The head of a conservative-leaning advocacy organization is expected to plead guilty to two felony charges as part of the ongoing federal influence-peddling investigation into the activities stemming from former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a document filed in federal court Wednesday.
Italia Federici, co-founder of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, is charged with obstructing Senate proceedings for obscuring the extent of her relationship with Abramoff and J. Steven Griles, former deputy secretary of the Interior Department, during hearings and interviews before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005, according to an information document filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This is the same charge to which Griles pleaded guilty in March.
