Mehlman Caught with Hand in Abramoff Cookie Jar - Media Matters

[WillyT]

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As the scandal surrounding Abramoff has inched closer to the White House, Mehlman has gone from claiming Abramoff was "someone we don't know a lot about" in January, to knowing him "in various capacities" in April and conceding that he had known Abramoff since the mid-1990s in October.

Mehlman's Evolving Statements Regarding Jack Abramoff

January: In a January interview with freelance journalist A.L. Bardach, Mehlman described Abramoff as "someone who we don't know a lot about. We know what we read in the paper."

April: In the April issue of Vanity Fair, contributing editor David Margolick reported that documents obtained by Vanity Fair indicated that Mehlman had done political favors for Abramoff and even attended Sabbath dinner at the lobbyist's house. Margolick quoted Abramoff saying, "Any important Republican who comes out and says they didn't know me is almost certainly lying." The article also noted that a spokesperson for Mehlman responded that he "does not recall the e-mail exchange, 'because he was often contacted by political supporters with suggestions and ideas," or the Sabbath dinner." RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt subsequently told Reuters that "Jack Abramoff is someone that the chairman has known in various capacities during his time in Washington."

September: A September 29 report by the House Committee on Government Reform found that "Abramoff and his colleagues billed their clients for more than 400 contacts with White House officials between 2001 and 2004," as The Washington Post reported. Included in the billing records were 17 contacts with the White House Office of Political Affairs, which Mehlman directed until 2004.

October: An October 15 Los Angeles Times article reported that a string of emails from 2001 "suggest" that Mehlman had worked to remove State Department official Allen Stayman at Abramoff's request. The Times reported that the "e-mails show that Abramoff, whose client list included the Northern Mariana Islands, had long opposed Stayman's work advocating labor changes in that U.S. commonwealth, and considered what his lobbying team called the 'Stayman project' a high priority." In an email sent after a meeting with Mehlman, an Abramoff associate reportedly wrote, "Mehlman said he would get him fired." Shortly thereafter, Stayman lost his position in the State Department. According to the article, Mehlman conceded that he had known Abramoff since the mid-1990s, but "said he did not recall the details of his contacts with the Abramoff team."

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Link: http://mediamatters.org/items/200610170003

More here: http://mediamatters.org/items/200610170001

Oh Kenny, Kenny, Kenny... are you gonna go down with this sinking ship. Liberate yourself dude!

[Webster Green]

1. Nice pic of Ken.....He looks like a giant penis..

Not that there's anything wrong with that.....I guess.

[aquart]

2. What is it their Saudi friends do with a thief?

Cut it off at the wrist?

But we're not allowed to do that yet. Next bill, maybe. The one that does away with the "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibition.