I think (opinion) that part of the controversy stems from the fact that some of the republican senators, in an effort to distance themselves from the scandal, have claimed that they were returning the money, because it was essentially "stolen" from the tribes. I don't believe that Patty or Maria have made that announcement. I am pretty sure that 60 percent of the Native contributions that Patty received was from Wa tribes, leaving only 40 percent to out of state tribes. Not sure how many of those were Abramoff clients. Abramoff was advising that his clients dontate these large sums to many political action committees to gain favor from legislators.