Length of investigation of former Sen. Burns examined - Montana's News Station

Former Montana U.S. Senator Conrad Burns announced that he'd been cleared of any wrongdoing in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal on Wednesday.

That news came more than two years after the U.S. Department of Justice began its investigation, as well as over a year after Burns lost his seat to Democrat Jon Tester.

The question remains as to why the investigation took so long to come to a conclusion. Prior to the 2006 elections Montana News Station's Ian Marquand asked Washington, D.C. insiders when they thought the Abramoff probe might be finished.

The answer provided by author Bruce Sanford proved to be prophetic.

"If you talk to people in the Justice Department, professional life-long prosecutors, they will tell you that they put together their cases, their investigations and their grand jury investigations not according to a political clock. It doesn't make any difference whether they come down with an indictment before an election or after an election. The other truism about the Justice Department is they move very slowly. They take a lot of time to put their cases together."

That slowness may have had an impact on the Montana election in 2006, with Billings political scientist Craig Wilson saying that if prosecutors had cleared Burns before the vote, then the outcome might have been different.

(from January 3, 2008)

On Wednesday we told you about the Department of Justice ending its investigation of former Senator Conrad Burns, regarding his involvement with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The end of those investigations has started some serious political discussions.

Montana GOP Executive Director Chris Wilcox: "What we saw was a pretty disgusting 18 month long attack on a man's character that harmed him irreparably, harmed his family and friends, and I think that's something the Democrats who were involved in that should step forward and apologize for."

Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald: "Regardless of what the Justice Department has found, Montanans know that Conrad Burns' relationship with convicted felon Jack Abramoff was wrong, and the voters agreed with that position last cycle."

The investigation and Burns alleged involvement with Abramoff was a key issue in the 2006 election, which Burns lost by a narrow margin to Senator Jon Tester.

The Department of Justice confirms former Montana Senator Burns is no longer part of an ongoing investigation of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In an exclusive phone call to the News Station's Aaron Flint from his Washington, DC office, Senator Burns is calling it good news and says he feels "so great that it's unbelievable."

Burns then released a prepared statement, saying the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section has notified his attorney Ralph Caccia that it (DOJ) has ended its investigation.

Burns lost a close race to now Democratic Senator Jon Tester after Democrats questioned Burns about his ties to Abramoff in the 2006 US Senate election.

Abramoff is now serving part of his 70 month prison term in a federal fraud case.

Burns maintained that Abramoff never influenced his votes, and he says he opened up all of his office records dating back 10 years for review. Burns said he was never interviewed as part of the investigation.

In response to the Department of Justice letter, Burns said, "I understand that politics is a contact sport and what sustained me through this was my unyielding faith in the system." He also added that, "during this era of political character assassination used for pure political gain, I hope good men and women will continue to step forward and serve. Phyllis and I are enjoying our new life in Montana and Washington, DC with our family and friends. We shall be eternally grateful for their unwavering support and faith."

Meanwhile, phone calls seeking confirmation from the Justice Department that the investigation is now complete have not yet been returned.

Montana State University-Billings Political Science Professor Craig Wilson said Burns lost his Senate seat by a paper-thin margin. "If this would've been known prior to the election, it could have changed the outcome," said Dr. Wilson.

Dr. Wilson went on to say that just because the Justice Department concluded its investigation, does not mean that DOJ didn't find anything- it just means they didn't find enough evidence to move the case forward.

Wilson also noted that Burns was forced to dedicate much of his early campaign resources towards defending himself from the Abramoff allegations.

The latest Associated Press report on the Abramoff investigation says the FBI is still investigating Abramoff's dealings with Reps. John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis, both California Republicans; former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. A dozen people- including former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles and former White House official David Safavian - have been convicted in the Abramoff probe.

Aides to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who defeated Burns, said he had no comment Wednesday.

Burns is now working for Gage, a lobbying firm founded by another of his former chiefs of staff, Leo A. Giacometto.

Burns' Complete Statement