U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has distanced himself from $70,000 in campaign contributions linked to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, by giving it to charity.
Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges Tuesday and agreed to cooperate with a federal corruption investigation in Washington, and Hastert, R-Ill., quickly ordered the donation, CNN said.
"The speaker believes that while these contributions were legal, it is appropriate to donate the money to charity," Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said.
Records compiled by the campaign-finance watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics show about two-thirds of the more than $4.4 million in political donations from Abramoff, his clients and associates since 1998 went to Republicans, but a search of Federal Election Commission records found no personal donations from Abramoff to Democrats.
Last month, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., told The Washington Post that he would return $150,000 in contributions from Abramoff, his clients and associates. He is up for re-election in November, and state Democrats have been hounding him over his ties to the lobbyist.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
