Bush and Abramoff Sitting in a Tree?
Posted by
Kevin
Abromoff was a Bush Pioneer and sold access to Bush to his clients:
President George W. Bush was the attraction, and the White House the venue, for a fundraiser organized by the alleged perpetrator of the largest billing fraud in the history of corporate lobbying. In May 2001, Jack Abramoff’s lobbying client book was worth $4.1 million in annual billing for the Greenberg Traurig law firm. He was a friend of Bush advisor Karl Rove. He was a Bush “Pioneer,” delivering at least $100,000 in bundled contributions to the 2000 campaign. He had just concluded his work on the Bush Transition Team as an advisor to the Department of the Interior. He had sent his personal assistant Susan Ralston to the White House to work as Rove’s personal assistant. He was a close friend, advisor, and high-dollar fundraiser for the most powerful man in Congress, Tom DeLay. Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. From the same two clients he took to the White House in May 2001, Abramoff also obtained $2.5 million in contributions for a non-profit foundation he and his wife operated.
He also was a member of the Bush transition team in 2000:
After the 2000 election, Abramoff was named to the Bush transition team for the Interior Department, which regulates the Indian casinos that paid Abramoff his inflated fees.
And now the Bush Administration refuses to release complete records of his and meetings with Bush or his staff:
Q Specific staff? You were going to get back to us on the specific staff —
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, my understanding from the check that we did was that there are just a few staff-level meetings in addition to those.
Q Who was in the staff meetings?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don’t get into discussing staff-level meetings.
I don’t know if there is a fire, but there is a hell of a lot of smoke. Too bad the press doesn’t seem to notice.
You’ll have to check back in with the MSM later-right now they are all busy trumpeting the big El Shrubbo “comeback” (2-4%) in the polls.
Comment 1/19/2006
It’s not an odd occurence that right after this hit the news that a new Ossama tape has just been released. The coincidences that follow whenever Bush and Co. gets into trouble are starting to seem rather like well scripted ploys to change the subject. Remeber the war president? Be afraid, people. Oh, just forget that we haven’t been looking for him for the last 15 months.
Comment 1/19/2006
The idea that Bush has any control over the release of Osama tapes is nutty.
Comment 1/20/2006
How is that nutty,. do you forget that OBL has been a paid opperative of the CIA? Are you sure that is not still the case? Well forget all that even if you are only willing to belive the stuff that is easy to varify, it is clear that Bu$h and his junta are quite corrupt and manipulative.
Comment 1/27/2006