Iranian President Admits Abramoff Paid Him

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admitted today that he said the Holocaust was a "myth" because Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff paid him to do it. "Do I believe it? Of course not," he said. "Only an idiot could believe the Holocaust never happened." Ahmadinejad said he uttered the comments, which have caused widespread global condemnation, because the offer from Abramoff was too good to turn down.

"At first, he offered me $2,000—the same he offered to those Washington think- tankers. Chump change. I held out for a hundred grand. I can get myself a nice Mercedes and buy some fissile materials from North Korea."

Ahmadinejad said he took a lot of flak from Shi'ite clerics for taking money from Abramoff, but he dismissed the complaints. "Who cares? Money is money. Besides, I spent a lot of time with him, and found out we had a lot in common. I looked into his eyes and saw his soul. He has a good heart." He added, "Ayatollah Khameini was furious, calling Abramoff a 'vermin Infidel swine.' I told him, 'Be cool, Jack is our kind of Jew.'"

Ahmadinejad said he did not know the identity of the client Abramoff was working for in this case, or why the client wanted him to deny the existence of the Holocaust. "Jack has many clients—Indian gamblers, Internet gamblers, sweat shops on Saipan, Allah knows who else. I only care that the check is good."

The admission by the Iranian president brought outraged reaction from reformers, with Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 calling for an immediate ethics investigation. But in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Peter Ferrara of the Institute for Policy Innovation vigorously defended Ahmadinejad. "This is what free enterprise is all about," Ferrara wrote. When contacted by reporters about his op/ed, Ferrara said he stood behind it. "It was an incredible opportunity. Jack was desperate for a defender. I got enough for this piece to finance my Social Security private account until I'm 120."