More Details on the "Abramoff Photos"

[sabra]

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/magazines/more_details_on_the_abramoff_photos_32634.asp

More Details on the "Abramoff Photos"

The Washingtonian just put out a piece providing some more context to the Abramoff photos that feel just days away from seeing the light of day.

...


In the photograph taken at the same event as the one published by Time, Abramoff said he and the President were discussing working out with weights.

Other photographs included a picture of Bush and Abramoff standing together with "Cheshire cat grins"; pictures of Bush and what Abramoff characterized as the "bearded fatter me"; a picture of Bush chatting with Abramoff's twin daughters ("Oh, you are twins; I have twins," Abramoff quoted Bush as saying); a picture of Bush, House speaker Dennis Hastert, and Abramoff's children; and a picture of Laura Bush with Abramoff's wife, Pam, and the twin girls, who had led the Pledge of Allegiance at the event (said Abramoff: "Laura went ga-ga over their being twins").


And it sounds like somebody is feeling a bit lonely and betrayed as of late...


A frustrated Abramoff, who feels he has been abandoned by many of his conservative friends, added, "They will come up with excuse after excuse as to how and why he did not know me. I could have spent four months alone with him in Bolivia and he would not know me."

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Damn, what does a criminal have to do to

get recognized?

Get shot by the VEEP?

[TomInTib]

2. Hey Jack! Think it's lonely at the top? Welcome to the bottom. nt

[stevedeshazer]

3. Someone with nothing left to lose is singing

It sounds like a sweet melody. Music to my ears!

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Here's what a Puggie apologist could do with that line

(if they suddenly decided to use their dark skills for our side):

Abramoff, who feels he has been abandoned by many of his conservative friends, added, "I ... spent four months alone with {Bush} in Bolivia...."

[hang a left]

5. I wonder if that is some kind of coded message or threat

that Bush would understand. I wonder if they did cocaine together? I wonder if they ever were in Bolivia together?

[Straight Shooter]

7. Odd choice of location, that.

Most people would say "on a deserted island." But Abramoff chooses Bolivia.

The heart of the international cocaine trade is located in the Andean region of South America. Virtually all of the world's cocaine base, the intermediate product used to manufacture cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine HCl), is produced in Peru, Bolivia, or Colombia. Cocaine base production in Peru and Bolivia in 1995 represented about 90 percent of the world's cocaine base; the remaining 10 percent was produced in Colombia. Operation BREAKTHROUGH estimated worldwide cocaine production in 1995 at 715 metric tons.

The major Colombian drug trafficking groups continue to produce most of the world's cocaine HCl. They import hundreds of tons of cocaine base from Peru and Bolivia, convert it into cocaine HCl at clandestine drug laboratories in Colombia, and export the illicit product to the United States and Europe. Independent Bolivian and Peruvian trafficking groups, however, increasingly are producing cocaine HC1.

DEA publication: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/dea/pubs/intel/cocaine.htm

[brer cat]

8. Sounds like a message sent. Wonder how it's received?

Oh, bother, of course it's NOT received...bubble boy doesn't get news. Oh well, nice try. It's probably hard work being at the bottom of the feeding tough, Jack.

[Straight Shooter]

9. bush won't hear it in his magic fantasy bubble, but Rove will. n/t

[The Roux Comes First]

13. I love the concept, but think it improbable -

I not infrequently invoke the Butch Cassidy and Sundance line "next time I say we go to Bolivia, let's GO to Bolivia," and it would not at all surprise me if this is the same general idea. The place took on a certain "way out there" quality as a result of that movie, among other things. At least for those of us with a certain number of growth rings.

[Straight Shooter]

22. I think your interpretation is probably the right one.

I never saw that movie. It's fascinating how our reactions to statements can be shaped by simple differences such as exposure to a movie, or maybe a book. The question is, does Abramoff see himself as an "outlaw"? Is he a BC&SK fan?

OTOH, whether or not there is an actual connection between him, bush, and cocaine, maybe he did it precisely to plant the "cocaine" seed in people's minds. Abramoff is very clever. A little too clever for his own good, but still very sharp.

"Growth rings." Great analogy. Sure beats "time lines on the face."

