Cncil of Republ's for Enviro Advocacy

Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) states that it "believes conservation benefits all Americans".
= =<h2 class="date-header" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; position: static; clear: both; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); padding: 3px; line-height: 19.5px;">November 17, 2005</h2><div class="entry-category-national_politics entry-author-rockthrower entry-type-post entry" id="entry-7523416" style="position: static; overflow: hidden; clear: both; width: 370px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 19.5px;"><div class="entry-inner"><h3 class="entry-header" style="margin: 1px 0px 10px; border: 0px; line-height: normal;">Is Karl Rove the New Kevin Bacon?</h3><div class="entry-content" style="position: static; clear: both; margin: 10px 0px;"><div class="entry-body" style="clear: both;">Six Degrees of Karl Rove -- Can you connect Italia Federici?No one is going to mistake Karl Rove for a movie star, but lately I have been wondering if maybe Rove hasn’t become the new Kevin Bacon.  Bacon is the icon of popular culture that, so popular theory goes, is no more than six persons removed from anyone else.  In other words, everyone knows someone who knows Bacon.  That’s not quite the case with Rove.  It’s just that lately wherever there is a political scandal, it seems that there is a connection between the people involved and Karl Rove.Take for instance the little escapade wafting out of Jack Abramoff’s lobby shop and threatening to engulf the Republican Congress. On Thursday, the mystery woman of the Senate Indian Affairs investigation, Italia Federici is scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee regarding her involvement in the Jack Abramoff/Michael Scanlon Indian Tribe rip-off.  Federici it seems cut her political teeth working for Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s U.S. 1996 Senate Campaign.  Take one guess who Norton’s campaign consultant was. Well, it wasn’t Kevin BaconI know, I know, it’s just a coincidence.  As Scott McClellan said about the outing of Joseph Wilson, “Karl Rove was not involved.”  But Rove did work with Federici in the Norton campaign and it was Rove’s pal and confidant Grover Norquist who helped Federici and the future Interior secretary Gale Norton form something called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), which is going to be the main exhibit in Thursday’s Senate Indian Affairs debacle.Maybe someone should make up one of those games people are always playing about Kevin Bacon, except if could feature Karl Rove.  It could have a schematic or some kind of visual showing Rove’s connections to all the participants in the Republican scandals threatening to swamp Washington.  We could call it “Six Degrees of Karl Rove.” The way you would play is to link any character in a political scandal to Rove.  For example let’s use Jack Abramoff.  Karl Rove hired Jack Abramoff’s personal assistant, Susan Ralston, to be his executive secretary.  Therefore, Jack Abramoff has a Rove score of 2. (Actually, I think Rove and Abramoff have a direct relationship, so Abramoff has a score of 1, but you get the idea).  This could be a big hit on the Beltway cocktail circuit.Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee would be a great place to play.  Not only does Rove know Federici, but he is easy to connect with Ralph Reed, Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, Stephen Griles and others involved in this sordid mess.  For more advanced players we could try names like Julie Finley and see if players can connect her to Italia Federici and Rove. (read more to get the answer)On the other hand, Thursday’s hearing might not be the best place to play.  Things might get a little heated and it might be hard to keep your attention on the game.It should be interesting to hear what Federici has to say.  First off, there is the little matter of explaining what exactly the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) is and does.  It bills itself as an environmental organization, but it puts out press releases saying things like drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wilderness Area Refuge would be good for the environment.  It also says on its website that it is a non-profit organization and it collects donations, but Bill Brunson, a spokesperson for the IRS, told the Arizona Republic that the IRS has no record that CREA has been granted tax free status as a non-profit corporation. One thing is clear though.  Now that it has beenalleged that at Jack Abramoff’s instructions the Cushetta Indian tribe paid CREA $250,000 in exchange for assistance in setting up a meeting with Interior Secretary Gale Norton, no one could blame Republicans for doing their best to distance themselves from the organization.  But that may not be so easy. According to a March 2005 article in Roll Call, Norton, who together with Federici and Grover Norquist established CREA, attended a dinner for CREA at the house of Republican rainmaker Julie Finley* in the fall of 2001. The event was attended by 60-70 people including representatives from Indian tribes, such as the Coushatta’s. This was after Norton headlined a gala event launching CREA in Washington D.C.  According to a January 2001 article published in the Washington Post, the guest of honor at the event was Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and the keynote address was delivered by House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The sponsors for the gala included none other than the political consulting firm of Karl Rove. *(Game players, Finley’s bio lists her as having served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee's major fundraising arm, Team 100. She is also the national committee woman for the D.C. Republican Committee, a founding member of the Council for Republicans, chairman and founder of the Republican Primary PAC, and a founding member of the WISH List and, lo and behold, the Council for Republican Environmental Advocacy (CREA). See, it’s easy to play.)As much as the Republican establishment might wish it wasn’t so, Federici and CREA (not to mention others in the Abramoff/Scanlon scandal) are enmeshed in the Washington establishment and connected to the Bush administration. According to documents obtained from the Justice Department by the National Resources Defense Council, CREA provided the Interior Department with public opinion research (dated 5/16/01) from focus groups in several cities suggesting how to talk about energy issues and emphasizing using rising gas prices to promote increased drilling. The research concludes, "language that . . . emphasizes price increases in gasoline and natural gas and the California situation resonates with voters and makes the case that "Gasoline price stability is the single most potent argument for opening up ANWR." I wonder if those discussions are what Gale Norton was referring to?As for the game “Six Degrees of Karl Rove,” I’m beginning to wonder if it’s such a good idea.  Given the widespread connections of the Republican establishment in Washington D.C. to the burgeoning Abramoff/Scanlon scandal, I’m going to need a scorecard to keep track.</div></div><div class="entry-footer" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; clear: both; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 3px; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;">November 17, 2005 in <a href="http://rockthrower.blogs.com/rockthrower/national_politics/">National Politics</a> | <a class="permalink" href="http://rockthrower.blogs.com/rockthrower/2005/11/is_karl_rove_th.html">Permalink</a></div></div></div>--------history commons
