So why did Kent Cooper, a former Federal Election Commission official who oversaw government disclosure reports for federal candidates for two decades, say that Reid's failure to report the 2001 sale and his ties to Brown's company violated Senate rules?

Are you saying Harry Reid did not make any money on the deal?

"called me a thief" is there evidence that he was called a thief on the telephone?

Native American tribes donated money to Reid after Reid's votes produced favorable results for the tribes. Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in collecting contributions around the times they take official acts benefiting donors.