Prosecutor Calls Former Lobbyist Ring a Corruptor’
Federal prosecutors said former Congressional staffer-turned-lobbyist Kevin Ring repeatedly crossed legal boundaries as he sought federal funds for his clients, as the opening arguments began Friday in the second trial stemming from the investigation of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.“Kevin Ring [was] a lobbyist in name but a corruptor in reality,— prosecutor Nathaniel Edmonds told jurors in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.“This case is not about legal lobbying,— Edmonds later continued. “This case is about what Team Abramoff did that other lobbyists did not do.—Ring, an aide to then-Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) before joining “Team Abramoff,— is charged with 10 counts of violating federal laws, including bribery and conspiracy to commit fraud for providing gifts to public officials in exchange for official acts.Ring’s defense team is slated to make its opening statements after a short recess. Ring has denied any wrongdoing. In one pretrial effort to dismiss the case, the defense alleged that Ring did not violate any laws in existence at the time of the allegations.