<div class="iT" style="width: 524px; display: table; color: rgb(49, 49, 49);"><h2 style="margin: 3px 0px 0px; width: 400px; float: left;"><a href="http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a040401environnepdg#a040401environnepdg" title="View in context" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">April 4, 2001: Environmentalists Allowed to Meet with Cheney’s Energy Task Force</a></h2><div class="eLB" style="width: 115px; float: right; vertical-align: top; text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.historycommons.org/eventedit.jsp?oid=1626004942-57992" title="Edit event" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://www.historycommons.org/pics/icons/edit.png" alt="Edit event" height="16" style="border: none;" /></a>  </div></div>Representatives of 13 environmentalist groups meet with officials from Vice President Cheney’s energy task force (the National Energy Policy Development Group—see <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a0501energyplan" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">May 16, 2001</a>). Since late January, some 40 task force meetings have been held, all with oil and energy company executives and lobbyists (see <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=abefore012001cheneyaei" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Before January 20, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=aafter012001enron" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">After January 20, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=amid0201rouselay" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Mid-February, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=amid0201nmaepa" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Mid-February, 2001</a>,<a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a030501utilitycheney" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">March 5, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a032001aeiorder" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">March 20, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a032101dunhamnepdg" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">March 21, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a032201bpcheney" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">March 22, 2001</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a041201oilgasnepdg" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">April 12, 2001</a>. <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a041701shellnepdg" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">April 17, 2001</a>, and <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a041701cheneylay" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">April 17, 2001 and After</a>). Today is the one day where environmental groups are allowed to have any input. Anna Aurilio of the US Public Interest Group will later say, “It was clear to us that they were just being nice to us.” (Notably, the only people ever identified as “lobbyists” by the task force to the press are the representatives from the environmental groups from today’s meeting.) Their input is neither wanted nor used; an initial draft of the task force’s report has already been prepared and President Bush has already been briefed on its contents. The names of the various officials, executives, lobbyists, and representatives who meet with the task force will not be released for six years (see <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/item.jsp?item=a071807nepdgparticipants" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">July 18, 2007</a>). Until this meeting, the only environmentalist group to meet with the Cheney task force has been the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, founded in 1998 by conservative tax activist Grover Norquist and Gale Norton, now the Bush administration’s Secretary of the Interior. That group is now run by Italia Federici, described by the Washington Post as “socially involved” with Norton’s deputy, J. Steven Griles. <cite style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-style: normal; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">[<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1-4000-6576-3/centerforcoop-20" target="blank" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;">DUBOSE AND BERNSTEIN, 2006, PP. 18</a>;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/17/AR2007071701987.html?hpid=topnews" target="blank" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); text-decoration: none;">WASHINGTON POST, 7/18/2007</a>]</cite><div class="t" style="padding-left: 15px;">Entity Tags: <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=richard(dick)cheney" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Richard (“Dick”) Cheney</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=j__steven_griles_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">J. Steven Griles</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=us_public_interest_group_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">US Public Interest Group</a>,<a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=national_energy_policy_development_group_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">National Energy Policy Development Group</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=italia_federici_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Italia Federici</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=anna_aurilio_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Anna Aurilio</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=grover_norquist" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Grover Norquist</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=council_of_republicans_for_environmental_advocacy_1" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=george_w.bush" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">George W. Bush</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=gale_a.norton" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">Gale A. Norton</a>Timeline Tags: <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=the_bush_administration_s_environmental_record" style="color: rgb(49, 49, 49); text-decoration: none;">US Environmental Record</a>
<a href="http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=gale_a.norton">http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=gale_a.norton</a></div>==

