] DeLay's congressional office turned to someone they
] trusted far more than any travel agent or concierge:
] lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "He ran all the trips," recalls a
] former top DeLay aide. "You ask where the itineraries
] came from, who made all the travel arrangements%u2014it
] all came out of Jack's shop."
]
]
] Previous trips had taken DeLay and members of his staff
] all over the world, but none had been planned quite as
] meticulously as this one.
]
]
] Three sources who worked with Abramoff at the time say
] the majority whip's office ran one of Abramoff's
] assistants ragged with its constantly changing requests.
] Indeed, say two of those sources, the whole idea for the
] expensive London jaunt originated with DeLay aides as an
] additional stop on a golf outing that Abramoff had
] proposed to Scotland's famous St. Andrews course.
]
]
] Abramoff delivered on virtually everything DeLay's staff
] requested.