Kevin A. Ring

Kevin A. Ring is an American former lobbyist and Republican Congressional staffer. He was a figure in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal scandal.

After leaving Team Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig in 2005, he joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP law firm in Washington, D.C. He resigned from Barnes and Thornburg on April 13, 2007, the same day the FBI raided John Doolittle's home, for whom he had been a staffer.

On September 8, 2008 Ring was arrested "on conspiracy, fraud and obstruction-of-justice charges in connection with his alleged role in a four-year scheme to lavish tickets and trips on lawmakers and government officials in return for help for his clients." The indictment also charges him with obstruction of justice, "including false statements about his knowledge of Abramoff's financial relationship with lobbyist Michael Scanlon; his own receipt of a $135,000 referral fee; and his knowledge of how Abramoff obtained a job for" Julie Doolittle, wife of Representative John Doolittle.

Trials

The First Trial

On October 15, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle declared a mistrial in the case after jurors were unable to reach agreement on any of the eight charges. A former prosecutor in the Abramoff matter "called the case against Kevin Ring "an extremely problematic prosecution", as the favors Ring was accused of doing for public officials weren't in themselves illegal". In the interval between the first trial and the start of the second trial, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the Honest Services Theft issue (Skilling vs. U.S., June 24, 2010) calling the original law too vague, which was thought to make it even more problematic in eventually getting a conviction.

The Second Trial of Kevin Ring

• Results: On November 15, 2010, Kevin A. Ring was convicted on five counts of conspiracy to corrupting public officials, in Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on November 15, 2010. Per the Department of Justice Press Release

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"The jury found Ring guilty on one count of conspiring to corrupt congressional and executive branch officials by providing things of value to them and their staff in order to induce or reward those who took official actions benefitting Ring and his clients. In addition, Ring was convicted of one count of paying a gratuity to a public official and three counts of honest services wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to deprive U.S. citizens of their right to the honest services of certain public officials. The jury acquitted Ring on three counts of honest services fraud. A previous federal jury failed to reach a verdict in the case and the court declared a mistrial. Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Ring corruptly sought assistance from public officials on numerous client projects, such as appropriations and authorizations, congressional letters to executive branch entities, as well as meetings and other legislative and official actions. Evidence at trial showed that Ring’s corrupt actions resulted in his clients receiving, among other actions, $14 million in congressional transportation appropriations and an additional $7 million from the Department of Justice to build a jail. Ring faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy, two years in prison for payment of a gratuity and 20 years in prison for each of the three counts of honest services wire fraud. Ring could also be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 on each count of conviction. U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2011, at 2 p.m. Ring remains charged with an additional two counts of obstructing justice. Those charges stem from alleged efforts by Ring to thwart a grand jury and congressional investigation by preventing the reporting of his criminal conduct to federal authorities. The court severed those two counts and Ring is scheduled to stand trial at a later date. Ring is presumed innocent of these charges until proven guilty in a court of law."

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Ring had at one time been a legislative aide to former Republican Representative John Doolittle, who was the Congressman for CA-04. Ring also subsequently worked as a lobbyist for a city in the district, Lincoln. Doolittle was on his way to a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at an Indian Casino in Northern California near Oroville, when the FBI raided his home in Virginia on April 13, 2007. Doolittle and his wife, Julie, were named as unindicted co conspirators in the court documents in the second trial. Julie Doolittle worked for Jack Abramoff at a job he set up for her, along with Christine Delay, the wife of Tom Delay. According to the DOJ press release issued on November 15, 2010, the day the second trial's jury sent back its conviction of Ring, the "things of value" provided to the public officials to influence them included: "all-expenses-paid travel, meals, drinks, golf outings, tickets to professional sporting events, concerts and other events, and an employment opportunity for the wife of a congressman. According to evidence introduced at trial, these things of value were often billed to Ring’s and Abramoff’s clients. Evidence established that Ring and his co-conspirators engaged in this illegal conduct with current and former congressional staff members, including chiefs of staff, as well as officials at the Department of Justice and the White House."

Before the first trial Ring had been meeting with investigators extensively, but apparently negotiations had broken down and Ring would not accept the proferred plea deal.

One of "more than a dozen lobbyists who were members of Team Abramoff, the tight-knit group who worked under Abramoff when he was at the lobbying helm of the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig and, before that, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP", Ring was asked to resign from Greenberg Traurig. Although Ring has never spoken publicly about the charges and did not testify at his trial, he touched on the scandal in an essay written for an online fatherhood magazine.

Profiles

"In 2002 and 2003, he was named a 'Top Rainmaker' by The Hill newspaper in its annual rankings of Washington’s premier lobbyists. In addition to providing legislative counsel, Mr. Ring advises clients on participation in media, grassroots, and political campaigns.

"Before entering private practice, he worked for several years on Capitol Hill as a staffer in both the House of Representatives and Senate. In 1993, Mr. Ring joined the staff of U.S. Representative John T. Doolittle, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and an elected member of the House Republican leadership team. After his promotion to legislative director in 1995, he was charged with implementing the congressman's legislative agenda and serving as a liaison to the House leadership.

