Investigators Probing Abramoff's Finances Have Found That Some Money Meant for His Charity Went to Fight the Palestinian Intifada

Investigators Probing Abramoff's Finances Have Found That Some Money Meant for His Charity Went to Fight the Palestinian Intifada: "Sunday April 24, 11:00 am ET

The group of Indian tribes had hired Abramoff to protect their interests in Washington, after they opened up lucrative gaming casinos. Donating to the fund had a side benefit, Abramoff told his clients: it was a favored cause of Rep. Tom DeLay.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050424/NYSU006 )

More than $14,000 of foundation funds were actually sent to the Israeli West Bank where they were used by a Jewish settler to mobilize against the Palestinian uprising, reports Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff in the May 2 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, April 25). Among the expenditures: purchases of camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, a thermal imager and other material described in foundation records as "security" equipment. The FBI, sources tell newsweek, is now examining these payments as part of a larger investigation to determine if Abramoff defrauded his Indian tribe clients. The tribal donors are outraged. "This is almost like outer-limits bizarre," says Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indians who contributed $25,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation at Abramoff's urging. "The tribe would never have given money for this."

Abramoff, a legendary lobbyist particularly close to DeLay, is also a fierce supporter of Israel -- "a super-Zionist," one associate says. That may explain why Abramoff's paramilitary gear ended up in the town of Beitar Illit, a sprawling ultra-Orthodox outpost whose residents have occasionally tangled with their Palestinian neighbors. ...