Bush 2001 "Kenny Boy who?", Bush 2006 "Jack Abramoff who?" does Bush have a bad memory... -- Albany MSNBC Refugees Forum

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Date Posted: Friday, September 29, 10:30:12am
Author: BJ
Subject: Bush 2001 "Kenny Boy who?", Bush 2006 "Jack Abramoff who?" does Bush have a bad memory...

or could it be he is hiding something? We know that Kenny Boy was one of his biggest donors, we know he was rewarded by writing our energy policy with Cheney behind closed doors, we know he stayed at the White House, but Bush couldn't really place him?

Now Jack with 485 White House contacts is another stranger, ever get that feeling that Bush is an out and out liar?

� Convicted lobbyist billed for 10 contacts with Bush adviser Karl Rove
� Report says Abramoff had mixed results
� White House say Abramoff is an "admitted and proven liar"

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jack Abramoff had hundreds of contacts with White House officials, but they brought mixed results for the convicted lobbyist's clients, according to a congressional report.

The draft report of the House Government Reform Committee said the documents -- largely Abramoff's billing records and e-mails -- listed 485 lobbying contacts with White House officials over three years, including 10 with top Bush aide Karl Rove.

Abramoff and associates were successful in getting appropriations for some of their Indian clients, but efforts to influence presidential appointments and nominations "were often not successful," according to the report, obtained Thursday.

The report indicated that Abramoff and associates lobbied on behalf of 19 individuals for administration jobs and only was successful once.

Another time the lobbyist, who received lucrative payments from Indian tribal clients, was infuriated that some White House officials said they could work with Indian tribes directly without the need for lobbyists.

"This is horrible," Abramoff wrote his colleagues, using an expletive to describe the way he and his associates were being treated.

There were several instances where the documents -- supplied by Abramoff's former lobbying firm -- indicated Rove ate at an Abramoff restaurant, Signatures. There was one occasion where Abramoff got Rove NCAA basketball tournament tickets, but Rove may have paid for them.

"I just saw Karl ... and mentioned the NCAA, opportunity, which he was really jazzed about it," Abramoff wrote Rove aide Susan Ralston.

"Karl has to pay for his tickets," Ralston e-mailed the lobbyist.

Abramoff responded the cost would be $50 for each ticket, "payable to me personally."

Learning that Rove would appear at his restaurant, Abramoff wrote, "I want him to be given a very nice bottle of wine and have Joseph whisper in his ear (only he should hear) that Abramoff wanted him to have this wine on the house."

The report said that of the 485 contacts listed, 345 were described as meetings or other in-person contacts; 71 were described as phone conversations and 69 were e-mail exchanges.

The White House responded by sharply criticizing Abramoff.

"It is shocking and deeply disturbing that this admitted and proven liar ripped off his clients by over-billing and over-selling his supposed influence with any number of policymakers," Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary, said Thursday.

Referring to the wine, Perino said the idea that Abramoff ingratiated himself to Rove by sending him a bottle of wine was laughable. Anyone "who knows Rove knows that he doesn't drink alcohol," she said.

The records cover the period from January 2001 through March 2004, and included the work of 20 lobbyists. Abramoff in January pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy, one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion. In his plea agreement, he admitted he defrauded his clients, and some of the contacts in the records could not be verified by the committee, the report said.

According to e-mails, Abramoff and his team offered White House officials tickets to 19 sporting events and concerts.

The report said the most frequent recipient of tickets from Abramoff was Ralston, who worked for the lobbyist before she went to work for Rove.

Enter Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist
But the report also said Abramoff used conservative activist Ralph Reed to communicate with the Bush administration.

From time to time, the report added, Abramoff had the opportunity to introduce a client to important officials such as Rove, by providing an invitation to a dinner arranged by another conservative activist, Grover Norquist.

The Associated Press reported last week that Republican activists Norquist and Reed landed more than 100 meetings inside the Bush White House.

The White House released the Secret Service visit records to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group seeking visitors logs for the two GOP strategists.

The congressional report also said Abramoff's team claimed to have lobbied the office of political affairs in 17 instances, including six with Ken Mehlman -- who formerly headed the office and now heads the Republican National Committee.

ABC News first reported the committee's findings Thursday evening.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/29/abramoff.wh.ap/index.html

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Replies:

Bush doesn't remember Abramov? -- Mike Evergreen, Friday, October 06, 10:55:30pm
- Re: Hey Mike... -- BJ, Monday, October 09, 07:47:37pm
  - Re: Hey Mike... -- Mike Evergreen, Sunday, October 22, 12:46:35pm