Abramoff's Apostles

We're still trying, in our usual half-assed manner, to nail down the Abramoff Twelve.

An October article on the O.C. Weekly's website refers to "the Abramoff 6," although not in the context of potential indictments:

Rohrabacher has so stridently defended Abramoff that good-government blogger Ellen Miller has included Dana as one of The Abramoff 6. Other teammates are Reps. DeLay, Bob Ney (R-Ohio), Conrad Burns (R-Montana), Dave Vitter (R-Louisiana) and Tom Feeney (R-Florida).

The O.C. Weekly also reports that Rohrabacher's longtime pal, Abramoff, used Rohrabacher as a reference when he was seeking funding to buy SunCruz Casinos. When asked about the reference, Rohrabacher reportedly stated that Abramoff was "a very honest man."

For a Republican.

Access Hollywood

Meanwhile, today's NYT refers to Rohrabacher's ties to one of a fictional endangered species, the Hollywood Republican. Rohrabacher accepted 23,000 USD and a contract from movie producer Joseph Medawar for a script Rohrabacher wrote. Medawar also was developing a Bush-friendly television series about the Department of Homeland Security, and he quite publicly touted Rohrabacher as providing him with access to the DHS, the White House and the California State House. Medawar's now been indicted for fraud in connection with the project.

Rohrabacher now is understandably distancing himself from his Hollywood sugar daddy. Rohrabacher claims that "Whether [Medawar] is a flamboyant incompetent or he's a con man will be determined by the jury." But who will make that determination about Rohrabacher?