http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10925175/from/RL.2/
Abramoff's presence at meetings confirmed
White House admits to the convicted GOP lobbyist's access
President Bush's Press Secretary Scott McClellan has now acknowledged
that convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff attended staff meetings at
the White House. Correspondent David Shuster reports on what this
means for the White house.
Until recently, members of Congress couldn't resist accepting money
and gifts from super lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Now that Abramoff has pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy,
lawmakers are trying to pass lobbying reform as quickly as possible.
But as they scramble to convince voters they care about the smell
coming from Abramoff and his associates, the scandal continues.
HARDBALL correspondent David Shuster reported about the recent events
leading up to the White House's admission about Abramoff's access to
staff meetings.
To read an excerpt from their conversation, continue to the text
below.
DAVID SHUSTER, HARDBALL CORRESPONDENT: Two weeks ago, the White House
acknowledged that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff may have met
President Bush a few years ago during holiday parties. Today the
president's press secretary added that Abramoff also attended White
House staff meetings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With regard to Abramoff, can you give any more
specificity on those meetings, when they were, years, time?
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No, this is sticking
with our past policy. We're not going to engage in a fishing
expedition.
SHUSTER: This was the second straight day McClellan refused to
provide details about Abramoff. On Tuesday...
DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Was it
senior staff he met with? Would you qualify it as senior staff that
he met with here?
MCCLELLAN: Staff level meetings is a way I would describe it. I
mean, if you have anything specific, I'll be glad to take a look into
it. Well, if there's any reason for me to check into it, please bring
it to my attention.
GREGORY: He pled guilty to some serious charges.
MCCLELLAN: And so are you insinuating something?
GREGORY: I'm just trying out the facts.
MCCLELLAN: Well if you've got something to bring to my attention, do
so and I'll be glad to look into it.
GREGORY: That's not a fair burden to place on us. I mean, this guy
is radioactive in Washington and he knows guys like Karl Rove. So did
he meet with him or not? Don't put it on us to bring something
specific.
SHUSTER: One adviser outside the White House to President Bush and
Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist.
Norquist and Jack Abramoff are friends from their days as college
Republicans.
MSNBC has confirmed that Norquist helped Abramoff bring at least two
tribal chief clients into the White House to meet President Bush four
years ago.
On April 19, 2001, an e-mail from Grover Norquist to Jack Abramoff was
forwarded to the Coushatta's Indian tribe.
The e-mail invited the tribe to attend a luncheon dinner at the White
House and described the May 9, 2001 get-together as a meeting with,
quote, "the president and congressional leadership."
Norquist has denied this $25,000 check the tribes gave him was his fee
for the White House visit.
Still, the connections between the White House, Karl Rove, Grover
Norquist, and Washington influence-peddlers have been issues the
Democratic group moveon.org has been trying to draw attention to for
months.
And today, group protesters took to the sidewalk outside where
Norquist's lobbyists and part of the Republican Party's brain trust
conduct a regular weekly meeting.
One senator who often attends the meetings is Pennsylvania Republican
Rick Santorum.
Last month when "The Washington Post" reported that Santorum met with
the lobbying firms and associations "to discuss Republican candidates
for job openings," Santorum told the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" it was
part of his leadership role as the Senate's third-ranking Republican.
"The K Street project is purely to make sure we have qualified
applications for positions that are in town. From my perspective,
it's a good government thing."
Yesterday Santorum joined John McCain in introducing lobbying reform
and spun hard.
SEN. RICK SANTORUM ®, PENNSYLVANIA: I'm not aware of any Senate
liaison job that I do for the K Street project. What I have done is,
I do host meetings once or twice a month with members who represent a
variety of different groups in Washington D.C.
SHUSTER: And so today they rolled out a lobbying reform plan named
after Republicans, including Norquist and Abramoff.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: These people with the bad
ideas, the K Street project and others, have infiltrated our
government.
SHUSTER: And the White House is now the latest part of the government
to get snared by this story. With Bush administration officials
refusing to provide any details about Jack Abramoff's access to White
House staff meetings, the stench, critics argue, is getting worse.
____________________________________________________________
Phew! You can say that again.
Harry
.
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