Harry Reid Jon Porter

WASHINGTON -- The controversy surrounding Jack Abramoff grew to new proportions in Nevada on Friday when Republican Rep. Jon Porter demanded the state's Democratic lawmakers give back campaign contributions tied to the discredited lobbyist.

Porter inserted himself into the ethics debate, directly criticizing Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader who Republicans have been trying to tie into the Abramoff scandal.

The criticism extended to Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who also received donations from sources connected to the Republican lobbyist.

Although Republicans received more money and perks from Abramoff such as expensive golf trips, Porter insisted Democrats are not blameless and should share responsibility for restoring public faith in Congress.

"Watching Democrats lambaste Republicans for their connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been a study in hypocrisy." Porter said in a statement.

"Many of these Democrats, including the very vocal Senate minority leader, have filled their campaign coffers with contributions from Abramoff and his clients." Porter said. "The focus should not be on partisan politics, but rather on addressing the greed and corruption that affects both sides of the aisle."

The criticism comes as Reid was preparing to travel next week to five "Republican red" states in the West and Midwest. Aides said he planned to utilize Abramoff as a poster child in a campaign declaring corruption in Republican-led Washington.

Abramoff, once a powerful player, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to charges that included bribing members of Congress, defrauding American Indian tribal clients and evading taxes.

On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty in Miami to fraud and conspiracy in the 2000 purchase of a fleet of Florida casino boats.

Abramoff has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who continue to probe members of Congress and their aides. More than five dozen lawmakers have announced they are refunding or giving to charity some or all of the donations they received from Abramoff, his clients and lobbyist associates.

Saying he has never met Abramoff and never received money from him, Reid has said he has done nothing wrong and does not intend to shed his funds. His office confirmed he received $61,000 from 2001 to 2004 from the lobbyist's Indian tribe clients and other members of his former lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Edward Ayoob, a Reid legislative counsel from 1997 to 2002 and assistant finance director for his 1998 campaign, went on to work at Greenberg Traurig and was an Abramoff associate, further fueling critics.

Reid declined to comment on Porter's remarks. His spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said Republicans "are desperate and grasping at straws."

Berkley swung back at Porter.

"If Jon Porter is concerned about corruption, he should look to his own party and their chosen leaders and stop attacking his colleagues in the Nevada delegation," Berkley said. "Instead of attacking me, his time would be better spent helping drain the swamp of corruption that congressional Republicans are drowning in."

According to an Associated Press analysis, Berkley was given $2,000 in 2003 and 2004. Donations of $500 apiece were from the Greenberg Traurig political action committee, two of its lobbyists and the chairman of a client tribe, the Agua Caliente.

Berkley has defended the donations, but has not said whether she intends to keep or divest them.

Aides said Porter was flying to Nevada late Friday and was not reachable for comment.

The congressman has scheduled a series of speeches and media appearances in Las Vegas next week where he planned to talk about Abramoff and a need for Congress to clean itself up, according to his chief of staff Mike Hesse.

Hesse said the purpose of Porter's comments Friday were "to lay down a marker because he plans to talk about this a lot in Nevada."

Porter's move seemed out of the ordinary because he is not known as a firebrand, said Mark Peplowski, a political science instructor at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

"It is unusual for a representative to be attacking a senator from the same state. I don't think it's the smartest move to make," Peplowski said. "There has to be some reason for it, like the Republican leadership is pushing him."

Hesse said nobody put Porter up to it.

"He did this completely by himself," Hesse said. "He is concerned about Congress as an institution. Our view is this is more than just a campaign issue. It boils down to the fundamental operations of Congress."

Carl Forti, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Porter's comments were not part of any organized attack on Reid or Democrats who have accepted campaign funds tied to the lobbyist.

The two other Nevada Republicans in Congress signaled they were not getting involved.

Sen. John Ensign "is not going to have a comment," spokesman Jack Finn said. "Each delegation member needs to make his or her decision in terms of what to do with the money and in terms of what they want to say about other delegation members."

Rep. Jim Gibbons said in a statement that lawmakers who received contributions and are pondering what to do with them "should make those decisions for themselves."

An analysis of contributions from Abramoff and Indian tribes who were his clients does not list Porter as having received donations.

The study, conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, did not examine donations from professionals at Greenberg Traurig.

Hesse said Porter, who was elected in 2002, did not receive Greenberg Traurig money.

Gibbons also was not listed by the Center for Responsive Politics as having accepted donations from Abramoff or his clients.

Last month, Porter gave $11,000 to Goodwill of Southern Nevada that he had received from former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. Cunningham resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to taking bribes from a defense contractor.

Porter continues to be criticized by Democrats for maintaining financial ties to former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas., who faces trial on campaign finance charges.

Porter accepted more than $25,000 from DeLay's political action committee, Americans For a Republican Majority, and thousands more as a result of "Retain Our Majority" fundraising events organized by ARMPAC where he was connected to donors.

Porter has pledged to divest the ARMPAC donations if DeLay is convicted.

Ensign received $16,293 in donations tied to Abramoff, including $7,000 from the lobbyist personally in three donations in 2002 and 2003, according to an Associated Press analysis.

In October, Ensign said he donated the money to the Nevada Patriot Fund that aids families of service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.