Court did not order garnishment on Abramoff book

WASHINGTON – Despite reports in the Washington Post, USA Today and many other news outlets, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has not issued a garnishment order on Jack Abramoff's earnings from his upcoming WND Books release "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist."

While the Justice Department made a request to the court to garnish all of Abramoff's earnings from the book, no order has been signed or issued to WND, said Joseph Farah, chief executive officer of both WND and WND Books.

"It's just another case of the major media getting the story all wrong," said Farah.

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The Justice Department request notes a balance of $22.7 million on the $23.1 million Abramoff was ordered to pay as restitution after his conviction in 2006 on fraud, corruption and conspiracy charges in lobbying deals. But the court has not signed off on the order, and Abramoff is entitled to a hearing under the current restitution order.

Most of the money is owed to Native American tribes Abramoff represented who were seeking influence in Washington for their gaming interests. The scandal led to the convictions of 20 people for payoffs in exchange for political favors, including Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio.

Abramoff was released in June after nearly four years in federal prison.

Be among the first to get Jack Abramoff's new book – direct from the publisher. Personally autographed copies are also available only from the WND Superstore.

While Abramoff has been vilified as "the most evil lobbyist ever," WND Books says readers of his upcoming book will discover "fascinating facts of his case that are either largely unknown or wildly misunderstood."

The tribes' lucrative casinos were constantly under threat from proposed changes in law. Abramoff contends that though he charged the tribes many millions of dollars, he saved them billions by ensuring votes in their favor. He claims that his share was funneled not into his own bank accounts, but to charities.

"His memoir will serve as a corrective – an engrossing, informative work of political nonfiction that is also a gripping real-life thriller," the publisher says.

The book's biggest surprise for many readers, WND Books says, will be the discovery that Abramoff is "a smart, funny, charming, clear-eyed narrator who confounds every expectation of the media's villainous portrait."

"He's a perfect bundle of contradictions: an Orthodox Jew and upstanding family man with a staunch moral streak, caught in multiple scandals of bribery and corruption with an undercurrent of murder."

The book is set to hit stores Nov. 7 – the day after "60 Minutes" puts Abramoff in its crosshairs on national television.

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See what really happened, from the insider who was there, in "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist"