact that while you were sent to jail people involved in the same corrupt practices are sitting pretty in their offices on capitol help well i'm a mom is frustrated that there are people didn't go to jail or prison and prison is not fun and i wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy but i guess what i'm frustrated about is that when they had my hearings and trials and when i was sent off there was a big tax commission and celebration here that they cleaned up washington but in fact they didn't clean up washington and so when i came out you have to rethinking my life and what i was involved in decided that they want to clean up washington and i

would help them figure out exactly how to do it during that senate hearing when you were publicly bashed by the senate is what were you thinking what were your thoughts as you faced the distinguished panel well i probably was thinking they were a little less distinguished than others were thinking i was reminded can simulate by every word out of there mel that they were among the many who participated in some of the corruption that they were accusing me of when one of the senators a senator campbell was accusing me of corruption in wrecking the democratic system i was thinking back to the breakfast i had with him a couple years before where i handed him checks from my clients as contributions and he said that they would never have a problem with his committee so i was thinking that basically about each of them i didn't know a lot of them personally because i had people working for me i had a staff of about forty lobbyists and some of them knew the people who work for. but

. i found the whole thing to be hypocritical it was a kangaroo court and it was a show people say you were a tory it seems your ability to buy members of congress how did you do that i don't think i was necessarily except on the margins much different to most of what goes on here but what happens here most unfortunate in which what i did in terms of pushing over the lines even of this activity is lobbyists and people want something from congress raise money for congressmen give money to congressmen in terms of political contributions by meals for them take them golfing take them on trips take them to sporting events and i probably did more of it than most did and i pushed over certain lines that are in the sand and broke the law but it's something that goes on far too often in washington you want to set and i found it very very interesting that that once you just a moment you offered a job to a congressional staffer you own them right there was no greater control that people

could have over congressional offices than to have the head of that office know that they're going to come in a few months to come work for a lobbying firm from that minute on those people are focused on that lobbying from their clients and it's not just me i saw it all over tell me it's not something i bet it it's something i noticed and something that i propose now to get rid of by banning people who work on capitol hill or are members of congress from ever joining the lobbying industry or the influence industry in america what did your clients want by investing in politics by investing in you well mostly my clients one of the federal government not to. get all over their back and tax them and their businesses most the lobbying is deep keeping the government from doing things the industries and to companies and likely going to help them avoid to behave when i've got presented in a bunch of indian tribes and the way i got into it the first representation i had with the tribes was to stop. the federal government from putting

a thirty percent tax over the gross revenues of their gambling industry and what was interesting about your case it was not just politicians who cheated but also you cheated your clients namely those indian tribes with gambling interests who paid you mainly isn't what i thought was what i did was where we're about to pled guilty to was some of the efforts that we did for the clients in their states worst to stop their competition from taking away their markets they would crush their competition yes we would attack their competition and we would do everything we could to keep them from invading the market of our client and that's normal in america fortunately for better or for worse that's not something we we made up we're going to have any regrets about doing that well at the end of the day i regret using the political process as a weapon against competitors because at the end of the day i don't think the government should be used like that i didn't have a problem with it then and i shouldn't even if we're talking about millions of dollars in contributions it's still peanuts for any big corporation it's

a tiny fraction of what they make do you get a sense of how powerless average americans are when the interest so big guys like that are at stake on capitol hill well americans have a very tough time competing with these special interests special interests come in with a lot of money and you're right it's miniscule amounts of money compared to what they could do and some of them do a lot of money but it's still a small amount the problems the average citizen is not engaged politically and when they're able to bring in money and influence members of congress to vote on things that are not good for the country and not good for the general interest because somebody with a special interest is pushing on it that's where the problem starts so what i propose in my book and the effort that i've been engaged in since i've got prism is a way to separate money out of politics here and basically to say that if you're a lobbyist or you're somebody who's trying to get something from the government here you may not give a dollar politically of any kind and that's one of the. for things that i propose

to clean up the system i think it's very important because the end of the day political contributions if i give you something if you're a congressman and i give you a contribution and i want something from you that contribution may not be cold a bribe but it is a broad at the end of the day how many members of congress are involved in corruption like that in bribery like that well i mean ultimately every member of congress who's taking a check a contribution from a lobbyist or from a company or from a union or anyone who needs or get something from washington whether it's conscious or not they're involved in it ultimately you can't accept something from somebody without unless you're a that all do well yes absolutely they all do and what i'm saying is you can't as a human being if somebody gives you something you're going to feel gratitude and even if you don't do with that person once right there you say look you can't buy my vote for two thousand dollars and most of them say that of course but the issue is if you do something nice for me in my heart i'm going to have to feel

