New Links Between Abramoff, White House

[dajoki]

WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070701317.html?nav=rss_politics

New Links Between Abramoff, White House
Logs Show 6 Appointments There

By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 8, 2006; Page A02

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff had a half-dozen White House appointments in the early months of the Bush administration, according to logs released yesterday by the U.S. Secret Service.

The appointments included a meeting with a domestic policy aide to Vice President Cheney and a meeting in the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives attended by about 40 people. The logs also reflect that Abramoff attended one or more social events, as well as a gathering of Indian tribal officials and state legislators at which President Bush appeared.

The lobbyist, once one of the most powerful Republicans on K Street, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy and fraud. He is a cooperating witness in the Justice Department's wide-ranging investigation of corruption in Congress and the executive branch.

The Secret Service released the White House visit data yesterday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests and a lawsuit filed by the government watchdog group Judicial Watch.

In May, the Secret Service released partial data showing two White House visits by Abramoff. In a letter faxed to Judicial Watch yesterday, a Justice Department lawyer said that the Secret Service had recently learned of other visits when it "unexpectedly discovered computer files" containing entry and exit logs on the visits.