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cf also Dave Jenkins, Vice President of Government and Political Affairs at ConservAmerica (formerly Republicans for Environmental Protection) loe.org

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"President <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush" class="mw-redirect">George W. Bush</a> has made great strides in protecting and improving the quality of America's air, land and water. Yet, some excessive and intolerant groups are attacking the president because his policies don't exclude people from the environment in which we live, work and play," it states on its website.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

"CREA's mission is to foster environmental protection by promoting fair, community based solutions to environmental challenges, highlighting <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican_Party" title="Republican Party" class="mw-redirect">Republican</a> environmental accomplishments and building on our Republican tradition of conservation. CREA believes that environmental goals are reached by finding common ground between individuals, the private sector and local conservationists...results that would be impossible to achieve without cooperation," it states.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#History">1 History</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#Funding">2 Funding</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#Personnel">3 Personnel</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#Contact_information">4 Contact information</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#Resources_and_articles">5 Resources and articles</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#References">5.1 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#External_articles">5.2 External articles</a>

<ul>

<h2>History</h2>

CREA was founded in 1998 by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Gale_Norton" title="Gale Norton" class="mw-redirect">Gale Norton</a>, George W. Bush's Bush's Secretary of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Department_of_the_Interior" title="U.S. Department of the Interior">Interior</a> from 2001 to 2006.

In a profile of Norton, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Natural_Resources_Defense_Council" title="Natural Resources Defense Council">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> wrote of CREA that "true pro-environment Republicans, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republicans_for_Environmental_Protection" title="Republicans for Environmental Protection">Republicans for Environmental Protection</a>, have called her group a 'green scam'."

In August 2004, a coalition of environmental groups released a report based on documents obtained under the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_of_Information_Act" title="Freedom of Information Act" class="mw-redirect">Freedom of Information Act</a> revealing "that a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush_administration" title="Bush administration">Bush administration</a> policy directive has eliminated federal <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Clean_Water_Act" title="Clean Water Act">Clean Water Act</a> protections for streams, wetlands, lakes and rivers across the nation." <a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=889" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=889" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>

At the heart of the report were 15 case studies documenting "how the administration's January 2003 policy directive has prompted federal regulators to avoid protecting ponds, lakes, rivers, and entire watersheds from toxic pollution."

CREA fired off a media release denouncing the report that the groups "will" release before it had even read the report. (Presumably CREA was responding to the details contained in a media advisory). CREA president <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici" title="Italia Federici">Italia Federici</a> claimed that if the groups were detailing 15 case studies, by implication "these organizations agreed with approximately 99,985 wetlands decisions made by the Corps -- a whopping 99.99%."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a>

In July 2007, the organization's website was shut down. (Archives of the site can be seen on the Wayback Machine. <a href="http://web.archive.org/web//http%3A//crea-online.org/" class="external autonumber" title="http://web.archive.org/web//http%3A//crea-online.org/" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>) This occurred shortly after the group's president, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici" title="Italia Federici">Italia Federici</a>, was notified that she was the target of a criminal investigation <a href="http://thehill.com/under-the-dome/what-a-difference-a-brush-with-the-feds-can-make-2007-07-03.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://thehill.com/under-the-dome/what-a-difference-a-brush-with-the-feds-can-make-2007-07-03.html" rel="nofollow">[3]</a> related to the scandal involving <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jack_Abramoff" title="Jack Abramoff">Jack Abramoff</a>.