a little bit better about you and what i'm saying is that is the moment of the problem if you're a public servant with all of the crimes that you committed there's still a sense that you were used as a poster boy a kind of a scapegoat for the corrupt system that is very much alive and kicking i want to ask you about the supreme court decision from almost two years ago that allows on limited campaign contributions a lobbyist must be really happy about that decision aren't they well some are some are and i think the decision was for the most part very good the decision basically said that people shouldn't have the right to get money constricted i don't have a problem with that what i have a problem with his people who want something back giving money even a dollar that's the difference with with me now corporations the problem with corporations the reason why are contradicting yourself you were just talking about how any contribution can be seen as bribery and now you're saying no being able to funnel as much money as you want is perfectly fine in today's politics. no i don't

think so i think people should have the right to get think i've been fairly consistent i mean not to expect anything in return one on one and why should you expect something in return there are a lot of people who give money in this country by the way because they like the ideology of the candidate they like the candidate themselves they're not going in there and asking for a grant or a tax break or or a contract most people don't do that but it still contradicts what you were saying a few moments ago and that is with any form of contribution especially a big contribution an elected official finds themselves in a situation when they told their benefactors if somebody is worth a trillion dollars they live in some form in kansas and they never have any contact with any congressman ever and they see some congressman they love they want to give him a million dollars because they think they're fantastic and they never ask for a thing from that person i personally think that's all right they are going to be very hard to track down why you ask possibly i've talked i've talked to law enforcement about this about my ideas and once the laws are set in place i think

that they are capable of figuring it out that decision only created a further complication in my view in the sense that it broke corporations then as a possible donor to political efforts and again don't you think it effectively legalize this corruption and watched why i think corruption is legal in washington right now thousands of people took to the streets across america to say no to jack paper amounts to saying no to politics in washington do you think there is a chance that action like that that awareness like that can change anything i think the occupy wall street movement had behind it some good in saying the problem is that they didn't organize themselves like the tea party movement did which was politically tea party movement had a dramatic impact on the last election and probably will still in this election and i spoke to the occupy people quite a lot and told them that until they get themselves organized politically they're not going to be meaningful because in america street protests don't really meaning that people don't like street protests. america first of all the destructive

there's vandalising there's unsanitary things that go on and most americans in repelled by that what most americans will respect is political activism an organization on the left or on the right now i think that there is anger out there saying we don't have a money to hire a lot of. well that might not be a bad thing but you know american people don't need lobby is they need to organize themselves i think that in america getting into first of all class and b. i think is very dangerous we've seen that every great. tele tarion movement in certainly in the twentieth century started with class envy instead of class and be able to focus themselves not on those who succeed but those who cheat to succeed in the sense of using the government and using the state to make their lives easier to make more money and there are plenty of those about it like like i did like i help my clients do and like every lobbyist helps their clients do unfortunately had it not being for the jail time would you have been just as we're painting as you are

now if i hadn't had the fall if i hadn't had been destroyed i would love to sit here and tell you i would have all my own come to how bad this was and you know i should have been doing i should have been involved in that kind of lobbying but i'm not going to lie to you i would never thought that i thought i was doing the right thing that's the sad part of it all for me so as i look back i would have stopped i would have still been doing it instead of it sitting in here with you i'd be sitting on capitol hill negotiating something for one of my clients. took my getting killed for me to come to the realisation that i should have been there what do you plan to do. in the process of. possibly one amp with a t.v. show thank you. when an uncomfortable question leads to a grave accusation the world who is more is you know far. the president who isn't

supposed to hide anything. worth someone asking why do you make a secret of it when the powers to be suppress the voice of those who think different. when you get experiencing very serious problems off of the saakashvili government came to power in two thousand and three but. that was when the problems began piling up. interviews were now off limits to our journalists they were all from beeston up and humiliated in public when the attempt to protect property puts life in real danger that we have been deprived of the only nene's of living i have gone to the original sit on the papers. the little ice the ownership rights on the basis of companies freedom becomes just the. wealthy british style.

markets weiner scandal. find out what's really happening to the global economy cause a report on. the arab league is said to decide whether to give the go ahead to another month of the mission inside syria while the opposition wants the u.n. security council to get involved. pushed to the edge of the internet erupts in a fury over plans to expand online censorship striking back with web wide blackouts and. so parking at times. is where all of the u.s. talk tactics over a possible conflict in the go go before for that iran's borders all of this while the e.u. prepares its all limbaugh go over to iraq as alleged nuclear ambitions. and in

romania public anger spills over hundreds arrested dozens injured as police parlance of a massive ongoing antigovernment protests. and i'll talk all the action with create the world of sports is next. hello welcome to the latest polls and here's what's coming up. easy does it up on the down time roger federer host into the quarterfinals of this training and i think the women's champion kim clijsters is also throwing off to sprint. while top flight battles in chelsea while bolton stung liverpool pulsating day in the english premier league to talk to her an option later. an advantage prospects all russian final at the french in twenty minutes and good bye this is the second stanza on the edge for us down the line of a meeting with sydney. but first

a tennis and second seed rafael nadal has beaten fellow spaniard feliciano lopez in straight sets took place in the quarter finals history and i think the two thousand and nine champion was broken only once as the east to a six four six four six two victory against his misfiring davis cup team mate was plenty for the multiple fifteen. so this is the knocking at his cool friends. down for the day is one of my best friends and. that's the game that's a sport and you understand that's all. agape in the stand. everybody wants to win everybody wants them to have. one to finish the match with the with a better result and that's it that the motions i simulate you know it's happens very often nothing that. well up for that all next big serving comment burdick who conjured up twenty eight days to sing his group who turned to disagree to spend the

last hour might go to check the mood after the match as the seventy refused to try to counter his opponent's verdict apparently took offense at how marco returning the boat to hold his head during the fall said wouldn't expect a good qualities. elsewhere there was a bit of heartbreak for the local crowd at home favorite bernard tomic was barely beaten by four time former champion roger federer waiting for the swiss master in the quarterfinals these bars martin del potro the argentine rolling past kohlschreiber of germany. while defending women's champion kim clijsters played to an ankle injury and saved for match points to stunning french open champion li na twice as landed awkwardly at three all in the first set in the one before taking a sixty second set time break meisters pulled back the serve six pool. and the belgian were next space either world number one caroline wozniacki or the yankee bitch with the top ranked danes cruising to

a six up score in the opening set. for velo russian victoria as our anchor get a nifty forehand window to block the site of the match for the czech republic six two six two is the number three seed for getting over this string victory down on. next up for as i think that is eight seed agnieszka that once got the pole needed less than an hour to overpower germany as you go just six one six one events growing in confidence to step back and break. football now where bolton stunned liverpool's three one of the reebok stadium on saturday to change their first points over the reds since two thousand and six a move after the bottom three in the english premier league one meanwhile elsewhere blackburn grabbed a late georgia everything but stay in the bottom three then dempsey became the first american to score a premier league patrick is full and came back to thrash newcastle five two. q.p.r. moved out of the drop zone with a stray one wherever we're going to stay thoughts and graham dorrans at stoppage time free kick gave west brom their first win over staking ten games to one

sunderland and this one's a school game unbeaten run to two nil the reeking scored twice against his former club as aston villa one three two ten wolves while the rich further dented chelsea's title hopes with a goalless draw so long as manager and i blush was defended striker and i don't charge as this goal is tracked has now extended to seventeen games. really are i think. the first of movements. strong in our. schools that he wants is a major impact also in no difference if you. don't mean well this sunday seems to be more crunch ties as league leaders manchester city tries to third place top them while second place manchester united travel to asshole griffiths. in the meantime russian champions in it will face beckett stands olympic

team in the final of the friendly match world cup in dubai after the ten month side edged russian premier league outfit one nil while it was a winner takes all match of the emirates after both sides had won their opening games against becks for the faster out of the blocks kenyata i have stunning croatia go take a closer thirteen minutes then. again it's just as fierce have a great chance to level for our stuff just before the break but after some deft footwork and the throwing in at the far post however rust off were given a huge boost say after the restart this is started that sign me up right off humbled the ball outside the area and was sent off but outnumbered the asian side held by a lackluster ostroff one that state has specs we now face a need in the final. basketball there despite resting front man andrei kirilenko to stitch discuss still trends massive underdogs minsk by an impressive fifty point

