Abramoff's in the House

How closely did lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff work with the White House? New information indicates the relationship was closer than White House officials would have us believe.

Abramoff, of course, is the central character in a public corruption and influence-peddling scandal and pled guilty in January 2006 to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy. His own records show his company had hundreds of lobbying contacts with White House officials, billed clients more than $24,000 for meals and drinks with those officials, and provided them with high-priced tickets to sporting and entertainment events.

Administration spokesmen, however, have described Abramoff as a relative stranger. "There were only a couple of holiday receptions that he attended, and then a few staff-level meetings on top of that. And that's the way I would describe it," said former press secretary Scott McClellan at a January 2006 briefing.

"You know, I, frankly, don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him," President Bush said at a news conference a few days later.

After a 2006 House Oversight Committee report disclosed Abramoff's internal records, then-press secretary Tony Snow suggested at a briefing that they were not reliable, saying: "Jack Abramoff was an exuberant practitioner of sleaze, to the point where it's very difficult within the report itself to figure out how many actual contacts there are."

But now Henry Waxman, the committee's indefatigable Democratic chairman, is back with more information -- this time gleaned from a former senior White House official -- and more questions.

In a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding yesterday, Waxman wrote: "Despite the refusal of key witnesses to provide testimony, the Committee has learned that some senior White House officials had regular contact with Mr. Abramoff. Former White House political director Matt Schlapp cooperated with the Committee's investigation and provided voluntary testimony in a deposition. Mr. Schlapp estimated that he had 'monthly' contact with Jack Abramoff on subjects that often involved official government business. He also told the Committee that Mr. Abramoff and his associates 'had many friends in the administration'; that Mr. Abramoff was regarded as a 'point of information' because of 'his knowledge and his experience and his judgment on issues surrounding politics and policy and how the town works'; and that Mr. Abramoff's lobbying team was 'viewed by many as a very respected lobbying team.'"

And to wrap up his investigation, Waxman said, he needs a few more documents.

Susan Schmidt writes in The Washington Post: "Rep. Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, called on the White House yesterday to turn over all documents in its files that relate to lobbying efforts by Jack Abramoff.

"Waxman (D-Calif.) said in a letter to White House counsel Fred F. Fielding that unless the White House plans to assert executive privilege, it should produce 600 pages it has withheld from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's continuing investigation of the disgraced lobbyist's contacts with executive branch officials. Waxman asked for the documents by Nov. 6. . . .

"The White House has produced 3,700 documents to the panel in recent months, withholding those it told the committee contain 'internal deliberations among White House employees, or that otherwise implicate Executive Branch prerogatives.'

"'The White House has said that Jack Abramoff had very little contact with the President's staff and that it wanted all the relevant facts to be public. The 600 pages of documents it is withholding are directly relevant and should be produced,' Waxman's office said in a statement. 'If the White House cooperates we will be able to conclude our work.'"