<h2>Funding</h2>

In a profile of Norton, the Natural Reseaource Defense Council referred to CREA as being "a group sponsored by mining, chemical and chlorine industries." <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/norton/execsum.asp" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/norton/execsum.asp" rel="nofollow">[4]</a>

Beginning early in 2001, Indian tribes gave more than $250,000 to CREA. The donations were made at the recommendation of lobbyist <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jack_Abramoff" title="Jack Abramoff">Jack Abramoff</a>; the tribes were his clients. The suggestion for donations had come from staffers of Representative <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tom_DeLay" title="Tom DeLay" class="mw-redirect">Tom DeLay</a>, who were advising Abramoff on how to gain influence with Norton. On September 24, 2001, at a private fundraising dinner arranged by CREA, Coushatta tribal chairman Lovelin Poncho and Abramoff sat at Norton's table, while tribal attorney Kathy Van Hoof sat at another table with Norton's top deputy, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steven_Griles" title="Steven Griles" class="mw-redirect">Steven Griles</a>. The Gun Lake tribe of Pottawatomi, one of the rivals of Abramoff's tribal clients, has said that it believed Abramoff's lobbying stalled Interior's approval of its casino by at least 14 months. <a href="http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8DL1LPG0.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8DL1LPG0.html" rel="nofollow">[5]</a>

<h2>Personnel</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici" title="Italia Federici">Italia Federici</a>, President</li>

</ul>

A 2002 article on CREA states that "CREA's Board of Advisors is comprised of current and former chairmen, presidents, directors and trustees from America's leading environmental organizations. For more information about CREA's mission and Board of Advisors, please visit www.creaonline.org." <a href="http://www.crea-online.org/crea/media/riponarticle.pdf" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.crea-online.org/crea/media/riponarticle.pdf" rel="nofollow">[6]</a> However, there are no details of the Board of Advisers on the organization's website.

<h2>Contact information</h2>

2117 L Street, NW • Number 303

Washington, DC 20037

Phone: 202.625.7110 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              202.625.7110      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Web: <a href="http://www.crea-online.org" class="external free" title="http://www.crea-online.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.crea-online.org</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a> - inactive.

(A late July 2004 media release listed the organization's address as 2100 M Street, NW • Number 303 Washington, DC 20037.)

<h2>Resources and articles</h2>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> CREA Online URL is "not available".</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_ref-1" title="">↑</a> Note: CREA Online is "not available". <a href="http://crea-online.org/crea/media/mission.pdf" class="external text" title="http://crea-online.org/crea/media/mission.pdf" rel="nofollow">Mission</a>, CREA Online.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040812/dcth026_1.html" class="external text" title="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040812/dcth026_1.html" rel="nofollow">Yahoo! link</a>.</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://crea-online.org/" class="external text" title="http://crea-online.org/" rel="nofollow">CREA Online</a> website is "not available". According to a WHOIS lookup, the domain name, registered to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jerod_Carpenter&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jerod Carpenter (page does not exist)">Jerod Carpenter</a> via NetworkSolutions, was last renewed June 1, 2007.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External articles</h3>

<ul>

<li>Earthjustice, "<a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=889" class="external text" title="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=889" rel="nofollow">America's Waters Vulnerable to Development, Pollution: Bush administration policy should be reversed</a>", Media Release, August 12th, 2004.</li>

<li>Earthjustice, National Wildlife Federation, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and Sierra Club, "<a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/8-04/CWA_Jurisdiction_8-12-04.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/8-04/CWA_Jurisdiction_8-12-04.pdf" rel="nofollow">Reckless Abandon: How the Bush Administration is Exposing America's Waters to Harm</a>", August 2004 .</li>

<li>Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, "<a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040812/dcth026_1.html" class="external text" title="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040812/dcth026_1.html" rel="nofollow">'Reckless Abandon' Filled With Reckless Disregard; Truth, Rule of Law Are Casualties of Sham NRDC, Sierra Club 'Report'</a>", August 12, 2004.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html" rel="nofollow">"Senate Report: Five Nonprofit Groups Sold Clout to Abramoff,"</a> Washington Post, October 12, 2006.</li>