[ClintonTyree]

17. Maybe Jack was "W"'s source for.........

Peruvian marching powder. bush's coke jaw has been working overtime in the past few years. He probably gets it from the CIA now that Jack's "incapacitated". You have to wonder where bush gets his "energy". He was never one for long hours, preferring to sleep late, taking frequent naps during the day and being in bed by 9:00 PM. It's hard to believe that a lifetime of sloth reversed itself the moment the Supreme Court appointed him president.

[rodeodance]

6. I had to chuckle at his comment about BushCo though--it is true.

A frustrated Abramoff, who feels he has been abandoned by many of his conservative friends, added, "They will come up with excuse after excuse as to how and why he did not know me. I could have spent four months alone with him in Bolivia and he would not know me."

[corporatemedia]

10. Seems like "That Old Jack Magic" isn't working anymore....

That Old JACK MAGIC !

By Johny Merciless

That old Jack Magic had them in its spell,
That old Jack Magic that they weave so well.
Their tribal money and the corruption,
That same old witchcraft that T-Rick has done.
It's Republican, Bush is yet to come,
But the worst one is called Santorum.

Abracadabramoff
Always makes me cough.
Disgusting Republicans are scum.




http://santorumcybergate.blogspot.com

[LibDemAlways]

11. Abramoff is getting the "Fredo" treatment.

I'd advise him to turn down any invitations to go fishing.

[txindy]

12. Quail hunting is not recommended, either.

What? :shrug:

[cramerica]

14. He'll get a visit

from someone who sounds remarkably like Christopher Walken:

"When I was a boy, my favorite toy was a Jack-in-the-Box. Did you ever play Jack-in-the-Box, Mr. Abramoff?"

[sandnsea]

15. Baker Botts is Scanlon's attorney

You know, Jim Baker?? You know, Scanlon, Abramoff's partner??

And they don't know Jack?????

[Straight Shooter]

23. The same James Baker who is Whittington's brother-in-law.

That is, Mercedes Baker Whittington is Harry's wife. Her brother is James Baker, former Secretary of State.

Note that Cheney has also been known to "hunt" (kill indiscriminately pen-raised birds) in Trappe, a Maryland Eastern shore town where James Baker III maintains a residence.

Someone tell me that Cheney and bush don't run in the same social circle, after knowing each other all these years and as politically incestuous as these people are. And when you tell me, please hand me a huge block of salt to go with it.

Edit: James Baker is also senior counsel for the Carlyle Group.

[ClintonTyree]

16. You've outlived your usefulness, Jack.

This is the point in the GOP "relationship" where they abandon you and let you swing in the air. You've become a liability to them now, you're no longer the great "pioneer" that poured money into the BFEE coffers. You've been voted off the island.
The GOP plays a tough game. You above all should know that, Jack. How many people did you screw over in your pursuit of power and wealth? Now you expect to be treated differently when you're the one that's an albatross hanging around their necks? You knew the rules from the beginning, Jack. When you sell your soul to the devil, the devil wants his due.
Your only recourse now is to sing, Jack. Sing like a canary on crack because it's the only way to save your sorry ass.

[freefall]

18. Well said. Well said. I especially like the line.

"When you sell your soul to the devil, the devil wants his due." You're right. He's lost his soul but if he sings he may be able to save his ass. It's entertaining to watch the whole thing unfold.

Peace

freefall

[robbedvoter]

19. Unfortunately, they'll strike a deal. Look at Kenny...

One way or the other, a gag will be in place whether virtual, legal or literal.

[Lasher]

20. Oops, there goes Abramoff's pardon

Unless he's holding back something to blackmail with.

[DemonFighterLives]

21. Jack Who? heh heh- dubby

Jack you've been punked by the punk in chief!

[BringEmOn]

24. Did that 4 months in Bolivia involve a pup tent?

[Babel_17]

25. Abramoff's motives in this

I'm inclined to think Abramoff has decided that since he won't get any overt or covert GOP assistance part of his defense should be to highlight that his crimes were committed in the context of happening within a vast sea of lies, corruption and hypocrisy. He'll be seen as a lesser demon in other words.

And, let's be honest, providing ammo to be used against the corrupt Bush administration might tend to subdue the ardor of those who will be unofficially auditing the Abramoff sentencing process.

Going above and beyond when coming clean is usually worth something on the scales of justice.

I weep for my country if this is a ploy by Abramoff to extort something from the republican controlled portions of the judicial system ...... and it works.

[Spinzonner]

26. Shrub is a strong believer in Loyalty

To him, not from him