Abramoff Aide Expected to Plead Guilty
Second Lobbyist Departs Firm
In particular, the document outlines Hirni, Boulanger and Person #1 paid for Blackann and Staffer D to attend the first game of the 2003 World Series in New York, including round trip airfare, an overnight stay in a hotel, a private chauffeur, a souvenir baseball jersey, food and drink as well as "admission to and entertainment at a gentlemen's club following the game."
Several days after the event Boulanger emailed a draft of the two amendments sought by United Rentals to Blackann while Hinri sent the same to Staffer D. In November, the two convinced a Senate staffer to offer the amendments, the document states, and when one came under attack by small business owners, Hirni, Boulanger and Person #1 supported Blackann's attempt to protect it.
A spokesperson for Hirni told ABCNews.com that "he regrets one single instance as a first time lobbyist over five years ago when a mistake in judgment by agreeing to a client's request led to an unfortunate chain of events one evening. Jim has acknowledged his involvement and the involvement of those responsible for that incident. Jim however was not employed by Jack Abramoff at the time of the incident in question. Jim is now cooperating with the Department of Justice during their investigation. Additionally his future plans include developing a program to educated government staffers or others involved in lobbying about ethics potential mistakes. He very much wants to help others in the future."
A spokesperson for Cassidy & Associates said in a statement to ABCNews.com that the firm "accepted the departure of Todd Boulanger from the firm this afternoon. While accepting the departure, Founder and Executive Chairman Gerald S.J. Cassidy acknowledged this as a difficult time for Boulanger and expressed his appreciation for his diligent work on behalf of his clients while serving as a senior vice president at Cassidy & Associates."
Hirni spent about half a dozen years working on Capitol Hill for Sens. Bill Frist (R-TN), Jeff Session (R-AL) Tim Hutchinson (R-AR). When he left Hutchinson's office in early 2003, he went to the law firm of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal and joined Abramoff's firm by the end of the year. After the first public reports questioning Abramoff's lobbying practice in 2004, Hirni followed Boulanger to the Washington powerhouse lobbying shop Cassidy & Associates.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
