Reporter ambushes Lindsey Graham over ties to Sheldon Adelson

Think politicians can’t be bought by rich, powerful men? Then you might want to consider what a reporter recently unearthed when he confronted South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham over his online gaming bill and ties to Sheldon Adelson.

Reporting for BenSwann.com, Evan Mulch was quickly able to get the Senator’s ear and ask him about these issues. Here’s a quick transcript of how the interaction went down (cameras had trouble picking up all of the audio):

Evan Mulch: So you’re trying to create a bill that stops online gambling altogether?

Lindsey Graham: Uhh. Yeah going back to the wiring act. The Wire Act prohibited the transfer of money for online gambling. Even if you wanted to do online gambling, you would have regulations, right?

You wouldn’t want to (inaudible). So whether you agree with online poker or not you would have wild west out there.

Mulch: Why would you go for a fundraiser to the Adelson family’s house in Las Vegas, they own large casinos?

Graham: Because he’s like the strongest Republican er in the country and he’s the strongest er of Israel and I’ve never been to his house.

Mulch: They’re trying to do a (casino) development in Florida.

Graham: I hope he gets it!

The interview ends with Graham walking away from Mulch after he poses the question about the Florida casino development. But the message is clear that Graham isn’t truly against internet gaming since he s Adelson’s push into Florida. Instead, the South Carolina politician is vehemently against just online gaming and wants to get the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 reinstated.

As Swann explains at the beginning of the video containing the interview, this act is supposed to make it illegal to wire money across state lines for gambling purposes. Some thought that online poker and casino games would fall under this banner when it came about in the mid-1990s.

However, following Black Friday, when several large poker sites were busted by the US Department of Justice for money laundering, the US DOJ gave a different interpretation. They said that the Wire Act only covers online sports betting and nothing else. This gave states like New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware free reign to launch their own internet gaming operations.

Ever since then, Adelson has been pouring a lot of money into stopping online gaming. And much of this money is going to politicians like Graham and government lobbyists.