As many as a dozen members of Congress and their aides trade on insider information, according to a once-influential lobbyist who currently resides in federal prison.  It's your choice as to whether you accept or reject accusations from Jack Abramoff, once one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington, D.C.  All C-I can say is, such accusations have been leveled in the past and, if we recall correctly, Congress recently passed  legislation that restricts - but doesn't prohibit - persons on the Hill from trading in securities of publicly-traded companies. Abramoff, once one of the wealthiest and most powerful lobbyists in Washington before a corruption scandal sent him to federal prison for more than 3 years, told CNBC.com that many of those members of Congress bragged to him about their stock trading prowess while dining at the exclusive restaurant he owned on Pennsylvania Avenue. And you can choose to believe or reject Mr. Abramoff's contention that, before his fall from grace, said he did not personally play the stock market - in part because he considered it an inherently unfair "casino" in which the house had far more information than the players.  Having been a power-broker, he possessed inside information and used it to his clients' advantage - so he's likely to know where "skeletons are buried," so to speak.  It's another thing as to whether one can trust what he says.  After all, if he could dupe one of his big clients - Native American tribes rich with cash from casino operations - he could do it to anyone. Without naming names, Abramoff said that the members of Congress and their staffs earned anywhere from $2,000 to "several hundred thousand dollars" using the inside knowledge. Why Now? One question that comes to mind is why is Abramoff making these disclosures, and why now?  When he held court in D.C., he rarely gave a second thought to such trading activities much though - after all, he was making much more money, both legally and illegally.

Mr. Abramoff explains that, after years in prison, he's had an opportunity to reflect on the culture of corruption in Washington, and surprisingly thinks trading based on inside Congressional knowledge is wrong, and he noted:  "These people should not be using whatever information they gain as public servants to benefit themselves, any more than they should be taking bribes."

[C-I Note: Here's one possible theory on why Jack Abramoff is opening up.  And it's that he's being paid off by Wall Street bankers who are tired of being the "pinata" for the 'Occupy Wall Street" generation and mainstream America.  Let's apply some "greed" to politicians, who happen to be vulnerable at the moment.  Of course, this theory and $2.25 will get you on a New York subway.  So take what Mr. Abramoff and what C-I have to say, for what you believe it's worth.  Nevertheless, thanks for listening.

Oh yes, and didn't we mention that Mr. Abramoff has been making the rounds, speaking with the media this week, to promote his new book, "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist."  Nothing like some good publicity to boost sales. "Hearings under almost every circumstance are going to have a bad impact on a company," Abramoff said. "And so some staffers I've seen in the past talking about the fact that, 'Oh, I'm gonna go out and short that company.'" [CNBC.com, 11/11/11]