host: i want to go back to a clip from jack abramoff's but event, and larry lessig, a professor, is an interviewer. we have been televising congressional hearings and in this clip mr. abramoff talk about how hearings can sometimes be used as a tool in a lobbying effort. [video clip] >> people think the house and senate hearings are like child and you have a lawyer and you get a fair hearing and everything is hunky dory. it is not. they are kangaroo courts and congress. most hearings are designed to achieve a goal that is not ever expressed. in the sense that lobbyists would push a hearing, it would be for the purpose of putting your opponent, whoever it might become on defense, and setting them back. you are going to spend $1 million preparing for a hearing. you will spend weeks and weeks not sleeping preparing for your hearing. you are not going to do anything that might be a problem -- meaning, anything your opponents might be able to come back to you. so, one of the great ways to disable your opponent is to organize a hearing. unfortunately, it is done all the time. host: back to yo

politics lobbyist are the people who know exactly how it works next hour to talk to former lobbyist jack abramoff who explains why he thinks washington is corrupted to the core. i. am sitting down with jack abraham off once the most powerful lobbyist in washington referred 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 his clients jack abramoff served three and.

obvious sort of people in there are exactly how it works like starting talks to form of the obvious jack abramoff explains why he thinks washington is corrupted to the cool. i'm sitting down with jack off once the most powerful lobbyist in washington referred 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 his 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 be.

right now joining me today we have jack abramoff, the author of "capital punishment hard truth about washington corruption from america's most notorious lobbyists." katrina, my boss at the nation magazine where she's editor and publisher and more of "change i believe in fighting for progress in the age of obama." senator wral candidate joe sestak, retired from the navy of a three star admiral. and now distinguished senior fellow at the u.s. think tank. it is great to have you all here. all right. let's start with the elephant in the room, mr. abramoff. i want to tell you, we have had an editorial discussion of my staff whether to have you on the show. at first i thought? one doesn't become credible because they start saying things you agree with. right? there is a broken clock aspect. why should people listen to you? why are you a credible messenger? there is a narrative of you were in the thick of and it reformed now but what's to stop you from thinking that you are essentially just kind of relaunching the jack abramoff band here? lobbing yourself as a client. >> i don't know what r

this week former lobbyist jack abramoff in his book capital punishment. since being released from federal custody in 2010, jack abramoff has compiled an inside look at the lobbying industry and the power it has on capitol hill. he discusses his insights with eliza carney covering of lobbying and influence. .. >> part of valid be to talk about the kind of things that most people suspect cahal but they don't know they don't get to go behind the doors and hear the conversations that i heard as a lobbyist for code to enable america to have a true assessment of what their government is in part had become. second, when my case became very public hearings and news articles, i started to collect them in a folder in my computer thinking it would not last long. i figured i would save all the articles. it became a ritual bedtime a went to prison never over 10,000 but yet to be cut is i did not speak might give a window into my life, i was an evil cartoon. i did not help myself to where that pact coming out of my plea in the course. but i had become of dylan. i wante

politics lobbyist are the people who know exactly how it works next hour to talk to former lobbyist jack abramoff who explains why he thinks washington is corrupted to the core. i've. i'm sitting down with jack abraham off once the most powerful lobbyist in washington referred 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 his 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 a mom is 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 w

lobbyist jack abramoff hidta see you -- here to see you. [laughter] it does not feel good to hear things about yourself like this said about me. and they are still saying. i guess you get some thick skin, but you don't get that fake a -- thick a skin. but i should not be hiding. i should not go away. i should come back and do something about what i was doing. in my head, i had experiences of that world that are all like a -- unlike a lot of the people in our country. most of the people who know what i know are scared of talking about it because they are making money with it. i have been attacked pretty severely by my former world, not that i care. a lot of people do not want to hear what i have to say. not for the reasons that they think you're a criminal or a felon or who cares about you. i understand that. but from the point of view of shut up, abramoff, go away and die, and get out of here, you are ruining it for the rest of us. i do not consider myself part of that rest of us anymore. i i consider -- i consider myself a part of the rest

