Ex-GOP aide with Abramoff ties pleads guilty

James Hirni, a former congressional aide-turned-lobbyist with ties to Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of honest services fraud in D.C. district court.

The plea came just three weeks after Hirni was fired by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where he worked as a director of Republican outreach. The charge stems from his last few weeks at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal and is unrelated to Hirni’s work for the chain.

{mosads}Hirni, a former aide to ex-Sens. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), admitted that he provided illegal gifts, including a trip to Game One of the 2003 World Series, in return for legislative favors. Trevor Blackann, who at the time was a staffer to Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), as well another aide identified only as “Staffer D,” were the recipients of the illegal gifts, according to court documents.

While working on behalf of an equipment rental client, Hirni admitted that he sought an amendment encouraging state public works agencies to rent rather than purchase construction equipment only from companies that had “large dollar amounts of liability insurance coverage.” Hirni and “Lobbyist D,” who has been identified as Todd Boulanger, wanted to have the amendment inserted into the federal highway-funding bill.

Hirni, clad in a navy-blue pin-striped suit, solemnly responded to the judge’s questions.

When asked whether he understood that admitting to a felony would affect his ability to vote and run for public office, Hirni replied: “Unfortunately, your honor, I understand that.”

He is cooperating with prosecutors and faces the maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Depending on his level of cooperation, his sentence could be drastically reduced to as little as zero to six months, according to his attorney.

Blackann, who also had worked for House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), last month pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return that omitted more than $4,100 in illegal gifts from Hirni and others. The gifts included airfare, hotel accommodations, entertainment at a strip club and tickets to Game One of the 2003 World Series in New York.

Cassidy accepted Boulanger’s resignation the same week Blackann pleaded guilty.

Before joining Wal-Mart in 2007, Hirni worked at Sonnnschein, Nath & Rosenthal, then briefly with Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig before he and Abramoff, as well as Boulanger, joined Cassidy & Associates. Abramoff worked for Cassidy for just a few months before the developing lobbying scandal caused him to leave.

Hirni’s spokesman, Scott Sobel, has stressed that Hirni was working for Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal at the time of the alleged activities, not with Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig.

On Friday, Sobel reiterated Hirni’s regret and said that he is involved in starting an ethics training program at a local university that would help prevent lobbyists and aides from engaging in unethical behavior.

Sonnenschein, however, is now distancing itself from Hirni and the activity in question. In a statement released Friday, the firm noted that the trip to the World Series game and the subsequent legislative favor requested occurred just weeks before the firm fired Hirni for unrelated reasons.

“Mr. Hirni, a former employee, worked at Sonnenschein for ten months in 2003, before the firm initiated his separation and he departed to pursue other endeavors with Jack Abramoff,” Sonnenschein said in the statement. “The firm had no knowledge regarding any illegal conduct by Mr. Hirni.  As we have since learned, the conduct to which Mr. Hirni has plead guilty today occurred just weeks before his unrelated termination from the firm and during a period when Mr. Hirni was seeking to collaborate with Mr. Abramoff and his associates.”

This article was updated at 5:16 p.m.