margin here in moscow to maintain their group the lead in the international a tournament well the home side got off to a rather slow start as dwayne hawkins poured into troubles on the bounce to give the belorussian visitors an early eight four lead american would eventually top score with nineteen points but to stop at themselves into the driver's seat by the end the zero zero six and the back sasha can lead the charge with eighteen high eighteen points and some spectacular slam dunks and six more days finished in double digits got twenty one hundred ten to sixty moscow clubs chalking up their ninth win ten games since the start of the regular season and later admitted it was more special to decide. the more money for global warming and well our opponents aren't quite at the same level as the other teams in the league what about all it's to any team can beat another team at any given time but if you don't give your all so i'm happy with the way i played. fine so why sucking and signs of spectators

flooded to the latvian capital of raker on saturday to watch the east remain and be against the west in the fourth k h l all stocks to buy guns and robots that are now reports. let in hockey fans for snout for the stars on surly it was their turn to meet the biggest and europe strongest league has to offer at the cato all-star game twenty twelve with one of the greatest russian players of all time sergei further of living the pick of the eastern conference and the pride of lebanon hockey send this as a lynch captaining the best from the west that is why for the first time in the history of the event the arena that with down thousand spectators were passionately behind one side the west. and also mentioned cool promptly took the lead in the so-called super skills show which is a traditional warm up ahead of the all star games with another local idol number

regus miccolis redlegs winning the fastest skater competition. after three more contests the western conference team were still on bitten although their opponents from the east managed to still the show and win. with truckers alexander results of producing a record breaking one hundred eighty three kilometer and there were heat in the heart of the shot contest and sergei thrower of edging out sundays in the captain's deal which saw some extra hockey skills on display from the two legends having with . so i'm just like it was it was sort of very technical material so it was different it was when you were getting it was it was good in a very meanwhile the most i guess contest shootouts left many in doubt if it's really possible in this world. what's bloody mr assented did sara sankoh is the

reason i don't know how does they look like the packers going our way and then all the sudden came back this way so i don't know if you know he's a magician. or it was that i just made a tiny hole in the park and pollution learn through it. my father told me the street. i know three previous occasions take a chill star game so the team from the east claimed victory over the peak of the west so this time around her scalp we were about to witness something more than just a friendly showcase of love but the real deal not if the action started with no goals in the first ten minutes of the match proving the teams were not just having fun on ice just as they promised before the game we had a winning streak on so. i think. it might be up for grabs today as above the players on both sides i think are going to try a lot harder to do when it decides they get a win another belts. it was the west hope and the scoring and goals galore while it

began to roll the teams to turn scoring and taking the lead with the third period underway on level terms although after the further fifteen scored four in a row to make it twelve eight the outcome was never double the team from the east remains unbidden at the cape all star games fifteen eleven the final score i think it begins as a friendly. friendly game canonize knees and then and soon as the somebody gets ahead it will but more the other steam starts to. where you again get away like that just standing gradually becomes a little bit. more more competitive than it was in the beginning but still of long game nobody wants to get hurt of course and. serve a good time and enjoy themselves this time around was different from any i appear i think there was. twenty interesting combinations i think guys basically try to boil

off and so if area. as there were just a. for anything else or yeah. like i said we have a streak of four walls one line do a really good job. we got lucky and we got. quite a banish the next year the cave all stars will make it to the full of the ural mountains of the eastern russian city of chili evans. robert for the neon r t v. world for. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered.

the arab league is set to decide whether to give the go ahead to another month of the mission inside syria while the opposition wants the u.n. security council to get involved. pushed to the edge of the internet since plans to expand online censorship striking back with web wide blackouts and massive packing attacks. israel in the u.s. talk tactics over a possible conflict in the gulf as they gather forces that iran. the e.u. prepares its oil embargo over tehran's alleged nuclear ambitions. and in romania

spills over hundreds arrested dozens injured as police violence amid a massive ongoing antigovernment protests. and watching the weekly here on our tea with me rule research we're featuring the top stories of the week and today's main headlines we'll start with syria where the arab league fact finding mission there is waiting for the green light to continue its monitoring activities for yet another month the decision is due to come later on sunday as the observers report comes under scrutiny at the leaks gathering in cairo it's all amid a harsh criticism from opposition groups which say the observer mission has failed to curb bloodshed and the latest flare up at least fourteen people have reportedly been killed in a roadside.