in washington refer to as the man who bought washington he brought government officials in order to gain political support for his clients in two thousand and six he was convicted of ripping off its clients jack abramoff served three and a half years in prison guilty of conspiracy fraud and tax evasion mr abrams 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 hill well i'm i'm not as frustrated that their 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 exclamation and celebration here that they cleaned up washington but in fact

they didn't clean up washington and so when i came out here after rethinking my life and what i was involved in decided that they want to clean up washington that i would help them figure out exactly how to do 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 their mental 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 and me 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 had a staff of about forty lobbyists and some of them knew the people who work for me 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 than 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 is something that goes on far too often in washington you want to say that 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 to be influence industry in america what did your clients want by investing in politics by investing in you well mostly my clients want to the federal government not to. get all over the back and tax them and their businesses most the lobbying is deep keeping the government from doing things to industries and to companies and likely going to help them avoid to the base actually they are doing. when i 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 as have done 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 did 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 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 four things that i propose to clean up the system i think is very important because the end of the day political contributions that 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 bribery like that well i mean ultimately every member of congress who's taking a check or 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 alternately you can't accept something from somebody without unless you're at it 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 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 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 lobbyist must be really happy about that decision aren't they 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 these perfectly fine in today's politics no i don't think so i think people should have the right to get big i've been fairly consistent and not to expect anything in return one on one on 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 a contract most people don't do that but it's 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 may want to give him a million dollars because they think they're fantastic and they never ask for a thing from the person i personally think that's all right they have been very hard to track down my 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 brought corporations them as a possible donor to political efforts and again don't you think it effectively legalize this corruption and watch what i think corruption is legal in washington right now thousands of people took to the streets across america to say no to jack a promise to say no to corrupt 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. from 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 in america first of all the destructive there's vandalizing the unsanitary things that go on in most americas the 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 it 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 it to 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 and instead of class and be able to focus themselves not on those who succeed but those who choose 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 that get it like like i did like i

help my clients do and like every lobbyist helps their clients do importunately had it not being for that 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 what 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 sitting 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 a should have been there what do you plan to do. in the process of. possibly one amp of the t.v. show thank you.

discovery. communicate with the wind. and become free. nature can give you. wealthy british science some time.

the market. is going to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines kaiser reports. arab league officials say their observer mission in syria that expired this week will be extended for another month and the number of monitors will also be stepped up this despite criticism from the syrian opposition that wants to see the new web step in. croatia vote on whether the country should join the e.u. with the issue already sparking protests and violent clashes this as the bloc continues to be shaken by anti austerity rallies but people in romania rising up against their government. other stories that shape the week tension surrounding tehran's nuclear program stirred further by new plans to impose an oil embargo on

iran and the us building its warship presence in the gulf and. the power of the internet in action a massive online backlash over u.s. plans to expand web service or ship leads to the suspension of pending anti-piracy was. ok partridge up next with all the latest from the world of sports stay with us here on r.t. . hello welcome to the sports and here's what's coming up. easy does it rafael nadal and roger federer coast into the quarter finals of the australian open. while different strokes kim clijsters comes back from the brink while carline defies a second set fightback to reach the last eight. and it shows time east meets west once again in the annual all star extravaganza in front of

a sellout arena in latvian capital riga. to test a tennis and second seed rough on the doll has beaten fellow spaniard philip the our live in straight sets to book a place in the quarterfinals of the australian open the two thousand and nine champion was broken only ones as he eased to a six four six four six two victory against his misfiring davis cup team mates thank you thank you thank you to unforced error as warm adult little remorse after knocking out his off friend. for a number of days one of my best friends and. that's the game that the sport and you understand. again in this. everybody wants to win their way by one stone to have. once again is the most with. was the better result that the motions i simulate you know it's happens very often nothing there and up next when

a doll is big serving come out that it produced twenty eight aces in his brewing and ill tempered for settling this basically on my right the check was booed off of the match at the seventh he refused to shake hands with his opponent at a party took offense after marco returned a ball and at his head during the fourth set and wouldn't accept and we apologise. who is afraid to turn is know that the court is pretty big and you always have a some space to put the ball in and it's not even new for you if you stand each other like you're four metres close to the guy just try to hit it straight straight to your face you know i was just able to do something someone down just hit me in the arm and. you know i actually did you know the way i would do any easier. well elsewhere there was a bit of heartbreak for the local crowd as home favorite in our climate was fairly beaten by mortified us a trademark backhand winner clinched the second set of the swiss drew the applause

of wife mirka. sounds better than swiftly served out the third as the wild number three reached his thirty first consecutive quarter final to slam events. and waiting for federal in the last eighty one martina del potro after the argentinian rolled in it called strive out of germany. while women's defending champion kim clijsters played to an ankle injury and saved for much points to stun the french open champion li na the belgian contemplated retiring after landing or quickly it's that makes me want to take six to eight in the second is that tiebreaker but jubilant prizes for back to take the thirty six ball. last moment so. you can use i could just try to do another dramatic. sink in or you know if i could get through those first twenty minutes and if our. you know

