Over the weekend, Time and the New York Times published the first-ever picture of President Bush and Jack Abramoff together. Sort of. The picture does not exactly show the two as chummy — it shows the president talking with Chief Raul Garza, then-chairman of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, while Abramoff is in the back of the room, no where near the action. (Abramoff, however, is standing near Karl Rove.)
But before anyone says, “That’s it?” it’s worth noting that the picture may not tell us much about Abramoff’s relationship with the president and the White House, it’s nevertheless significant. For weeks, the White House has been willing to acknowledge that Bush may have inadvertently seen Abramoff at a holiday reception or a rope-line. Asked about the Garza meeting, the White House said, just two weeks ago, that they have no record of Abramoff even being there.
This picture shows that Abramoff was there and that the disgraced GOP lobbyist/activist was able to gain access to the White House — and score a presidential meeting — for a man Abramoff sought as a client.
The meeting was supposed to be for a group of state legislators who were supporting the White House tax-cut plan in 2001. Why was Chief Garza, who is under federal indictment for allegedly embezzling more than $300,000 from his tribe, there with Abramoff?
For now, the White House won’t say. I suspect there might be a few questions about it at today’s briefing.