<li>Mike Soraghan, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4494437" class="external text" title="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4494437" rel="nofollow">"Group led by ex-Norton associate criticized,"</a> Denver Post, October 14, 2006.</li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li>Emma Schwartz, <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1175517532318&hub=TopStories" class="external text" title="http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1175517532318&hub=TopStories" rel="nofollow">"Federici is Latest Target in Abramoff Probe,"</a> Legal Times, April 2, 2007.</li>

<li>Paul Kiel, <a href="http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002942.php" class="external text" title="http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002942.php" rel="nofollow">"Paper: Conservative Think Tanker Is Investigation Target,"</a> TPMmuckraker, April 3, 2007.</li>

<li>Daphne Retter, <a href="http://thehill.com/under-the-dome/what-a-difference-a-brush-with-the-feds-can-make-2007-07-03.html" class="external text" title="http://thehill.com/under-the-dome/what-a-difference-a-brush-with-the-feds-can-make-2007-07-03.html" rel="nofollow">"What a difference a brush with the feds can make,"</a> The Hill, July 3, 2007.</li>

</ul>

<div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy</a>"</div>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Environment" title="Category:Environment">Environment</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:United_States" title="Category:United States">United States</a></div>

</div>

Norton is also a founder, and serves on the advisory committee, of the Coalition of Republican Environmental Advocates (CREA), which is considered by the Republicans for Environmental Protection (a legitimate GOP environmental group) to be a greenscam: "a transparent attempt to fool voters who care about environmental protection." CREA focuses on free market and local solutions to environmental problems and counts Helen Chenoweth and Senator Larry Craig as supporters. CREA actually gave an environmental award to Newt Gingrich. Contributors to CREA include the American Forest Paper Association, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, ARCO and Amoco.

During the Reagan presidency, Norton served as Associate Solicitor at the Interior Department where she authored and signed legal opinions supporting drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Norton has also pointed to the government's handling of endangered species cases as an example of excessive regulation.

===

Italia Federici is the president of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Council_of_Republicans_for_Environmental_Advocacy" title="Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy">Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy</a> (CREA). "Federici is a former political aide to Interior Secretary <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Gale_Norton" title="Gale Norton" class="mw-redirect">Gale Norton</a> and a confidante of other department officials, most notably former Deputy Interior Secretary <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Steven_Griles" title="Steven Griles" class="mw-redirect">Steven Griles</a>." <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/011134.asp">[1]</a>

<hr />

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>] </div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#Profiles">1 Profiles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#SourceWatch_Resources">2 SourceWatch Resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#External_links">3 External links</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#By_Italia_Federici">3.1 By Italia Federici</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Italia_Federici#Articles_.26_Commentary">3.2 Articles & Commentary</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>Profiles</h2>

"In the mid-1990s, a woman named Italia Federici worked on former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton's failed bid for the U.S. Senate. Then the two women teamed up to create an organization called the Coalition of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy. ... The group [is] now called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy," reported the Rocky Mountain News.

<h2>SourceWatch Resources</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Jack_Abramoff" title="Jack Abramoff">Jack Abramoff</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Republican_%27culture_of_corruption%27" title="Republican 'culture of corruption'">Republican 'culture of corruption'</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>External links</h2>

<h3>By Italia Federici</h3>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2004/if_1020p.shtml">"Six Lies and Videotape,"</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/GOPUSA" title="GOPUSA">GOPUSA</a>, October 20, 2004.</li>

</ul>

<h3>Articles & Commentary</h3>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006996.asp">"Griles fought casino opposed by Abramoff's clients,"</a> Indianz.com, March 14, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008410.asp">"Gaming leads to new concerns about lobbyists,"</a> Indianz.com, May 26, 2005.</li>

<li>M.E. Sprengelmeyer, "Colo. Link in Lobby Probe; Norton Associate Questioned on Ties to D.C. Insider," Rocky Mountain News, June 18, 2005.</li>

<li>Susan Schmidt, "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/27/AR2005082701067.html">Abramoff Cited Aid Of Interior Official: Conflict-of-Interest Probe Is Underway</a>," Washington Post, August 28, 2005.</li>

