Does George know Jack? Stonewall starts to crack

[ProSense]

Does George know Jack? Stonewall starts to crack

Posted 5/9/2006 8:48 PM ET

Sometime Wednesday, the Bush administration is scheduled to release Secret Service records detailing the number of times disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff visited the White House. The administration is not doing this voluntarily. It is under an order from a federal judge acting on a watchdog group's lawsuit.
If Abramoff and administration officials are to be believed, the records won't show that the one-time superlobbyist — who has pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials — was particularly tight with President Bush or his top aides. Which would make the Bush administration's months-long stonewalling all the more inexplicable. Had it released details long ago about the president's relationship with Abramoff, it likely would have limited any political embarrassment.

As it is, the administration has helped fuel speculation about Abramoff's ties to both Bush and his senior aide, Karl Rove. Here's how Abramoff himself put it in a recent interview with Vanity Fair magazine: "My so-called relationship with Bush, Rove, and everyone else at the White House has only become important because, instead of just releasing details about the very few times I was there, they created a feeding frenzy by their deafening silence."

This episode is the latest example of the Bush administration's stubborn and counterproductive efforts to withhold information from the public. Sometimes it has done so in the name of national security. Sometimes in the name of executive privilege, as with Vice President Cheney's energy task force. And sometimes for the simple reason that it appears to enjoy saying no, particularly to reporters.

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-05-09-abramoff-records_x.htm?csp=34

[MrModerate]

1. It's beyond "enjoying" saying no -- these guys are pathological

Secret-keepers. They believe that if even a tenth of the truth should get out, they'd be flayed alive.

I actual fact, they could reveal a lot more and get away with it, because the bar for ethical behavior in the White House has dropped to the bottom of the basement, and very little would excite anyone anymore.

But they just.can't.let.go.

They all need a long time away from the stresses and strains of being in office, perhaps in a federally-run facility.

[Atman]

2. They've had plenty of time to scrub the records. I expect nothing.

They were able to fake a war. Do you think they're just going to hand over a smoking gun? No way. The records will be polished squeaky clean, with just enough tarnish around the edges to give the press something to chew on. But I've little doubt that they won't do much to finger the Criminal In Chief.

[Dunvegan]

3. The press won't "chew" even that small crust...just gum it around the edge

[pk_du]

4. This guy knows exactly how to scrub federal records before they

are released...

[ProSense]

5. DNC: Jack Abramoff and His Cronies

Jack Abramoff and His Cronies

The Democratic National Committee today announced that it is filing a lawsuit seeking the release of Secret Service records detailing White House visits by Jack Abramoff’s cronies and other central figures in the Republican culture of corruption, including Grover Norquist, Patrick Pizzella, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon and David Safavian. The suit follows a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the information filed by the DNC in January. The Secret Service has failed to comply with that request, despite the fact that the legal deadline for doing so passed in February.




GROVER NORQUIST

Ever since Norquist helped Abramoff win his campaign for Chairman of the College Republicans in the early 1980s, the two have maintained a relationship that outsiders call “symbiotic.” Norquist provided Abramoff with key conservative credentials to boost his lobbying career and allowed Americans for Tax Reform to serve as a “front organization” for Abramoff clients. In return, Abramoff steered about $1.5 million in donations from the Choctaws and other clients to Americans for Tax Reform. With all that money changing hands, it’s clear why Norquist and Abramoff have had a long and successful relationship.

Snip...

PATRICK PIZZELLA

Before becoming Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Bush Administration, Pizzella was handpicked by Jack Abramoff to lobby for weakened labor standards for the MarianasIslands, together with Abramoff’s bagman-to-be David Safavian. And after Bush was first elected President, Pizella was a member of the transition team for the Government Services Administration – where his good friend Safavian took over as Chief of Staff.

Snip...

RALPH REED

When Abramoff had to make sure his clients’ concerns got the attention of the right people in the Bush White House, he often turned to Ralph Reed, whose ties there -- especially with Karl Rove -- were far better than his. Reed was an obliging, even eager middleman, judging by e-mail exchanges between the two.

Snip...

MICHAEL SCANLON

Michael Scanlon was Abramoff’s partner and was involved in all of his lobbying schemes from the Mississippi Choctaws to the Saginaw Chippewa scandal. Scanlon pled guilty in the Abramoff investigation and has critical knowledge of the inter-workings of Abramoff’s business deals.

Snip...

DAVID SAFAVIAN

David Safavian, former Chief of Staff for GSA and Chief Procurement Officer at the Office of Budget and Management, was arrested for obstructing an ongoing Federal investigation into Abramoff’s business dealings with the Bush Administration and Republican members of Congress. Safavian helped Abramoff lease government property controlled by the agency where he worked. He gave him advice over email, reviewed memos that Abramoff was sending to other GSA employees, and set up a meeting for Abramoff’s wife and business partner with Administration officials.

more...

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/05/jack_abramoff_h.php