Committee report finds Abramoff influenced White House
Contrary to the White House's claims, corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff had access to the highest reaches of the Bush administration and influenced numerous decisions within the executive branch, a draft report from the House Oversight Committee has concluded.
"The testimony and documents obtained by the Committee ... confirm that Mr. Abramoff had access to the White House," reads the report, which was released Monday. "Further, the record before the Committee contradicts White House claims that with respect to his White House contacts, Mr. Abramoff got 'nothing out of it.' Not only did Mr. Abramoff achieve some positive results from his White House lobbying, but White House officials sought out the views of Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues on matters of official business."
Abramoff was convicted in 2006 on several corruption charges related to his fraudulent dealings with Indian tribes he represented. Fallout from revelations of Abramoff's influence peddling rippled through Congress and contributed to several Republican lawmakers losing their seats in the Democrats' takeover that same year.
The committee's proposed report documents gifts that Abramoff spread around the White House, including lavish meals and expensive concert tickets. Among the recipients of Abramoff's largess, as TPMMuckraker notes was Carlos Bonilla, a former special assistant to President Bush for economic policy.
Bonilla is now an economic adviser for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who conducted his own investigation of Abramoff's shady dealings beginning in 2004 when the Arizona Senator chaired the Indian Affairs Committee.
The 35-page Oversight Committee report documents a two-year investigation by the committee into Abramoff's influence within the White House. It uncovered six photographs of the corrupt lobbyist and members of his family shaking hands with President Bush; the committee also found evidence of more than 70 previously unknown contacts between Abramoff and his associates and administration officials.
The report was issued with the approval of Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA). The full committee is slated to mark-up the report Thursday.
Committee investigators interviewed or deposed eight Abramoff associates and administration figures and reviewed more than 20,000 pages of documents. Several former White House officials, especially those most closely connected to Abramoff, were hesitant to speak with the committee and invoked Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination to avoid offering a full airing, including Susan Ralston, a former aide to Karl Rove.
As Ms. Ralston’s counsel described, Ms. Ralston declined to respond to any questions about “the relationship between Jack Abramoff and his associates and White House officials, including Ms. Ralston.”
With regard to President Bush, the committee's investigation was unable to find evidence that Abramoff "ever personally lobbied the president" or directly influenced any of Bush's actions. It was able to demonstrate at least a half-dozen meetings between Abramoff and Bush through the photographs of the two it received.
Abramoff's influence of other administration officials was concentrated in areas his clients paid him to lobby, specifically protecting the interests of his clients on the Northern Marianas Islands, a US territory that has been criticized as a haven for unfair labor practices.
The committee documented Abramoff's ability to influence staffing decisions within the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs, which oversees island territories.
One example of the Abramoff team’s access to the White House regarding the nomination process is a February 20, 2001, e-mail from Susan Ralston to Matt Schlapp to let him know that Jack Abramoff had called Karl Rove a few days earlier to discuss appointments at OIA. According to this e-mail, Mr. Abramoff had heard that Esther Kia’aina was going to be considered for a position and “wanted to let Karl know that he didn’t think this was a good idea.” Ms. Ralston continued, “Karl asked that you return his call.”117 Ms. Kia’aina was not appointed to a position at OIA.
Monday's proposed report is a follow-up to an earlier Oversight Committee effort to document's Abramoff's reach into the White House. Bush administration officials attempted to dismiss the committee's earlier findings without having all the facts, according to the latest review.
After Abramoff's conviction, the White House downplayed his influence claiming he had participated in just "a few staff-level meetings" along with attending some holiday receptions. After the Oversight Committee's first report, the administration conducted a more thorough review, which resulted in Ralston's resignation, but even that review was lacking.
"[T]he Committee’s investigation has revealed that before making these public statements," the report states, "the White House never questioned five former White House officials who were key points of contact for the Abramoff team."
A .pdf copy of the full report is available here
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