i think the pain would go away a little bit and then maybe would you do another and i could just through it and. have that i think there's a give up. and the belgian will next face top seed caroline wozniacki who held up a second set fight back by serbia's yelena yankovic's the former while number one committing to her fiftieth unforced error to hand wozniacki the six seven five victory the dane went out in the semifinals last year to step away from defending her ranking points the one spot. informed by the russian victoria azarenka a forehand when i brushed aside yvetot an issue about the czech republic sixty six to three seed in georgia so now that the string victory. and waiting in the quarter finals is number eight. seed agnieszka the poll needed less than an hour to overpower germany's you six one six one twenty two year old going in confidence after injury is three set battle in her opening match. ball now and despite

resting from men on break it olenka and men have kissed each discussed a trance to massive underdogs minsk by an impressive fifty point margin here in moscow to maintain the group the lead in the international d.t.b. tournament while the home side got off to a rather slow start as duane hawkins poured into travels on the bats to get the better she visited an early age for lead the american would eventually top score with nineteen points but just got themselves to try to seat by the end of the opening quarter and never looked back sasha can lead to that charge with a team high eighteen points and some spectacular slam dunks six more players finished in total digits who eventually won it one hundred ten to sixty moscow club chalking up their ninth win intent games since the start of the regular season time later admitted it's more a training session than the match for this summit. the world is a little watered and well our opponents on squad at the same level as the other

teams in the lead what about all it's to do 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. and over in the n.b.a. the grizzlies won their sixth straight game with a one hundred twenty eight to ninety five home way of the struggling kings late in the first quarter mike conley signed his seventh basket from seven shots at memphis thirty four twenty one out of sacramento climbed back to within eight points in the second after. jumper just seconds to go but then the home side pulled away after the break marc gasol and rudy gay for a stylish dunk packed with repeated the feat a perfect hour you meant with seventy eight sixty ahead and the final quarter was all about gasol as that was his one by thirty eight points to score of their players collecting twenty points. finally to ice hockey and fastens of fans

flooded to the latvian capital of riga on saturday to watch the east remain unbeaten against the west in the fourth k h l all stark strive against a brother to further knee and reports. lead in the hockey burns region note for the stores. it was their turn to meet the biggest zones europe strongest league has stored for the all star game twenty two world. with one of the greatest russian players of all time sergei further of living the peak of the eastern conference and the pride of latin 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 would jump thousands betrayers one passionately behind one side to the west. and also mention to promptly to believe 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 world leagues 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 drugstores oleksandr the results of producing a record breaking one hundred eighty three kilometer no heat in the paris shot contest and sergei further up edging out sunday's oslo and in the captain's deal which saw some extra hockey skills on display from the two legends i think will like it. having. scientists like that i like that it was it was sort of very technical material so it was different it was new how the words were like it and it was it was good in the version meanwhile the most i guess contest shootouts left many if it's really possible in this world what's bugging the press into the various sankoh is the amazing i don't know how what does that look like the packers

going now in the long side mccain back this way so i don't know if you know he's a magician. the secret was that i just made a tiny hole in the park in pollution one through to you. my father told me the street has to be a video on no three previous occasions take a chill star game so the team from these. claim victory over the peak of the west so this time around greece hope we were about to witness something more than just a friendly showcase ultimate the real deal not a 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 a book the players on both sides i think are going to try a lot harder to do one of the sides they get when another belts. it was the west open the school and girls galore again to all the teams to join schooling

and taking the lead but if there are periods under way on level terms although off to the further fifteen sports crew in a row to make it will eight the old count was inevitable the team from the east remains unbidden at the cage all star games fifteen eleven the final school i think it begins as a friendly. friendly game and in the eyes of these and then and soon as the somebody gets ahead it will but more the others name starts to. wear you again you can't let it get away like that just standing gradually becomes a little bit. more more competitive than it was at the beginning but still of long game nobody wants to get heard of course and. have a good time and enjoy themselves this time around was different from any i appear i think it was. twenty interesting combinations i think guys basically try boy fun so

it varies. as you know which is. for any all-star games but like i said we have a street for four walls one line didn't really really good job but. we got lucky and we got. quite advantage there next year the all stars who make it to the full of the usual mountains of the eastern russian city of chili haven't. got that far the neon artsy love that. by hand. wealthy british style seinfeld's sometimes. markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global

economy in these kinds of reports.

arab league officials say their observer mission in syria will be extended for another month just by criticism from the syrian opposition which wants to see the un step in. voting happens in croatia on whether the country should join the e.u. with issue already sparking protests and some by russia's bloc continues to be shaken by the entire story the rallies with people in romania now rising up against their government. turning to some other stories shaping this week tensions around tehran's nuclear program stirred further by new plans to impose an iranian oil embargo and the us building its warship presence in the gulf. and the power of the

internet in action a massive online backlash over u.s. plans to expand web censorship lead to the suspension of two pending anti-piracy bill. it's eleven pm in moscow i met treasure bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t arab league officials say the group has decided its team of monitors will carry on helping subtle a crisis in syria saudi arabia says it will withdraw its monitors from the extended mission because it failed to end the bloodshed as are our fourth reports there is a desperate need for professional mediators in the raging conflict. crucially it was also expected to happen is that they are going to be bolstering this mission by increasing the numbers and also by providing training.