Will Brooke is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

political staffer and a figure in the

Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American trib ...

. He worked as chief of staff to U.S. Senator

Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Montana and later was a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the Senate ...

( R-

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

) from November 2000 until the end of 2003, when he quit "to resume his

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

law practice and be the statewide chief" for President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's Montana re-election campaign, Burn
said
in December 2003. In January 2001 Brooke went on a

trip Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

paid for (against

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

ethics rules) by

Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction a ...

SunCruz Casinos SunCruz Casinos was one of many cruise lines that offered "cruises to nowhere," legally transporting passengers into international waters beyond the reach of federal and state gambling laws. Four ships operated out of four ports including Jackso ...

. Also on the trip were Burns appropriations staffer Ryan Thomas,

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republic ...

staffers, and

Bob Ney Robert William Ney (born July 5, 1954) is an American politician from Ohio. A Republican, Ney represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until November 3, 2006, when he resigned. Ney's resignatio ...

chief of staff Neil Volz. Brooke and Volz then became members of "

Team Abramoff "Team Abramoff" is the team of lobbyists assembled by Jack Abramoff when he worked at Greenberg Traurig, primarily of former aides to prominent Congressional politicians. Their work is embroiled in the Jack Abramoff scandals. On January 8, 2001 ...

" at

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

. In December 2005, Brooke was working as a

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

for the Washington firm Ryan, Phillips, Utrecht & MacKinnon, with a

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

office in Bozeman.Bozeman Montana Local News
/ref> It was later reported that Brooke voluntarily met with federal investigators and the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and disclosed all information related to the

trip as well as his work with Abramoff's firm,

. During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Brooke had confirmed in advance of the Super Bowl trip that the trip complied with Senate ethics rules. Brooke was never charged with any violation of Senate ethic rules or any

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...

. He now owns and operates Brooke Law Firm, P.C., located in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

Footnotes

External links

*Scott McMillion
"Bozeman city manager, Clark Johnson takes chief of staff position with Burns,"
MATR.net, December 30, 2003. *Susan Schmidt

''Washington Post'', March 1, 2005. *Bob Brigham

''Swing State Project'', March 24, 2005. *Faith Bremner
"Democrats decry Burns' link to lobbyist,"
''Great Falls Tribune'', April 2, 2005: "Shortly after Congress awarded the grant, Burns' former chief of staff, Will Brooke, went to work for Abramoff." *Joshua Micah Marshall
"Burns and Abramoff .. The Early Days,"
''TPM Cafe'', August 11, 2005: "Back in 2001, Burns and his then Chief of Staff Will Brooke were looking for help fund-raising. And they turned to Jack Abramoff, who, as those now-controversial ads in Montana revealed, helped steer $136,000 in to Burns' coffers during the 2001-2002 campaign cycle. ... Along the way, Brooke got introduced into the Abramoff-funded high life."
"DNC: Abramoff Scandal Burns Conrad, But Can't Keep Cheney Away,"
U.S. Newswire, August 15, 2005.

''Washington Post'', December 12, 2005. *Jennifer McKee
"Ex-Burns aide talking to feds in Abramoff investigation,"
''Helena Independent Record'', December 13, 2005. *Scott Crass
"Clouds Forming in Big Sky Country: Will Burns Get Burnt by Abramoff?"
''Politics Fodder'', December 15, 2005. *Camden Easterling
"Developer submits bill for parking garage,"
''Bozeman Daily Chronicle'', December 17, 2005: "Brooke's work secured the $4 million Bozeman received in a federal transportation bill earlier this year." {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Will Living people People from Bozeman, Montana People associated with the Jack Abramoff scandals Political chiefs of staff Montana Republicans United States congressional aides Year of birth missing (living people)