can watch the full interview with former lobbyist jack abramoff in about ten minutes here on r t let's take a look now at some brief world headlines for you this hour the search for twenty four people still missing after the italian cruise liner disaster has been suspended after the vessel sifted raising fears it will sink into deeper water eleven bodies have been recovered from the wreckage so far most of the above water sections of the ship have already been searched a thai and authorities have said they will begin a salvage operation soon to avoid a potential fuel leak. european commission has launched a legal challenge against hungary's new constitution saying aspects of it do not conform to e.u. legislation and carrying the prime minister viktor orban has been criticized for passing reforms that threaten the independence of the media and judicial system plans cost public outrage and brought tens of thousands out onto the streets in protest. more tourists have been kidnapped following a gun attack that killed five others in northern ethiopia the group of european holiday makers wer

political support for his clients in two thousand and six he was convicted of ripping off his clients jack abramoff served three and a half years in prison guilty of conspiracy fraud and tax evasion mr abrams thank you very.

political support for 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 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 a mom is 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 after rethinking my life and what i was involved in i 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 pub

political support for his clients in two thousand and six he was convicted of ripping off his clients jack abramoffserved three and a half.

illegal in washington right now thousands of people took to the streets across america to say no to jack abramoff 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 instincts told me that they didn't organize themselves like the tea party movement did which was political tea party movement for that matter can pass homeland she went and probably are still in business and i spoke to them 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 protests don't really mean that people don't like the purpose of america first of all the destructive there's banda wising there's unsanitary things that go on and most americans are repelled by that but what most americans will respect is political activism an organization on the left or on the right now i think that there is a. anger out there saying we don't have a money to hire a lot of. well that might not

and that notorious lobbyist jack abramoff joins me now this avram of i want to talk a you have that in the title of your book the hard truth the facts of that so much of what gets done in this town is because of money so i know you outlined quite a few different things what in your mind is the worst part about the system in the way it's set up now but i think the worst part of the system is the fact that it accommodates in essence with bribery legally the people who are lobbying congress per things and people who want things special out of the government are able to give contributions and are able to convey other group duties to public service members of congress and their staff that facilitates them getting what they want out of the public treasury and the end of the day though some polite to say it that's bribery and so i think that's probably the biggest problem we have here i think that's a good point a lot of people make this argument a lot of lobbyists i speak to that i interview just down the street on k. street they say you know lobbying is the right to petition the government

be a lobbyist which i don't know what congressman is going to take a meeting to be lobbied by jack abramoff i mean that's a one track to the end of their career thurber was one you know people ask me all the time are you sincere how do we know here's a ceremony answer is i don't know that you can know i'm sincere you can't see inside my heart all you can do is see what i'm doing and frankly i'd say i'm totally insincere i'm trying to run for something i'm not trying to convince people that i'm some hero i'm trying to tell them what's really going on in the hope that they get angry enough that they go out and do something about it and i can't even myself lobby them to go do something about it but i do think the system has to be changed i've gone through a lot the last eight years since this happened to me i don't know if i've changed completely or not it's hard to change a person but i can tell you the impact has been dramatic and for me and i have rethought a lot of what i've done what i didn't i brought it all up in my book and i speak about it in that respect i'm certainly sincere and i h

corruption from america's most notorious lobbyist and earlier i spoke to that injury of lobbyist jack abramoff and i asked him and his mind what is the worst part of the system in the way that it set up now. i think the worst part of the system is the fact that it accommodates in essence about bribery legally that people who are lobbying congress for things and people who want things special out of the government are able to give contributions and are able to convey other gratuities to public servants members of congress and their staff that facilitates them getting what they want out of the public treasury and the end of the day though some polite to say it that's bribery and so i think that's probably the biggest problem we have here i think that's a good point a lot of people make this argument a lot of lobbyists i speak to that i interview down the street on k. street they say you know lobbying is the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances this is written in the constitution and now of course the supreme court is sort of solidified in a way with their decision in the

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