<li>Chris Knape, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/pressclip.php?view=601">"Lobbyist influence in fighting casino is questioned,"</a> Grand Rapids Press (<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Citizens_for_Responsibility_and_Ethics_in_Washington" title="Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</a> (CREW)),August 31, 2005.</li>

<li>Gale Courey Toensing, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411513">"Interior official implicated in Abramoff dealings,"</a> Indian Country, September 2, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/010976.asp">"Interior drawn into Senate committee's lobbying probe,"</a> Indianz.com, October 26, 2005.</li>

<li>Brody Mullins, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113089552683385879-QiUUfhHBpfm_mjMNUrwgeSgGYaQ_20061101.html?mod=blogs">"Senators to Probe Lobbyist's Activities. Hearing Will Focus on Whether Abramoff Tried to Sway Decision About New Casino,"</a> Wall Street Journal Online, November 2, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-02-abramoffsenatehearing_x.htm?csp=36">"Tribal leaders say lobbyists 'preyed' on insecurities,"</a> Associated Press (USA Today), November 2, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/02/lobbyist.tribes.ap/">"Indian leaders testify in lobbyist probe. Tribe chairman: 'They hit the jackpot with us',"</a> Associated Press (CNN), November 2, 2005.</li>

<li>Philip Shenon, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_110205D.shtml">"Inquiry on Lobbyist Widens to Senior Officials; Senate Hearing Is Today,"</a> New York Times (TruthOut), November 2, 2005.</li>

<li>Suzanne Gamboa, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belleville.com/mld/thesunherald/13058767.htm">"Former top Interior official denies Abramoff influence,"</a> Associated Press (Sun Herald), November 2, 2005.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/John_Solomon" title="John Solomon">John Solomon</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/13068222.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp">"DeLay's staff tried to help Abramoff,"</a> Associated Press (Kansas.com), November 3, 2005. re <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Thomas_D._DeLay" title="Thomas D. DeLay">Thomas D. DeLay</a></li>

<li>Jennifer Talhelm, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2005/11/03/news/state/104880.txt">"Probe now focused on former Colorado political operative,"</a> Associated Press (Bismarck Tribune), November 3, 2005.</li>

<li>M.E. Sprengelmeyer, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4207563,00.html">"Former Norton aide quizzed by senators. Panel eyes alleged ties to lobbyist who represented tribes,"</a> Rocky Mountain News, November 3, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/11/04/build/nation/70-delay.inc">"E-mails show DeLay’s office helping lobbyist,"</a> Associated Press (Billings Gazette), November 4, 2005.</li>

<li>Gale Courey Toensing, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096411862">"Former Interior deputy denies Abramoff influenced BIA decisions,"</a> Indian Country, November 4, 2005.</li>

<li>John Aloysius Farrell, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.denverpost.com/thenation/ci_3181148">"Where is Italia Federici?"</a> Denver Post, November 6, 2005; also posted on <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/011134.asp">Indianz.com</a> website.</li>

<li>M.E. Sprengelmeyer, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_4246576,00.html">"Norton associate grilled on tribal donations,"</a> Rocky Mountain News, November 17, 2005.</li>

<li>Suzanne Gamboa, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051117/ap_on_go_ot/lobbyist_tribes">"Head of GOP Group Denies Trading Access,"</a> Associated Press (Yahoo! News), November 17, 2005.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=90">"CREW Demands Federici Be Referred to Department of Justice for Perjury Investigation. Calls on Committee to Conduct Further Hearings,"</a> CREW, November 17, 2005.</li>

<li>Susan Schmidt, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701682.html?nav=hcmodule">"Abramoff Witness Frustrates Panel. E-Mails Suggest She Was Lobbyist's Connection to Interior Official,"</a> Washington Post, November 18, 2005.</li>

<li>Michael Scherer, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/11/18/federici/">"The greening of Italia Federici. To buy influence at the White House, GOP operative Jack Abramoff gave $500,000 in tribal loot to a Gale Norton pal who heads an 'environmental' nonprofit,"</a> Salon, November 18, 2005. Preview or subscription required.</li>

<li>M.E. Sprengelmeyer, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4248239,00.html">"Senator rips testimony. Norton cohort said donations, actions weren't connected,"</a> Rocky Mountain News, November 18, 2005.</li>

