Just when you thought you’d heard the last of [tag]Jack Abramoff[/tag], he comes back with a vengeance.
As details of Abramoff’s White House connections emerged, the president and his top aides went to great lengths to argue that the disgraced lobbyist was a non-factor. Press Secretary Scott McClellan was willing to acknowledge that Abramoff attended [tag]White House[/tag] Hanukkah receptions in 2001 and 2002, but nothing else.
As it turns out, it seems the [tag]Bush[/tag] gang was a little deceptive in misleading reporters and the nation about the extent of Abramoff’s White House. OK, more than a little.
A bipartisan Congressional report documents hundreds of contacts between White House officials and the corrupt lobbyist Jack [tag]Abramoff[/tag] and his partners, including at least 10 direct contacts between Mr. Abramoff and Karl Rove, the president’s chief political strategist.
The House Government Reform Committee report, based on e-mail messages and other records subpoenaed from Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying firm, found 485 contacts between Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying team and White House officials from 2001 to 2004, including 82 with Mr. Rove’s office.
The lobbyists spent almost $25,000 in meals and drinks for the White House officials and provided them with tickets to numerous sporting events and concerts, according to the report, scheduled for release Friday.
The authors of the report said it was generally unclear from available records whether the aides reimbursed Mr. Abramoff for the meals or tickets. Ethics rules bar White House officials from accepting lobbyists’ gifts worth more than $20.
The closer one looks at the details, the uglier the picture looks.
Consider Abramoff and Rove, for example. Publicly, [tag]Rove[/tag] described the disgraced felon as a “casual acquaintance,” but the record shows otherwise. Indeed, Rove reportedly sought Abramoff’s help in obtaining sports tickets, and the two sat together at a basketball game in 2002. Afterwards, Abramoff told a colleague about Rove, “He’s a great guy. Told me anytime we need something just let him know through Susan [Ralson, Rove’s executive assistant].”
It wasn’t just social.
In October 2001, the report said, Mr. Abramoff asked the White House to withhold an endorsement from a Republican candidate for governor of the Northern Marianas Islands, an American commonwealth in the western Pacific where Mr. Abramoff had clients; Mr. Abramoff was backing another candidate.
On Oct. 31, 2001, the report said, Ms. Ralson sent an e-mail message to Mr. Abramoff that read: “You win : ) KR said no endorsement.”
In the following months, the records show, Rove’s office exchanged numerous emails about Abramoff arranging tickets for Rove and his family, and Rove visiting Abramoff’s restaurant.
Moreover, the House Government Reform Committee report connects Abramoff and then-White House political director Ken [tag]Mehlman[/tag], now chairman of the Republican National Committee.
One exchange of e-mails cited in the report suggests that former Abramoff lobbying team member Tony C. Rudy succeeded in getting Mehlman to press reluctant Justice Department appointees to release millions of dollars in congressionally earmarked funds for a new jail for the Mississippi Choctaw tribe, an Abramoff client. Rudy wrote Abramoff in November 2001 e-mails that Mehlman said he would “take care of” the funding holdup at Justice after learning from Rudy that the tribe made large donations to the GOP.
If accurate, that’s pretty damning. As Paul Kiel noted, “[I]n exchange for political contributions, Mehlman made sure the Choctaw got their $16 million contract. I believe that’s called a quid pro quo.” Kiel added:
It’s by no means the only example of Mehlman’s favors. In 2001, he made sure a State Department official wasn’t re-nominated for his post — the official, Allen Stayman was a long-time foe of Abramoff’s.
And according to a report from the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Mehlman ordered one of his subordinates at the White House to keep Abramoff updated on issues related to Guam; Abramoff was keen to see the U.S. Attorney there replaced.
In March, Mehlman told Vanity Fair, “Abramoff is someone who we don’t know a lot about. We know what we read in the paper.”
Will the revelations have any political salience? I wasn’t optimistic — until I saw the lead story on ABC World News Tonight last night:
Yes, that included the word “bombshell.”