Did Rick Santorum accuse Casey of taking Abramoff money?

At the tail end of the debate this evening, Rick Santorum accused Bob Casey of taking Abramoff money.

Here's the story.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is slamming Democratic Senate hopeful Bob Casey Jr. for not returning money given to him by Edward Ayoob, a former Jack Abramoff associate.

Ayoob, who once worked with Abramoff at the law firm Greenberg Traurig, gave Casey $1,500 in 2005, Federal Election Commission reports show. That money was contributed in two installments in June and September, more than a year after Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig and several months after Ayoob left the firm.[emphasis added]

Oh. After Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig. And yet the next paragraph of the story goes like this:

“Every time the Casey campaign attempts to discuss the ethics issues, we’re going to remind him that he’s taken money directly linked to Jack Abramoff,” NRSC spokesman Brian Nick said, suggesting that Ayoob is likely to figure into future “messaging” and that his contributions could be the subject of campaign ads. “You cross that bridge when you come to it,” Nick said.[emphasis added]

So how can he say that it's money taken "directly linked" to Abramoff?

How does the Casey campaign respond?

“Mr. Ayoob had no association with Abramoff when he made the contributions, and he has not been implicated in any wrongdoing,” Casey campaign spokesman Larry Smar said. “This is a smokescreen to cover up the real ethical problems of Rick Santorum’s closed-door lobbyist meetings and the K Street Project. We have no intention of returning the contribution.”

Good for them. I'll keep looking here.

Later