| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michelle Malkin" |
| Date: |
07 Oct 2006 09:46:25 PM |
| Object: |
Closer and Closer to Getting Rove |
White House aide to Rove resigns
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Sat Oct 7, 3:41 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The latest casualty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal was a
key aide to presidential political strategist Karl Rove who once worked for
the disgraced influence-peddler.
Susan Ralston stepped down Friday from her post as a special assistant to
President Bush. A congressional report showed she had extensive contacts
with Abramoff and had accepted tickets to sporting events and concerts from
him.
Corruption and scandal are major issues going into the Nov. 7 elections.
Ralston's resignation followed accusations that her contacts with Abramoff
showed he was closer to Rove and Bush than the White House has been willing
to acknowledge.
"She recognized that a protracted discussion of these matters would be a
distraction to the White House and she's chosen to step down," deputy White
House press secretary Dana Perino said.
A recent House Government Reform Committee report listed hundreds of
contacts that Abramoff's lobbying group had with the White House. Ralston
had been administrative assistant to Abramoff and, after Bush took office,
assumed the same post with Rove.
Ralston played an instrumental role in organizing and choosing presidential
event sites.
Rep. Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record) of California, the top Democrat
on the House Government Reform Committee, said he suspects the White House
is trying to make Ralston a scapegoat.
"There is a lot that we don't yet know about the assistance that Ms. Ralston
provided Mr. Abramoff from inside the White House, but there are also many
unanswered questions about the assistance that higher-ranking White House
officials appeared to provide Mr. Abramoff," Waxman said.
"The vast majority of lobbying contacts and meals with White House officials
documented in the report were with White House officials other than Ms.
Ralston," Waxman said.
Abramoff has pleaded guilty to fraud and is now cooperating with prosecutors
in an influence-peddling investigation that has enveloped Capitol Hill even
as lawmakers, facing elections, struggle with the fallout from a scandal
involving former Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record)'s salacious
messages to teenage male pages.
The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that about half of likely
voters consider corruption and scandal in Congress very or extremely
important, and about two in three of those said they would vote for
Democrats in House races.
The committee's report - based largely on Abramoff's billing records and
e-mails - listed 485 lobbying contacts with White House officials over three
years, including 10 with Rove. The report indicated that Abramoff and
associates lobbied on behalf of more than 20 individuals for administration
jobs but were successful only once.
According to e-mails, Abramoff and his team offered White House officials
tickets to 19 sporting events and concerts. Ralston was the most frequent
recipient. The report did not make clear whether Ralston or other White
House officials paid for any of the tickets.
The federal gratuities statute makes it a crime to give anything of value to
a public official for any official act performed by that official. Ethics
rules prohibit federal employees from accepting gifts unless given because
of personal friendship.
**************************************************************
485 lobbying contacts with White House officials. And, they said there
weren't any. They sorta kinda lied, didn't they? Will someone please
tell me, when DON'T the White House squatters lie?
.
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Closer and Closer to Getting Rove |
08 Oct 2006 12:59:44 AM |
|
|
In article <5OGdnVMCu-Hi-7XYnZ2dnUVZ_qCdnZ2d@comcast.com>,
"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
White House aide to Rove resigns
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Sat Oct 7, 3:41 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The latest casualty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal was a
key aide to presidential political strategist Karl Rove who once worked for
the disgraced influence-peddler.
Susan Ralston stepped down Friday from her post as a special assistant to
President Bush. A congressional report showed she had extensive contacts
with Abramoff and had accepted tickets to sporting events and concerts from
him.
Corruption and scandal are major issues going into the Nov. 7 elections.
Ralston's resignation followed accusations that her contacts with Abramoff
showed he was closer to Rove and Bush than the White House has been willing
to acknowledge.
Rove is a slimy little toad and I hope they get him before he leaves
office so all can see just how corrupt W's cronies can be.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
