"I'm mad at you." That's what "60 Minutes" Lesley Stahl says this Sunday on 60 Minutes to Jack Abramoff, among the most notorious and crooked lobbyists of our time.
This week on "Overtime" Lesley talks about how stomach-turning it was for her to hear the nitty gritty of how lobbyists corrupt our legislature. "I think the public's going to be furious watching this," Lesley told Overtime. "The story just shows you that our system really, really is in trouble."
Once one of the most powerful men in Washington, Abramoff pled guilty five years ago to buying off public officials, tax evasion and fraud, and he served more than three years in prison for his crimes. When Abramoff came out of jail, 60 Minutes producer Ira Rosen was eager to get him to tell our viewers how he did what he did - how he essentially undermined democracy.
"This is a guy, who was a player in Washington, and describes how politics in Washington works," Ira told Overtime. "And what the interfacing is between a lobbyist and a politician and how they work together -- not necessarily for the public good."
Watch Lesley Stahl's report "The Lobbyist's Playbook"
Also working on this story was Associate Producer Gabrielle Schonder. New to our staff, this was Gabrielle's first story for "60 Minutes." After spending considerable time with Abramoff, Gabrielle said she understood his MO. "He's a likeable guy," she said. "You could see where he just played an entire town."
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