In Pacific Islands, Mixed Feelings About a Lobbyist's Work

By JAMES BROOKE and KATE ZERNIKE

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands, May 5 - Jack Abramoff, the Washington lobbyist under criminal investigation, used to say that the government here needed his services because it was the only American territory without a nonvoting delegate to Congress.

But in previously unreleased documents, Mr. Abramoff described how he worked hard to kill a bill in Congress that would have given the islands a delegate. He did so by exploiting his ties to Republican House leaders, including Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority leader whose travels arranged by the lobbyist have raised ethical questions.

The men here who hired Mr. Abramoff said they had no regrets about paying for his influence. But four years after Mr. Abramoff left, his work remains hotly debated here, 8,000 miles and 14 time zones ahead of Washington.

Many people say hiring Mr. Abramoff was a waste of money. Some accuse him of double-dealing the Marianas, one of his first big lobbying projects, in much the same way he is now accused of defrauding Indian tribes.