"In 1998, Mr. Ring was named by then-U.S. Senator John Ashcroft to serve as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights Subcommittee that Sen. Ashcroft chaired. Among other duties, he advised Sen. Ashcroft on federal judicial nominations. He served there a year before returning to the House to become executive director of the Conservative Action Team (later renamed the House Republican Study Committee), a caucus of 70 House Republicans ... Mr. Ring's book, Scalia Dissents: Writings of the Supreme Court's Wittiest, Most Outspoken Justice, was published by Regnery Publishing in November 2004. Mr. Ring graduated from The Morgan School in 1988. He then earned his B.A. in political science from Syracuse University and graduated with honors from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Maryland Bar."

Fees scandal

"Four former Greenberg Traurig lobbyists besides disgraced former colleague Jack Abramoff took improper side payments in violation of company policy and have been referred to the Justice Department, a top law firm executive has disclosed", Julie Kay reported on November 17, 2005 Ring, Jon Van Horne, Michael D. Smith and Stephanie Leger Short were asked to resign.

Abramoff scandal

"Lobbyist Kevin A. Ring sat silently as Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) displayed e-mails and canceled checks to support allegations that Ring and lobbyist Jack Abramoff inflated fees and concocted invoices to defraud their client, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ... Testifying before the committee Wednesday morning, Ring asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, but he also offered an apology. 'I'm sorry the clients for whom I worked have had to endure the enormous emotional and financial burden,' he said ... What Ring omitted to tell the committee was that he was "still working for the Choctaws as their paid Washington lobbyist. Indeed, he was actively lobbying members of Congress to pass a Choctaw-backed amendment that came up for a vote in the House on Friday afternoon ... Ring is one of the few Abramoff alumni who have been able to hold onto the same tribal clients who now say they were victimized by Abramoff's fraudulent billing practices."</ref>

Politico.com reported: "While not named in the indictment, a "Representative 5" — widely thought to be Doolittle — allegedly took a series of official acts that benefited Ring and Abramoff’s lobbying clients. In return, the indictment says the congressman and his aides received numerous free meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events, campaign contributions and a part-time job for Doolittle’s wife, Julie, that netted her $96,000.".

In January 2009 Todd Boulanger, a member of "Team Abramoff" pleaded guilty to bribing government officials. Court documents there asserted that Boulanger, Abramoff and Ring tried to get gifts for Ann Copland, who was senior staff for Senator Thad Cochran. Emails from Ring were subsequently part of the documents submitted when Copland pleaded guilty in March 2009.

On April 22, 2008 Robert E. Coughlin, the former Deputy Chief of Staff, Criminal Division, of the United States Department of Justice pleaded guilty, admitting "that he accepted meals, concert tickets and luxury seats at Redskins and Wizards games from a former Abramoff associate, lobbyist Kevin Ring, while helping the lobbyist and his clients."

A year and a half after Coughlin pled guilty to taking free meals, sports and concert tickets from Ring, in exchange for helping Ring and Abramoff's client the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians get a $16 million dollar grant for a jail to be built, jury selection started on Sept 8, and Kevin Ring's first trial began September 11, 2009. It resulted in a hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial in October 2009. The second trial of Kevin Ring resulted in a conviction a year later, on November 15, 2010. Two more charges are still pending, and may result in a 3rd trial if there is no plea bargaining.

Tom Delay, former Republican Majority leader, was convicted of money laundering in Austin, Texas on November 24, 2010 of passing funds from his Federal Pac via the RNC to 7 Texas state candidates, which is against the law in Texas. His wife, Christine Delay, who worked for Abramoff, was not charged with anything.

Congressman Doolittle claimed in June 2010 that the Department of Justice informed him he will not be charged following the DOJ's lengthy investigation. His wife, Julie Doolittle, was also not charged with anything. Representative Doolittle did refile most of his FEC campaign donation filings with correction amendments made from that time period until he stopped running for office.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Kate Ackley and Andy Metzger, "More Woes for Greenberg Traurig in Fees Scandal," Legal Times, October 20, 2004.
• John Byrne, "New ties link House GOP leadership with lobbyist Abramoff," The Raw Story (Beware of This page catch), March 29, 2005.
• James V. Grimaldi, "Lobbyists, Clients Undeterred by Scandal. Alumni of Abramoff's 'Team' Still Collecting Fees, Trying to Influence Government," Washington Post, June 26, 2005.
• "Choctaws hire three ex-Abramoff lobbyists," Indianz.com, June 27, 2005.
• Julie Kay, "Greenberg Traurig Executive Describes Misconduct by Abramoff, Other Lobbyists," Daily Business Review, November 17, 2005.
• Susan Schmidt and James Grimaldi, "Lawmakers Under Scrutiny in Probe of Lobbyist. Ney and DeLay Among the Members of Congress Said to Be a Focus of Abramoff Investigation," Washington Post, November 26, 2005.
• David Whitney, "Abramoff associate in hot seat. The former Doolittle aide is questioned in probe but faces no charges," Sacramento Bee, December 9, 2005.
• Kate Ackley, "John Doolittle Would Like to Get His Life Back", Roll Call, June 28, 2010.
• Main Justice, tag 'Kevin Ring' "Ring to Face Second Trial on Honest Services Fraud", August 5, 2010.
• Spencer S. Hsu, "Retrial of Abramoff lobbyist Ring begins in DC federal court", WAPO, October 22, 2010.
• Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, "Former Abramoff Colleague Kevin Ring Convicted of Conspiracy, Honest Services Fraud and Paying Gratuities Related to Illegal Lobbying Scheme", United States Dept of Justice Press Release, November 15, 2010.