<li>Anne E. Kornblut, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/politics/18lobby.html?ex=1289970000&en=26a9c163409cd671&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss">"Friend of Abramoff Testifies on Their Ties,"</a> New York Times, November 18, 2005.</li>

<li>Mary Curtius, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-abramoff18nov18,1,4492425.story">"Lobbyist Probe Sparks Senate Fireworks,"</a> Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2005.</li>

<li>Mike Soraghan, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4494437">"Group led by ex-Norton associate criticized,"</a> Denver Post, October 14, 2006.</li>

<li>Emma Schwartz, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1175517532318&hub=TopStories">"Federici is Latest Target in Abramoff Probe,"</a> Legal Times, April 2, 2007.</li>

<li>Paul Kiel, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002942.php">"Paper: Conservative Think Tanker Is Investigation Target,"</a> TPMmuckraker, April 3, 2007.</li>

</ul>

</div>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Scandals" title="Category:Scandals">Scandals</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Corruption" title="Category:Corruption">Corruption</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

We reported last week that Federici was <a href="http://www.coloradopeakpolitics.com/diary/991/newts-colorado-team-as-caucuses-near-team-gingrich-staffs-up" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">helping organize Colorado</a> for Gingrich, yet no mainstream press picked up on our report. We received only a single email from someone digging further into the story.So we'll go ahead and break the story wide open.  Federici, who worked on Gale Norton's 1996 US Senate campaign in Colorado, <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/07_crm_415.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">pled guilty in 2007</a> to tax evasion and obstruction of a Senate investigation into the Abramoff lobbying scandal. She was sentenced to two months in a halfway house, four years of probation and ordered to pay more than $74,000 in restitution.  She was sentenced <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/December/07_crm_1005.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">on December 14, 2007</a>, meaning her four-year probation ended only weeks before the 2012 Iowa caucus.  Since our original report we've had a second source confirm Federici's involvement with the Gingrich campaign.We reported on Federici’s involvement with the Gingrich campaign in a post about the former House Speaker’s campaign operation in Colorado, which was ramping up in anticipation of Tuesday’s Republican precinct caucuses.Even with Federici's assistance, Gingrich fared poorly in Colorado, coming in third with <a href="http://results.cologop.org/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">12.79%</a> of the vote. Ms. Federici has had a relationship with Speaker Gingrich going back many years. A March 1, 2000 story fromThe Hill newspaper noted that Gingrich was the keynote speaker at the inaugural fundraiser for the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), the group co-founded by Federici and later tied to the Abramoff investigation.  Federici co-founded CREA with former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton in 1997, here in Colorado. The group then incorporated in Washington, DC in 2000, operating primarily on donations.  <a href="http://www.justice.gov/criminal/pr/2007/06/06-08-07pin-federici-fact.pdf" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Court documents reveal</a> that Federici introduced Jack Abramoff to Steven Griles, who she was dating at the time, one week before Griles was nominated to be the deputy secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI). Soon after that introductory meeting, Abramoff and his clients became contributors of CREA, donating approximately $500,000 between March 2001 and May 2003.  Many of Abramoff’s clients were subject to DOI oversight, including Native American tribes either operating, or interested in operating, gaming operations on designated Federal land.  Federici served as a conduit between Abramoff and Griles, including communicating with Griles and Abramoff about how to stop Indian tribe casinos from opening in areas that would compete with other Indian tribe clients of Abramoff.  Griles was sentenced to ten months in prison and fined $30,000 in 2007.  Federici pled guilty on tax evasion and obstructing a Senate investigation into the matter. She admitted that she made “materially false and misleading statements” to the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that likely limited the Committee’s ability to understand the full scope of Abramoff’s contact with Griles.  In her testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2005 Federici received a now infamous grilling from Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan.McCain’s <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109shrg24471/html/CHRG-109shrg24471.htm" style="padding: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">statement</a> at the beginning of the hearing read: “In fact, documents obtained in the course of the investigation suggest that Mr. Abramoff might have had his tribal clients pay so much because he perceived that CREA’s president, Italia Federici, would help him get inside information about, and possibly influence, tribal issues pending at the Department of the Interior.”You can see highlights from her testimony after the jump.