Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Was Bush donor promised ambassador appointment?

A letter from a Nebraska businessman suggests he expected to be rewarded for his fundraising efforts.

WASHINGTON - A big Republican donor goes to his governor and senator, saying he was told by President Bush's chief fundraiser he would get a plum ambassadorial appointment but it wasn't delivered. The senator takes his case right to the top of the White House.

Nothing happens for two years.

The donor then helps stage a fundraiser for Bush. A week later, the donor lands an appointment as chairman of the federal board overseeing billions of dollars of student loans.

The aggressive job campaign of businessman Duane Acklie - detailed in the Nebraska gubernatorial files of new Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns - provides a rare window into donors, their access and their rewards.

And there's a twist.

Acklie named names - including chief fundraiser Jack Oliver - and committed to writing one of the unwritten rules of politics: Presidents for years have rewarded big donors with plum ambassadorships.

"My only interest, if I am going to serve, would be in serving as an ambassador or in a position involving trade," Acklie wrote in a May 2001 letter to then-Gov. Johanns. The letter was contained in the official gubernatorial correspondence obtained by the Associated Press under Nebraska's open records law.

"Jack Oliver told me several weeks ago that he was informed that I would not receive one of the eight major ambassadorships but would be receiving an ambassadorship," Acklie wrote.

The owner of Crete Carrier Corp., a major trucking company, also questioned why he hadn't yet landed an ambassadorship when other Republicans who helped elect Bush in 2000 had already gotten theirs.

"Most of the appointments have been made. That is perfectly okay, and if others have done more work for the party, are better qualified or have helped the Bush team more, I certainly understand," Acklie wrote. "I don't understand why I haven't heard a single thing after Jack Oliver's comment to me."

Acklie and Oliver declined to be interviewed for this story.

Johanns' office said the new agriculture secretary may have tried to help Acklie with the White House. Johanns would have no problem endorsing him, Agriculture Department spokeswoman Alisa Harrison said.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., however, said he remembers providing assistance.

He wrote the president and talked with White House chief of staff Andrew Card, personnel director Clay Johnson and political adviser Karl Rove, trying to get Acklie an appointment.

Federal bribery laws prohibit public officials from promising a government action in return for donations or fundraising help.

Charles La Bella, a former federal prosecutor, said Acklie's letter wasn't specific enough about a quid pro quo to warrant criminal prosecution.

For it to cross the line into illegality, there has to be a "very crystal-clear quid pro quo," in which someone pays to get a specific office, or is promised a specific job if they give a certain amount, La Bella said.

Larry Noble, former chief enforcement lawyer for the Federal Election Commission, said Acklie's letter "shows that contributions and fundraising do equal access and jobs."

For decades, presidents have rewarded some of their biggest supporters with coveted diplomatic jobs. Former President Bill Clinton picked five $100,000-plus Democratic donors to be ambassadors in his first year in office. At least two dozen of Bush's 2000 "pioneers" - $100,000-plus fund-raisers - or their spouses won ambassadorships.

Oliver was Bush's fundraising chief in 2000, overseeing the pioneers before moving over in 2001 to oversee the Republican National Committee's fundraising.

Two years after his quest for an ambassadorship, Acklie established himself as a top fundraiser for Bush's re-election effort.

Acklie helped organize a $400,000 Omaha fundraiser headlined by Vice President Dick Cheney in July 2003. Last year, Acklie also became a "super ranger," raising $300,000 for the RNC.

A week after the Omaha event, Bush nominated Acklie to the Student Loan Marketing Association's board of directors as its designated chairman. Acklie lost the post when the board was dissolved late last year.

[Last modified February 16, 2005, 01:28:10]